“You didn’t seem to be complaining at the time,” the man with the model face said, taking his place next to Titus. “In fact, I remember you being relieved, weeping like a child.”
“Fuck you,” Miles growled, pointing his finger and moving until he’d placed her between the two men. “Rae, what have you done?”
“Me? I’m just trying to keep you safe!” she said, taken back by his hostility. “What else was I supposed to do? You keep messing with the wrong people.”
Miles bared his teeth. “Don’t treat me like a child!”
“Then stop acting like one!”
His face twisted, bloodshot eyes flickering between Titus, the other man, and then Rae. Licking along the bottom lip his attention dropped to the bag. “That my money?” He reached for it, but Rae stepped back, just out of reach.
“This is everything I have.”
His expression hardened. “Give it to me, I have to pay Angel.”
“I know.” A weight settled on her shoulders, so heavy she was almost crushed beneath it. “There’s thirty-five thousand, take it all and use the extra to help yourself.” She held out the bag, and he snatched it out of her hand. “Please, just stop making stupid decisions.”
He shoved the bag into his coat pocket, folding his arms over his chest. “You’re not better than me, so stop acting like you’re on some pedestal. Do you know how many people I’ve had to pay off who wanted to use you like a common whore?” His eyes dipped to her bare legs, and then towards Titus. “Although, looks like you’re doing it fine by yourself.”
“Careful,” Titus warned, but remained where he was.
Miles’s gaze could cut glass. “Do you even know who they are, Rae? What they’re capable of?”
“Miles –”
Forced laughter interrupted her. “You’re fucking everything up, but I don’t think I give a shit anymore.” He rocked back on his heels. “You say it’s me who makes stupid decisions, but I’m not the one who so easily agreed to kill people.”
“That was for you, I didn’t have a –”
“Choice? You left me, Rae. You have no idea what I’ve done to protect us over the years. The shit I’ve had to do, the sacrifices I’ve made. And yet as soon as you were offered a way out, you took it without hesitation.”
“They were going to kill you!” she screamed, no longer caring who overheard. “What did you want me to do? Sit back and watch them murder you? You’re all I have!”
Miles shook his head, taking a step back. “It should have been me who joined the guild, not you. You took that from me, because you’re a selfish bitch who doesn’t think about anyone else but herself. That was my way out, a way for me to take back my life, and instead the golden child stole it from me.”
Rae had never felt so numb. She could no longer feel the wind, or Titus pressing a reassuring palm to the small of her back.
“That’s enough,” she said, her tone obstinate. “I love you, but I’m not your punching bag. Go give Angel his money, and then I’m done.”
Miles’s shoulders tightened, jaw set. “What do you mean you’re done? I’m your brother, you can’t just be done!”
“I can’t do this anymore.” Her voice was soft, gentle compared to the fury simmering inside. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do to convince you that I’m anything but evil, and do you know what? That’s on you, not me.”
Miles looked younger, weak when his green eyes met hers. “You’ll regret this.” There was no threat in his words, just arrogance. “Mum would be disappointed.”
“Maybe.” Rae clenched the pendant, her arm trembling. “But she’s not here to ask, is she?”
His eyes glistened, wet, only to harden when they looked over her shoulder. Without a word he turned on his heel, and Rae watched as her brother left.
* * *
TITUS
His mate was in pain, and there wasn’t anything he could do.
‘Her brother’s a real pain in the arse,’Axel said inside his mind.‘I swear I’m never doing babysitting duty again, not even if its family.’
Titus allowed Rae a minute to recover her emotions, her body trembling slightly as she watched her prick of a brother walk away. She’d held herself with such strength, his beast beaming with pride.
