Vice

Thirty Seven

"So you aren't angry?" Thea turned back to James. The rain had picked up to a steady down pour.

Neither seemed to care.

He pulled an eyebrow upwards, "Why the fuck would I be angry with you?"

"Thea Knight is a lie. I lied to all of you."

"I knew that when I promised you that I would find out who you were."

She traced the cracked edges of her mother's headstone with her eyes. "She saved me. Locked herself in a room with him and told me to run."

Her voice was soft and the words were almost lost in the down pour.

"I'm the reason she's gone."

James let out a soft sigh and carefully closed the space between them. With his chest pressed against her, he cut of her view of the head stones. A strange sensation she had never felt before began to form in her stomach with the contact. Churning like a living bee hive.

His hands lifted into the air and her breath hitched. He gently traced her jaw line with the back of his finger.

"Sometimes people are willing to sacrifice everything they have for the people they love. But it all means nothing if you waste the rest of your life blaming yourself." He repeated the words she had once told him about Adalyn.

His hand continued moving backwards to run through her hair. His eye followed the movement while she could only stand and stare into his face.

He reached behind her head and tugged her hood up. She exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

He pressed himself closer and leaned in so that his lips brushed her ear as he spoke, "Now I know you, Theadora."

*****

Arriving back at the house was less awkward than Thea had imagined. With all the new information her father's appearance had shed light on she expected there to be a barrier between her and the others. She expected them to shy away from her, question her, or maybe never speak to her again.

After pulling the car in behind James', they entered the house to find the other's sitting around the kitchen table. Neither Thea or James could hide their surprise at the meal laid out before them.

"Who cooked?"

"Lottie." James arm froze above the plate he had been reaching for. His eyes flicked with uncertainty between the confident look on Trevor's face to the anxiety strewn across Lottie's.

"Well I helped but she's getting better I swear!" Trevor threw an arm around Lottie. James chuckled and sat down with his plate.

"Why is it that the only women in the house can't cook to save their lives?" Thea rolled her eyes and grabbed a plate of her own.

"Seriously?" Ryder looked at Thea in shame.

"You should have seen her try to boil water." James said around a full mouth of food. Ryder shook his head and mumbled something under his breath. Thea caught a few words and shoved him with her shoulder.

Sitting down between Ryder and James, Thea snuck a glance under the table. Lottie's hand was tangled with Trevor's, once again confirming her suspicions of the their relationship. She wondered if Ryder and James had caught onto it yet.

"So you're Irish?" Thea stiffened and glanced at James. Had he said something to them already? "Nicholas, Theadora, Seamus. Those are Irish right?"

She relaxed a bit, and nodded her head at Ryder.

"Were you born there?"

"No, my parents moved here right before they had me and Shane." Everyone except James was listening intently. Each bent forward so they didn't miss anything she said.

"Where did the name Knight come from?"

Thea twirled her fork, absentmindedly drawing shapes in her mashed potatoes. "It was my mother's maiden name. I think you can see why we chose to go by that instead of Grey."

They all nodded in agreement, falling into an awkward silence. Ryder refused to meet her eyes.

"If it helps, my dad's a nutcase too." Lottie sighed and rested her hand on her chin.

Trevor's jaw dropped, "Lottie, your dad owns half of the city's hotels and is like a gazillionaire. He sends you gifts all the time."

Lottie shrugged, "Who sends gifts to their estranged gang member daughters. I'm telling you there is something wrong with that man."

Even though she was being serious, the others couldn't hold in their laughter at the girls reasoning.

After the laughter died James placed his fork down. Everyone turned at the action, accustomed to the transition between casual talk and business.

"We're moving into a new house tomorrow." The statement was met with groans. "The drivers will be here in the morning to collect everyone's things. Bring what you need, the new place will be fully stocked with everything else."

Before everyone had a chance to leave, Thea spoke up. "Were you able to map out a blueprint of Westgate?"

"Thea-"

She put a hand up to stop Trevor from denouncing the idea that they continue with the plan. She shot him a look causing him to sigh and sit back in his chair.

Ryder nodded, "But it isn't a warehouse like the other one."

"It's a house. A whore house." Thea clarified.