I shrugged. “At that time, I’ll make sure he feels my wrath as well. Goodbye, Brent.” I tugged him upward by the collar again and thrust him back against the concrete, the man’s head lolling to the side. He wasn’t dead yet but I wasn’t going to kill him. The last piece of my fragile humanity wouldn’t let me. Runo could have fun with him and discard him.
Runo stepped toward me, right over the puddle by Brent’s head, his hands clasped in front of him like he was waiting for his prize. “Are you leaving the last part for me?” His gray eyes glittered with excitement before darkening when I grabbed him roughly around the throat, my fingers digging into his skin.
“If youevertry to pull some bullshit like this again,” I said, “I will detach your head from your body. I enjoy a little wildness and chaos from time to time, but I donotlike flying by the seat of my pants. If you decide you need to throw out a plan, you tell me what it is from start to finish because now I need figure out what the fuck is going on with Tyrone.”
Runo’s grin didn’t falter, his eyes gleaming as he wiggled his brows suggestively. “What about dinner?”
I roughly kissed him, my lips crashing against his, tasting the salt of his sweat and the faint metallic edge of blood from my knuckles. His body pressed against mine, Runo’s hands settling on my waist before I pulled back. “You can starve.”
RUNO
I ignored the other alters, mumbling ‘fucking asshole’ several times as I drove a jagged piece of wood into Brent’s heart without any remorse. The fucker had threatened to turn me or at the very least dangle my livelihood in front of the precinct. That had been a dumb move but to then say that Samael would just be part of the equation? Yeah, I couldn’t have that.
Which is why I also let Brent know that his plan wouldn’t have worked because my fucking dad, the chief of police, was already in charge of cleaning up my mess. He would have done everything in vain and then had to suffer the consequences.
Maybe I should have waited.
Killian: No. You should not have. We’re already playing with fire.
I sighed and discarded the piece of wood before stomping up the stairs, blood splattered across my shirt. My feet took me toward the kitchen, voices from my men hitting my ears. Anger burned in my chest because Samael had left me hanging downthere. I needed more, needed them to see me, not just the chaos I brought.
A step into the kitchen and Samael just sighed before reaching for the hemline of my shirt and ripping it over my head. In the next second, I was surrounded by a shirt that smelled just like him, Samael balling up the bloody one and tossing it a small bin tucked in one of the cabinets. “What’s the next step?”
I bit my bottom lip, warring with the need to keep this from him because he denied me or tell him because he asked.I’ll make him wait,I told myself before focusing on my other two men who were bent over a large pepperoni pizza. I glared at the branded box from a few streets over as I slid into a chair, confused that Aeron was housing down his own slice. “Please tell me there’s people in that.”
Aeron laughed, the man shaking his head. “Just good old-fashioned pepperoni. Is Brent dead?”
I nodded as I forced a grin. “Yeah, he’s gone.” My gaze dropped back to the pizza and then to Aeron before giving in and snatching a slice. It wasn’t like I needed a person to chew on and grabbing some part of Brent for Aeron to dish up seemed in poor taste. Getting rid of the body was already going to be a chore. “I’ll guess I’ll settle for cheese rather than cock.” No one laughed at my words but I glared at Samael anyway who just threw me the middle finger.
I almost quipped back when a knock on the door cut through the moment, and one of the guards entered the kitchen. “There’s a detective at the door. A… Tyrone, I believe.”
Samael’s jaw tightened as he shook his head. “Tell him I’m busy.”
“He said he needs to talk to Killian, who he knows is here.”
Of course, he did. I should have just taken the bus butno, I just had to have the luxury of a car. “I really don’t like how up in my business he is.”
Slash and Aeron started to stand, but the guard held up a hand. “It appears the detective at the door is aware that all of you are here, and he specifically said there was no reason to vacate on his account.”
Samael cursed under his breath, his voice filled with enough venom to send a chill down my spine. “Fuck, let him in.”
Tyrone sauntered into the kitchen a few moments later, a smug grin plastered on his face. “I just keep getting surprised. This is absolutely wonderful. I was looking for Samael, but then I found your car in the driveway—or, better yet, your father’s. That being said, I have some questions.”
I crossed my arms, my new set of stitches stinging a bit. There was absolutely no reason for this fucker to be here right now. “It’s dinner time.”
Tyrone plopped into a chair across from me, spreading his thighs like he owned the damn place. I knew the only reason he wasn’t being removed was because we didn’t know how much he knew. “Great, then we can eat together. I didn’t want to drag you into the station.”
Killian: Why wouldn’t he?
Finn: Is he hiding something from your father or the precinct as a whole?
“You already questioned me at my job. What is going on?”
Tyrone’s eyes flicked between the four of us. “I was hoping you would tell me that.”
Daemon: Someone is persistent.
Killian: Just lie. Like you always do.
