Incendiary (Inferno Book 5) Read online

  “What?”

  His face screws up in confusion because he knows that they came out almost immediately.

  But this is a test and I want to see if he passes.

  “What kept you?” I query as I lean back against the couch cushions.

  “Nothing. Honest, Dad. As soon as we heard the horn, we stopped what we were doing and ran out to help.”

  Gotcha.

  “And what were you doing that needed stopping?”

  Another look of confusion creases his brow as he holds my gaze. “I was in my room getting changed so I could go outside and work on the roots near the… um, the uh…”

  “Hm.”

  I rub the bridge of my nose as I glance at Skylar.

  “And you?”

  “I was getting some bedsheets out of the drier, Daddy.”

  “I wasn’t aware that the bedding needed turning over,” I reply meaningfully.

  Skylar sucks in a sharp breath.

  Of the two of them, she seems to the one with the brains.

  “No, Daddy. I promise,” she exclaims, shaking her head vehemently back and forth.

  “Stand up and pull your pants down,” I tell her as I sit up and lean my elbows on my knees.

  She looks even more afraid now than she was when she thought I was assuming things, but a woman’s virtue isn’t something that can be seen to the naked eye.

  Skylar does as she’s told and stands with her hands clasped in front of her panties. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s trying to hide that pretty little pussy from me.

  “Panties next,” I say evenly.

  She turns her face away for a moment before complying, then attempts to cover herself again.

  “Put a foot on the coffee table,” I instruct her as I reach behind her and pull it closer.

  I take in a big whiff of that sweet scent of hers, before I look up into her eyes. Placing a hand on her hip to steady her, I lick the tip of my thumb and ready myself to find out if these kids have been lying to me.

  “Take a deep breath and be a good girl for Daddy,” I tell her as I push her legs apart and start to slip my thumb inside of her.

  She’s not wet enough yet, so she grimaces, but I don’t pay it any mind.

  This isn’t about making her feel good, it’s about finding out if she’s just another lying bitch.

  And when the tip of my thumb gets stopped before I can push it all the way into her, I nod and pull it back out.

  “You can get dressed now and go back to your chores. Both of you,” I say as I get to my feet.

  Walking out of the living room, I make my way toward the kitchen, completely aware of the fact that Skylar has been a little too compliant these past couple of days.

  They have something up their sleeves and think I don’t see it coming.

  It’s alright, though.

  Tomorrow is a big day, and they better get as much sleep as they can, because whether they like it or not, it’s finally time for them to make me proud.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Where are you taking her?”

  “Get in the truck and wait for me,” I tell Skylar, and she obeys.

  When the front door closes behind her, I close the gap between myself and Richter and lean down to look in his face.

  “Since when do you get to ask me about my business?” I question, my eyes narrowing dangerously.

  “Since the last time you left with one of my sisters, you didn’t bring them back,” he all but shouts in my face.

  I stand up to my full height and weigh what he’s said to me. It amazes me that getting his little pecker played with suddenly turned him into what he assumes to be a man.

  He must think he’s got a one up on me because of the smile I see him fighting to keep off his face, but the truth of the matter is, he’s not wrong.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I begin, thoughtfully rubbing my chin. “I’m gonna let this one slide. Once. But I will remind you that what I chose to do with my fucking children is none of your goddamn business. You mouth off to me again, and you can starve and die at the bottom of the oubliette like the rest of the useless fucks, you understand me?”

  The shitty triumphant look he had in his eyes vacates immediately as his shoulders slump and he takes a step back.

  “Good,” I say with a nod. “Now get some shit done around here until I get back.”

  I turn and start walking toward the door when his whiny little voice wheedles another question at me.

  “With Skylar?”

  I stop walking and square my shoulders.

  It takes everything inside of me not to drag him outside and throw him down into the dark to let him rot like the garbage he is, but…

  “Who else is gonna touch your little dick, boy?” I ask with a chuckle as I walk out of the house.

  I had a dream last night.

  One that bothered me enough to test a theory today.

  I woke up feeling angry about having been possibly duped and that’s why I’m walking into the mom and pop pharmacy again with Skylar in tow.

  She takes my hand as soon as we walk in, and I roll my eyes at the ceiling before I glance around.

  Where the fuck is she?

  And then I spot her.

  With all of her freckles.

  With all of her wild spirit.

  With that look of temptation written all over her beautiful face.

  “Come on,” I say to Skylar as I tug her hand and make my way toward the aisle that Hailey is watching us from.

  “Hey, stranger!” she calls out.

  “Luke,” I reply evenly.

  Before she has a chance to say anything else, I whip Skylar toward her and look at them side by side.

  That can’t be right.

  “Who’s your mother?” I ask Hailey as I reach for Skylar after another ten seconds of quick inspection and pull her back to my side.

  “Adeline Chazen. Who’s your mother?” she shoots back in what she probably thinks is a flirtatious way.

  I don’t know any Adeline.

  “What about her mother?” I probe, sidestepping her question.

  “Laura.”

  I grit my teeth.

  That fucking bitch.

  “Laura what?” I press, trying to control my temper.

  “Greene.”

  “Hey! That’s our—”

  I give Skylar a violent shake before she has a chance to tell Hailey our business and then give her a warning look when she looks up at me in confusion.

  “That’s all I needed to know,” I say to her with a nod. “I’ll be seeing you around, Hailey.”

  On the drive back home, we’re both silent.

  I can tell that Skylar is apprehensive due to my newly acquired foul mood, and that’s to be expected.

  But I feel like I have a new purpose now and as soon as I get these two set-up to take care of each other, I’ll see to it that I continue taking care of my own.

  Something tells me that Hailey won’t require much work. Maybe a little nudge in the right direction, but with the way she fucks me with her eyes each time I see her, I feel like I finally have a good, respectable girl.

  Regardless of what my prior thoughts about her were.

  In a way, she’s family and that makes her my responsibility now.

  “Daddy?” Skylar asks quietly.

  “What, baby girl?”

  “That girl’s momma has our last name.”

  I nod.

  “Does that mean she’s like us?”

  I glance at her and chuckle before I turn my attention back to the road in front of us.

  She will be soon enough.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I decide to take the long way home for two reasons.

  The first is to make the boy sweat. If he thinks he’s the last surviving child in the house, he’ll probably kill himself and make my life a hell of a lot easier.

  The second is I need some time to clear my head. I can’t carry into
their final lesson knowing that the bitch went off and had another kid after I threw her out of my house.

  I should have had her sterilized.

  With a grunt, I decide to go to the one place where I know I’ll be understood. Skylar has never been there, neither has Richter, but I need to talk to someone that gets me—someone that will be able to calm me down for now.

  Twenty minutes later, I take a deep breath as the sign starts to loom closer in the distance.

  Pinecrest Memorial.

  I shake my head ruefully as I pull through the cemetery gates. I never did have it in me to abandon Taylee, I guess. Sandpoint was—and always has been—home and this is where she laid her roots.

  The same ones that I’ve kept buried deep in the ground, growing stronger and stronger with each passing generation.

  Even though she was a cold-hearted bitch when she needed to be, she was the only one of my parents that gave a shit about me.

  Slowly, I wind the car up the long driveway and around the back of the cemetery, passing by people who aren’t here to mourn.

  They’re more than likely gossiping about things that are none of their business or getting their exercise for the day.

  In a place where the dead have been laid to rest and apparently aren’t worth any respect.

  When I get to the row that she’s buried in, I pull the truck over to the side and cut the engine. My hands fall to my lap as I look out the driver’s side window and count the headstones to the one I’ll find my way to soon and sigh.

  “Stay in the car, Skylar. I’ll be back shortly,” I tell her softly as I remove the keys from the ignition and push the door open.

  I shove my hands into my pockets as I walk by strangers that I never knew until I’m standing in front of the headstone of the one I did.

  Somehow, I feel like that lost teenage boy that didn’t know what it felt like to be cared for all over again.

  I clear my throat as I crouch down and use my hand to brush away some of the dirt and grass that’s landed on her name before I sigh.

  Even the fucking caretakers here do yardwork more often than Richter does it seems.

  “I’m not gonna stay long,” I tell her as I stand back up and brush my hand against the leg of my pants.

  I cut my eyes toward Skylar who’s leaning forward in her chair and watching me with curious eyes.

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t even know why I’m really here. It’s not like you can say anything back to me, but maybe it’s for the best. You weren’t exactly the best person to talk to when you were alive,” I continue with a chuckle as I turn my eyes back down toward her name.

  Taylee Greene.

  Where all of this bullshit started.

  Where it should have ended.

  Where a legacy could have died if I had been weak enough to let it.

  “Anyway, I guess I just wanted to tell you in person that I think I finally got it right for once. The girl over in the truck,” I say, nodding my head toward Skylar, “is going to learn how to be a wife today. But I don’t want you to think you’ve missed anything because I’ll make sure that you’re there in your own way, you crazy bitch,” I finish with the shake of my head.

  I stare at the headstone, remembering the last time I was here.

  It was when I found her frantic handwriting in the back of her bible; the one that set me on the mission to be the man I am today.

  The one that solidified everything that I knew I had to do.

  I remember the relief as it washed over me that day so many fucking years ago.

  With a smirk, I linger in front of her for a moment longer before I suck my teeth and start back toward the truck.

  A person like Taylee Greene may have wallowed in her madness, but she knew what it meant to be a true family, and I am merely the humble result of her tutelage.

  And even though my little bastards haven’t been as cooperative as I would have hoped, I know I have more than one chance now to do this.

  I just have to get Skylar back home first.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Go take a shower, then meet me in my room,” I instruct her as we walk through the front door.

  I ignore the look of dismay on her face.

  She’s thinking too much for someone that doesn’t truly understand what’s about to happen.

  Before she can become Richter’s wife, she has to look the part, and for that I need her to be clean and ready.

  I take the stairs up to my floor two at a time, ignoring the boy when he calls out to me. He probably has a million and one questions which I won’t answer.

  Everything he needs to know will come to fruition when I present his wife to him shortly. Until then, he just needs to keep his fucking mouth shut and wait.

  I take my jacket off when I walk into my bedroom and toss it on the bed.

  My hands are shaking as I walk over to the closet. It’s where I keep the memory of Taylee hidden and there’s something inside that I want Skylar to wear.

  I reason that, maybe if I try it this way, one of these little bitches will stick to the family rules instead of turning on her husband.

  I should have done it with Darby, I think irritably as I slide the closet door open and look down at the old, dusty trunk.

  I can almost feel Taylee standing behind me as I place my hands on the lid, feeling the worn, black leather.

  Ever since I took possession of it, I never opened it. I tucked it away with every memory of my mother and hoped that I’d never have to look at it again.

  So many fucking things about what’s inside have haunted me for as long as I’ve been alive.

  Clearing my throat, I use my thumb to flip the lock I never bothered securing and sit back on my feet as I use both hands to lift the lid.

  I don’t look inside right away.

  I almost feel like I’m betraying the crazy bitch right now just by opening the damn thing.

  I should have had it buried with her, then I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

  But burying Taylee was more than sufficient, and I wanted to have more than just her fucking couch to remind me that she was real once.

  Not even her picture makes me feel like she was alive enough for me, so I kept something else.

  Before I have the chance to look at the contents, a soft knock greets me.

  I get to my feet, letting the lid slam back down and walk to the door to answer it.

  “How the hell did you clean up that fast?” I ask Skylar testily.

  “It’s been half an hour, Daddy,” she replies in confusion.

  I hold her eyes for a moment before I shake my head and chuckle.

  “Come in,” I tell her, stepping aside.

  Time always did seem to disappear whenever Taylee was around and that’s why I felt like my childhood was a lifelong prison sentence.

  “Sit on the bed,” I say as I make my way back to the trunk. “I’ve got something special for you, baby girl.”

  I drop to my knees and open the lid again, glancing to the side when I hear the bed creak under the weight of Skylar’s body.

  If she tries to fight me on this…

  On something so goddamn precious…

  Taking a deep breath, I reach in and pull out Taylee’s holy roller outfit.

  I blow a soft breath across the habit, then stand up with the veil and tunic in my hands.

  I smile.

  I can’t believe how much I can still see her wearing this fucking thing.

  The very same thing I would taunt her about.

  The one I would dare her to dress up in whenever she threatened me with a spanking.

  And now, my little girl is going to become a bride too.

  It seems only fitting that she wears the same thing Taylee did when she took her vows.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When I turn around to face Skylar, she looks curious enough, which is a good thing.

  At least it’s not fear or disgust—if she shows either, I
’ll beat her black and blue and toss her into the fucking oubliette.

  “This belonged to my mother,” I tell her quietly as I walk over to her. “Take your clothes off, Skylar, and put this on.”

  I hand the outfit to her, and she stands up, presumably still unaware of what I’ve handed her, but does as she’s told.

  She’s being a good girl.

  My good girl.

  She’s going to make me proud.

  I make my way toward the bed and sit down next to her where she’s piling her clothes and run a hand down her back.

  Such a pure, soft, young girl.

  With as much as I think about Darby, she wouldn’t have been worthy enough to wear this and I finally understand that now.

  I let my hand fall to my side and watch as she struggles to pull the tunic over her head.

  I chuckle as I lean forward and help her shimmy it down her slim frame.

  When it drops down her body and covers her toes, I smile.

  She’s not nearly as old as Taylee was when she took her vows, but things are different now.

  “Skylar?” I ask as I smooth out the wrinkles around her stomach.

  “Yes, Daddy?”

  “How old are you these days?”

  “Fifteen.”

  “And how old is your brother?”

  “Sixteen.”

  Jesus, I’m getting old.

  Something I should have realized the first time I had to go out and buy her some feminine products the first time she told me she was bleeding.

  “Old enough, then. Alright pull the veil over your head and let’s get you downstairs. I’m sure your brother is probably climbing the walls by now,” I remark with an eye roll.

  When I get to my feet I wince and put a hand to my stomach. The pain is getting worse each passing day, but I’ve been doing a good job of hiding it from them.

  They need to worry about themselves, and I know these kids don’t give a fuck about me, so I keep my ailments to myself and do the best I can.

  I guess I’m more like Taylee than I would like to think.

  She hid her mental shit from me for so long that when I finally realized what was wrong with her, it was too late. I had already made up my mind that she needed to be put down and nothing was going to stop me.