All of it faded.
Before this night was over, someone would fucking die.
29
KAYLOR
My hand moved to the door as a flash of beams bounced behind us, momentarily blinding me in the side mirror. Carson and I whipped around at the same time, nearly bumping heads as our hands flew up to shield our eyes from the glare.
“Shit,” Carson muttered under his breath. His brow wrinkled as a line of fear flickered across his features. “I swear, if your boyfriend beats the shit out of me again?—”
A car door slammed, the sound cracking through the night like a gunshot.
Then another. And another.
I barely had time to stash the gun behind my back, tucking it into my pants, before Kreed came at us, storming across the off-beaten path like a force of nature. His long strides ate up the distance between us in seconds. He reached the car and tore open my door so violently the hinges groaned in protest. “Get out, little raven,” he snapped.
I’d been expecting him. I just hadn’t been expecting him to be furious. I’d been braced for anger, for shouting, and for the cold fury I’d seen him turn on enemies before.
But this…
The man staring down at me wasn’t angry. He was unhinged. His eyes blazed dark and wild, pupils blown wide. His chest heaved with each breath as if he’d been running, his lips pressed tightly together, and I could see the muscles beneath his skin. Veins stood out on his forearms where his sleeves were rolled up, hands curled into fists at his sides.
This wasn’t the Kreed who held me at night, arms wrapped around me, protecting me. Or the Kreed who kissed me until I was breathless.
Thiswas the Kreed he worked hard to keep hidden. The one he warned me about. The Kreed who left bodies in his wake without blinking.
My lungs stalled, breath catching halfway up my throat.God, have I made the biggest mistake of my life? Why does it look like he’ll never forgive me?I had to make him understand.
Before I opened my mouth, my eyes shifted behind him to Mason and Maddox, who stood at Kreed’s back on either side. Their faces were hard, those infamous Corvo masks slammed into place.
And—
My eyes widened a fraction, shock rippling through me. “Jesse?” I gasped, blinking.
He stood off to the side, half hidden in shadow, and gave me a faint, grim nod.
“What are you doing here?” I stepped out of the car and went toe-to-toe with Kreed. “What ishedoing here?”
“You’ve got bigger problems than worrying about Jesse right now,” he replied grimly.
Carson stiffened as he came around the car, his body going rigid. The movement drew Kreed’s gaze. A mistake. I had to stop what would come next. We hadn’t come this far just to fuck it up.
Without a second thought, I put myself directly in front of Kreed’s path, my palms flattening on his chest. He wouldn’t hurt me. But Carson…he’d murder, especially since Kreed believed he betrayed me in the worst way, conspiring with the enemy. Only Carson and I knew the truth.
The tricky part was convincing Kreed that it had been me who told Carson to reach out to Rusty, to make Rusty believe Carson wanted to get Kreed out of the picture for good so my best friend could have me for himself, because Carson was in love with me. It was a believable scheme, which was what we needed Rusty to believe, because what wouldn’t someone do for love?
“Kreed,” I hissed. “I need you to listen to me. This isn’t what it seems. I promise you. I need you to trust me. Not him. Me.” I took his chin, pulling his face down toward mine. He didn’t look at me right away, his eyes not wanting to move away from Carson. When those dark-silver eyes finally met mine, I spoke again. “I will explain everything, but we need to finish this first.” My gaze flashed to the cabin so that he would understand. Rusty was the main focus. Carson could wait.
Kreed’s eyes narrowed, his heart thundering under my palms. “I’m excellent at multitasking, little raven, and when it comes to you, I don’t have the best control over my impulses.”
I didn’t have to ask what those impulses were telling him to do. It was clearly written in the harsh lines of his face. “We’re not here to fighteach other.”
His chest went taut beneath my hand, the muscles flexing instinctively. “If you love me, you’ll get in the car with Raine and let me finish this.”
It was a low request, using my feelings for him against me. I chewed on my lip, contemplating while also knowing I couldn’t leave. I just couldn’t. Luckily, a disruption saved me from having to make a choice. Or maybe it wasn’t luck at all.
The cabin door scraped open, wood grinding against wood as Rusty stepped out onto the porch, every burly inch of him backlit by the flickering lantern light. He moved with the smugness of a man who thought he’d won, chest puffed out, chin tilted up, a slow smile spreading across his face, and a gun fitted into his hand as if itwere an extension. “Well, well,” he drawled, voice dripping with satisfaction. “Quite a reunion. However, I’m disappointed at such a pathetic turnout. Where’s your crew, ravens?”
