Kept from You (Tear Asunder, Book 4) Read online

  Kept from You

  Published by Nashoda Rose

  Copyright © 2016 by Nashoda Rose

  ISBN: 978-1-987953-08-4

  Toronto, Canada

  Copyright © 2016 Cover design by Kari Ayasha, Cover to Cover Designs (http://www.covertocoverdesigns.com/)

  Cover Photo by Wander Aguiar Photography (http://wanderaguiar.com/)

  Model: Nick Bennett (https://www.facebook.com/nickbennett6/)

  Content Edited by Kristin Anders, The Romantic Editor (http://www.theromanticeditor.com/)

  Editing by Hot Tree Editing (http://www.hottreeediting.com/)

  Formatted by Champagne Formats (http://champagneformats.com/)

  Proofing: Elaine York/Allusion Graphics, LLC (http://www.allusiongraphics.com)

  Warning: Kept from You is for 18+ due to language and sexual content.

  This is a complete stand alone in the Tear Asunder series.

  *Any editing issues are my own. I’m Canadian, and on occasion I may use the Canadian spelling rather than U.S.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Except for the original material written by the author, all songs, brands, and artists mentioned in the novel Kept from You are the property of the respective owners and copyright holders. Any brands mentioned do not endorse or sponsor this book in any way.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Books by Nashoda Rose

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Toronto

  A fist slammed into the metal locker beside my head and my math book cradled in my arms slipped and fell to the floor with a loud clunk.

  I sucked in a mouthful of air and froze.

  The fist belonged to Killian Kane.

  The Killian Kane.

  Rumor was he’d been suspended from school numerous times for fighting, and the only reason he hadn’t been expelled was his father donated a lot of money to the school.

  And yeah, I was scared of him. You’d be stupid not to be.

  Thankfully his fist indenting the locker wasn’t to get my attention; it was to get Josh Clery’s attention—the guy who unfortunately had the locker beside me.

  “Ki… te,” Josh stuttered as he turned around, his face pale, hands at half-mast.

  Killian’s nickname was Kite. And at first thought, the word conjured a beautiful kite flying through the air in a gentle wind.

  This was not the origin of his nickname. Far from it.

  Because the word Kite also meant “to prey on others.” And Killian lived up to that nickname. Although in his defense, he did it sort of fairly.

  He fought the older kids who bullied the younger ones. He banned wedgies after some kid was found in the changing room hanging on the wall hook by his underwear.

  If Killian heard about shit like that, he dealt with it.

  Often that meant dealing with kids older and bigger than him.

  He was fearless, and there was a part of me that was awestruck by him because nothing deterred him from his purpose.

  Unwavering.

  Unbending.

  My perception of a Greek god was pretty much Killian. One of the god’s who had a temper and knew how much power he wielded and used it.

  He was good looking, but that wasn’t what made him attractive. It was how he drew you into him like a string on a marionette with his steady green eyes.

  I’d never spoken to him, and he’d never said a word to me, which was a good thing since no one wanted Killian Kane’s attention.

  Although, on a few occasions when I saw him in the hallways, I swore he watched me. And when our eyes would lock briefly, he always looked away while I’d lower my head and walk away as fast as I could with my heart racing and legs quivering.

  He did that to me, made me breathless, which wasn’t a good thing.

  Killian supposedly moved here from Ireland a few years ago, but I’d been at a different grade school than him. He was also a year ahead of me, so even though we were now in the same high school we didn’t have any classes together. And I was glad because I’d never be able to concentrate with him so close.

  The first time I’d witnessed Killian in action was in the cafeteria.

  He was in a rock band with a few guys from school, until ‘the fight’. The second Killian walked into the cafeteria that day there was tension. I’d heard the hushed whispers and the rumor that Killian had hooked up with the lead singer’s girlfriend. I hadn’t thought it was true because Killian had never been seen with any girls.

  His band mates had stood when he’d approached, and I’d been terrified for him because there were three of them and only him. I’d wanted him to turn around and walk out. But Killian would never have done that, and he didn’t. He’d walked right by them and went and got his food.

  It was when he had his lunch in hand that it happened.

  The lead singer stepped into his path and dumped Killian’s tray on the floor.

  Killian remained completely calm. But that was where his nickname came into play.

  Because he’d bent, picked up his tray and now ruined lunch, then threw it in the garbage. Then he’d strode back to him.

  The predator approached his prey. And there was no doubt they were prey to him.

  I’d never heard the cafeteria so silent before. The only sounds were Killian’s footsteps and his ex-band mate’s chuckles. They’d either been really brave or completely stupid considering Killian’s reputation. Maybe they’d thought since they were on school property, he wouldn’t do anything.

  He did.

  I had no idea how Killian did it as it happened so fast, but in one move he had the lead singer on his back and on the floor. Within seconds the guy was begging. I couldn’t see exactly what Killian did to him, but it was calm, controlled, and without a flicker of fear.

  A new guy, Sculpt, who I didn’t know except by name, had stood up from his table a
nd moved closer to Killian. I assumed to back him up if the other band mates jumped him.

  They didn’t, probably because Sculpt was even scarier than Killian. Sculpt’s tattooed, bulging arms and dark, almost black, intense eyes were pretty intimidating.

  Ever since that fight, Killian and Sculpt hung out together, and I’d heard they started their own band with a couple of guys from another school.

  And now I stood frozen at my locker, an arm’s length away from Killian Kane. Afraid to move, breathe or otherwise, lest I gain his notice.

  My math book lay at my feet, canvas school bag slung over my shoulder and Killian so close to me his broad shoulder brushed mine when he grabbed Josh by the T-shirt and slammed him into the locker.

  My heart jumped at the loud bang of Josh’s spine hitting the metal.

  “I fuckin’ warned you,” Killian growled.

  And it was a growl or maybe a snarl because he said it between clenched teeth. He tilted his body in close to Josh, and Josh had nowhere to go, trapped between furious Killian and his locker.

  “I warned you what would happen if he came to my school and dealt that shit.”

  Dealt that shit was drugs. Josh’s older brother was a big-time dealer, and anyone who wanted drugs went to him.

  Josh sold them too, but not the hard stuff, and neither brother sold them at our school—until recently.

  Killian landed a couple of guys in the hospital after they’d tried to sell drugs on school property. One guy had a busted nose and a broken right arm. The other had cracked ribs and lost three front teeth.

  Neither kid admitted it was Killian, but everyone knew. Especially since the day after the incident, Killian had a bandage above his right eye, and his knuckles were bruised and cut up.

  My best friend, Mars, whose brother Aiden was in Killian’s class, said when the teacher told Killian to go to the infirmary to get checked, he told the teacher to “mind his own fuckin’ business.”

  That got him sent to the principal’s office. No one knows what happened there, but he pretty much lived in detention.

  “I… I know. I told him, but”—I kind of felt sorry for Josh, because he looked like he was going to piss himself—“…he said it wasn’t your school,” Josh stammered. “I swear. I told him not to.”

  It wasn’t Killian’s school, technically, but you still followed his rules, and one of his rules was no drugs.

  Killian straightened, but he didn’t release Josh’s shirt.

  “Where is he now?”

  “He took off when he, uh… heard you were looking for him.” Josh briefly glanced at me, and I half smiled. It was my small act of kindness, because even though I wasn’t a fan of Josh as he and his brother were drug dealers, I sympathized with him for being on Killian’s radar.

  You did not want to be on Killian’s radar. And exactly why I hadn’t run, but kept quiet, motionless, and barely breathing. The rabbit in the hole waiting until the coast was clear for my quick escape.

  Besides, I had a math test tomorrow I needed to study for so I wasn’t leaving without my books.

  “Tell him to meet me at the river,” Killian said. “Five o’clock. He doesn’t show, I’m coming for him another way, and he won’t like it.”

  I knew exactly what meeting at the river meant. He was going to fight Josh’s older brother. Older meaning he’d graduated last year.

  “I swear, Kite, he won’t do it again,” Josh said.

  Killian’s voice lowered. “Too late for that. You were supposed to tell him the rules. He either didn’t listen or you didn’t tell him. Either way, now I have to do something about it.”

  Maybe it was my fiery red hair that caught his eye, or that my heart thumped so loud he heard it, but whatever it was, Killian’s gaze sliced to me.

  I stiffened, inhaling a quick breath and my heart fluttered.

  We stared at one another.

  It was the first time I’d been this close to him, and it was terrifying, and at the same time captivating and intense.

  His eyes reminded me of the green Popsicles my dad used to pick up on his way home from work on hot, humid days. We’d sit on the front porch of the house and eat them before they melted, which was hard to do in the heat and we’d both end up with sticky hands.

  Killian’s eyes were like that. Green and cold with ice chips in them, so clear it was as if I saw my own reflection.

  And they were absolutely beautiful.

  Cool as ice, Savvy. He is not a nice guy.

  “Breathe,” Killian said.

  I swayed to the side as my lungs screamed for air. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to, lost within the cool depths of his eyes.

  “Jesus Christ. Breathe,” he barked.

  That snapped me out of it, and I exhaled.

  His piercing eyes stayed on me for a second, and I swear they softened, warmth simmering briefly before they hardened again.

  He shifted his attention back to Josh at the same time as a voice called out, “Kite?”

  Sculpt strode down the hall toward us then put his hand on Killian’s forearm. “Not fuckin’ here.”

  “His brother was dealing drugs on school property,” Killian retorted, glaring at his friend.

  “I know, but not here. The school won’t give you another chance and your dad—”

  “Fuck him.”

  Sculpt tensed. “I get it, man. You know I do, but you can’t risk it.”

  Killian swore beneath his breath then released Josh’s shirt and stepped back. “Tell him to meet me.”

  “Yeah. Okay. Sure, Kite.” Josh scrambled to pick up his books, slammed his locker and took off.

  “You’re going to get expelled,” Sculpt said. “The principal said no more chances. If he saw that, you’d be history.”

  “Josh and his brother are bad news.” Killian leaned up against the locker beside me, but it was as if I no longer existed because he completely ignored me.

  I thought it was fairly safe to move, grab my things and slip away, so I crouched to pick up my math book.

  “You’re Savannah, right?”

  I looked up with my hand on my book, and Killian was looking at me, but it was Sculpt who had spoken.

  Ummm, why was he talking to me?

  Neither guy had spoken to me before. Even when I’d seen them in a local coffee shop they hung out at with a couple other guys not from our school, they didn’t acknowledge me.

  “It’s Savvy,” I corrected.

  “I’m Sculpt. You meet Kite?”

  For a millisecond, I considered laughing because it was so ridiculous that he was introducing himself and Killian.

  Seriously, what person did not know who they were?

  Within five seconds of the first day of secondary school, I knew Kite’s name. I found out weeks later his real name was Killian, and ever since that was who he was to me.

  I loved his name, and I didn’t like what his nickname meant. There was more to his fighting than him preying on others. It was like… he was so angry and tormented by something that he had to fight, but maybe he didn’t want to. So, he fought the bullies and assholes.

  Or I was just making up my own excuse for him.

  “You help out the school nurse,” Sculpt said.

  “Yeah,” I replied.

  I placed supply orders, dressed the odd scrapes and wounds, nothing substantial, but I had my first aid certificate. I’d never treated Killian or Sculpt for anything.

  I suspected Killian wouldn’t have a nurse or anyone else treat him for minor cuts or injuries. It would have to be serious before he saw the nurse. Plus, I imagined he was accustomed to injuries and bandaged himself.

  “You good at keeping your mouth shut?” Sculpt asked

  What kind of question was that? I wasn’t outspoken by any means, or prone to gossip. Actually, I only had a few friends to gossip with anyway. “I’m not going to say anything about this, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Nope. Wasn’t asking for t
hat reason,” he replied.

  Killian’s eyes narrowed and his back stiffened, but he remained silent.

  Even though I was scared and nervous of Killian, he was hard not to admire because he was striking. And you’d know if he kissed you, it would be absolutely incredible.

  My bestie, Mars, said he was cute.

  But you didn’t call a lion cute. Majestic. Magnificent and maybe even beautiful. But definitely not cute.

  Sculpt bent and curled his fingers around my elbow to help me stand.

  I stood, and my gaze locked on Killian. He was still watching me, his expression cold and unreadable.

  Sculpt’s hand dropped from my elbow.

  Killian turned away first, and I thanked God because there was no way I was able to stop myself from peering into those eyes. And my heart wouldn’t stop doing those thrills.

  He is not a god, Savvy.

  Just a guy with beautiful eyes who I wanted to have my first kiss with.

  I cleared my throat and raised my knee to balance my bag on it while I unzipped it and quickly shoved my math textbook inside. I rezipped, lowered my leg and shut my locker.

  My hand trembled as I fiddled with the padlock and I couldn’t get the shackle of the lock to catch.

  “I have a job for you,” Sculpt said.

  Damn it. I had to redo the code.

  “Sorry, pardon?” I asked, then dropped my bag between my legs and spun the dial one way then the other, then back the other way.

  “A job,” Sculpt said. “It’s fast, quick cash, and most of the time you won’t have to do anything except show up.”

  “That doesn’t sound legal.” But regardless of what the job was, I was anxious to pay for dance classes, and I couldn’t get a job because most places wouldn’t hire me being only fifteen.

  Since my dad died, money was really tight, and my mom paying for dance or even helping out was out of the question.

  My lock finally latched and I spun the dial.

  “Not her,” Killian said.

  My eyes lifted to his through a strand of my wild, red curls, and suddenly I wished I hadn’t because he was watching me again, and it wasn’t emotionless this time.