“Come to the estate. I moved them because I don’t know what your endgame is, and Aeron’s house is a fucking rental,” he had said.
So, I did just that, haphazardly parking in the little semi-circle, pushing past one of the newer guards, and making a beeline for his office. My men all looked up when I stepped inside, all three of them hunched around a screen on Samael’s desk but that was the last of my worries.
I was about to start shit.
“You wouldn’t believe the day I had,” I pushed out, a grin spreading wide across my lips. Slash growled at me and pushed me into a chair by the desk before crouching down to lift my shirt. He hissed at what I guessed was a few torn stitches, Samael handing him something. In the next second, a sharp pain added itself to the dull throb, a needle slipping through my skin. “What the fuck?”
“We all told you to stay put but you said it was important to go to work so I’m restitching your ass. I hope it hurts,” Slash growled.
It did hurt, more than it had when Samael had done it which meant Slash was doing it this way on purpose. I waited until he finished before asking my main question. “Hey, so why the fuck is Tyrone an officer? He came to the newspaper today to ask questions about Niles’ murder.”
Samael’s jaw tightened, his massive frame tensing behind the desk. “He did what now?”
“Yeah, he cornered me in Alex’s office, digging about my connections to all of you. He thinks we’re tied to the Three Terrors. And then Alex caught on to the alters. Even brought up my mother and her HMD, like he’d been waiting to drop that bomb.”
Aeron cut in. “Alex knows about the alters?”
I turned to Slash, my grin twisting as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “And finding out that you and Tyrone had a thing was fucking weird. Samael’s cock is so much better.”
Slash stood up and discarded the bloody supplies before leaning back against the desk beside Samael. “I know. It was a lapse in judgment, and for the record, I went over to Tyrone because of your sorry ass up and leaving me with only a fucking letter. And now that I know Killian isn’t really all that innocent, I don’t even know why you left any of us.”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to figure out what to say. None of the alters were any help, though. “This isn’t the time,” I finally said.
Slash roughly grabbed my chin between his fingers and forced me to meet his gaze. “Make time, you little fucker. I’m not too arrogant to admit that you fucking ripped my cold, dead heart out when you left. What was the real reason you left any of us?”
I ripped myself away from him, my chin stinging from his grip. “Emotions are fucking confusing, okay? We’ve—all them in my head—all been told we’re too hard to love. As for Killian, hereally didn’t know what the fuck was going on at first. After that, I couldn’t tell you. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Samael’s voice cut through the moment. “We can figure out all that shit later. For now, Runo, I need to know what the game is because currently, I have one of my best friends tied up in the basement. There’s no letting him go at this point. We had a relationship based on trust, and that has been destroyed. If I let him go, he will upend everything I’ve worked for. So, what’s the point? And don’t give me the bullshit of getting rid of the past.”
Glad the conversation had shifted, I grinned and leaned back a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. “I’m glad you asked. I wanted you to wait for me because I wanted to see your face when he tries to explain his way out of this bullshit. Shall we?”
SAMAEL
This was going to be a shit show. I already knew that whatever ending Brent met, it would fuck me up and start us on a new trajectory. I had nothing against him… for the most part and I reallyreallyhoped that Runo did.
Otherwise, this was only going to get worse.
Slash and Aeron opted to stay upstairs, watching the security camera as I headed into the basement, Runo on my heels. Brent sat bound in his chair, wrists chafed red from the ropes, his glare burning through me as I stepped into the dim light.
I crouched in front of him and pulled off the gag, the fabric catching on his stubble. Without hesitation he spat in my face, his voice rough from non use. “I always knew you were crazy, but this? This is just psychopathic behavior. And for what? You don’t evenknowthis kid. Every time you look at him, he turns into someone else.”
Runo dragged a stool for me to sit before leaning against the far wall. Something about him watching only heightened theanticipation of what I was going to find. I took a seat and folded my hands over my lap. “You’re not wrong. But he brought you down here for a reason, and I want to know why.”
Brent snorted, the bitter laugh hitting me like a slap. “Seriously? He’scrazy, and you’re going to listen to him?”
“As crazy as he is, he’s never been wrong.”
Brent’s face twisted in a mixture of disbelief and rage. “You’d give up our friendship for love?”
I shook my head, my jaw tightening as I sifted through his words. “No, I’d give it up if I found out you betrayed me. I’ve killed for less.”
Brent’s lips curled up in a snarl as he struggled against the ropes before settling, realizing that he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’ve disapproved of Killian, well,RunoI guess, in your life for a while. I told you he couldn’t be trusted, and now he’s turned you against me.”
A hum vibrated through my chest as I leaned back, searching Brent’s expression. Runo hadn’t turned me against anyone. I just kept finding out where everyone’s loyalties fell—and if it wasn’t with me, then… that was on them. “I distinctly remember telling you he wasn’t the enemy. Even if Finn and Runo were both alters we weren’t prepared for.”
Brent’s face twisted up, his face reddening with his anger. “It’s more than that! He’s got an entire agenda! He’s using you!”
I raised an eyebrow, trying to get to the real reason. “Using me how?”
