I jab my knife in his thigh, making him scream in pain. “She wasn’t. I know she wasn’t your first, but you won’t get any more chances to mess someone else’s life up.” I twist the knife, making him scream louder. “You guys think you can take any goddamn thing you want to. Women don’t owe you a fucking thing!” I yell over his screams. I know I’m not talking about his victim anymore but myself. “This is my body! I fucking decide who I give it to; you don’t take that choice from me!” I twist again; he screams, jerks, and passes out.
My chest is heaving; my heart’s beating out of control. I can’t find that eerie calm I usually have when I torture someone; it’s replaced with panic.
“Les,” Zane says gently, and I jerk to face him. I expected to see disgust on his face, but all I see is the same fire burning inside me. “Take it back.” He marches over to the table, snatches up another capsule, and strides toward me. “Take it back,” he repeats, laying it in my palm.
Zane takes a step back when I crack it open. “Wake the fuck up,” I say, running it under Heath’s nose. He jerks back, opening his mouth. “Save it. You’re guilty because I deemed it that way. But here’s my favorite part. Do you know who I am?” He shakes his head fast, tears and snot running down his face. “I’m the Black Demon.”
This is the part I relish. They know as soon as they hear that name that their time on this earth is over, at my hands. Walking behind him, I jerk his head back by his hair, laying my knife against his throat. “Marciume all ’inferno,” I murmur, sliding my blade across his neck. The first gurgle I hear, I close my eyes and let that calmness wash over me. I breathe deep for the first time since we got away from Jay; my mind quiets, and my soul settles.
I open my eyes to three pairs of eyes trained on me. I take in Gage’s ice blue ones, filled with relief, love, and a little bit of crazy he always has, which I love. I also see relief, love, and acceptance when I turn to Leo’s blue-green ones. Before I can lose my nerve, I look at Zane. He shocks me the most. His whiskey ones are the same as the last; what slams into me is what I see the most.
Lust.
Chapter 16
Dex
“What happened?” I ask for the second time.
“Dude. Are you deaf?” Gage grouches from the couch. He and Leo just came up from downstairs; Les wasn’t with them. Now I know why.
“No. I’m not fucking deaf. I just…they’re downstairs…making out.” I feel jealousy, but it disappears just as fast, replaced with shock. “With a body right there?”
Leo chuckles. “Yep. He couldn’t get to her fast enough. Zane is just as fucked up as us.”
“Why is Zane fucked up?” Ryder asks, walking into the living room and flopping down in the chair beside me. Leo, Gage, and I all share uneasy glances. Ryder agreed to this, but I sure as hell am not telling him where Zane and Les are. “Why are you guys being weird?”
“Uh,” Gage says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Speak,” Ryder says with a laugh. He might not be laughing for long.
Leo and Gage turn to me expectantly, making me sigh. Of course, I’m going to have to be the one to deliver the news. Fucking pussies. “Les and Zane are downstairs making out in front of a dead body.” I rip the band-aid right the hell off. Subtly isn’t my strong point. I riska glance, and that muscle is ticking in his jaw, showing he’s pissed. “You agreed to this,” I remind him.
“I fucking know,” Ryder barks, then takes a deep breath. “I know.” He slowly turns to me. “In front of a what now?” I was wondering when he was going to pick up that information.
Gage shrugs. “Leo and I grabbed that guy we told you about. She killed him. He got turned all the way the fuck on.” He shrugs again. “You know the rest.”
“You guys let him watch that?” Ryder growls.
Leo rolls his eyes. “We aren’t his keepers, Ryder. Bring back your crazy.” I hide a smile with my hand. Six weeks ago, that would have caused an all-out war with these two.
“He already knew,” I tell Ryder. “She told him the truth; he’s fine with it.”
“I’m trying to trust him,” Ryder sighs. “It’s just really damn hard.”
“We get it,” Gage says. “But you got to let that shit go.”
Ryder waves his hand. “I will. I just need time.”
“You should know, he had Holden’s back today, no hesitation,” I say. I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I saw Zane had Holden pushed into a corner, protecting him with his own body.
“What do you mean?”
“As soon as he saw the gun, he shoved Holden in the corner so he wouldn’t get hit,” Gage explains, then shrugs. “He didn’t have to do that.”
I watch Ryder take all that in. Not only did Zane get Les home to us, but he protected Holden without regard for his own safety and had my and Gage’s back.
“Somehow, I knew Zane would end up back in her life,” Ryder says finally. “I just didn’t think it would take this for it to happen.” He looks at me. “I get that he saved Les, and I appreciate the hell out of him for that and for protecting Holden. I hated him for a long fucking time; that’s going to take time to get over.”
