“Shoot.”
Grinning like a kid on Christmas morning, he’s already halfway out the door. “Be right back!”
Sharing a look with my brother, he’s shaking his head in amusement. “Fuck, he needs to knock it off before I actually start liking the guy.”
Huffing in agreement, we spend the next two minutes rousing Carter before he blacks out again. A bullet in the shoulder jerks him awake, though it’s got Cin bitching at me for ruining his art.
“Did not.” Gesturing to the fresh blood, I point out, “I added the moon. You’re welcome.”
He’s stunned silent before falling back on his ass, clutching his ribs as literal tears stream down his face. “You-”
There’s no getting anything intelligible out of him between his wheezing laughter, but Kaige returns shortly after. My brother’s hysteria tapers off with a couple of chuckles as he swipes at his eyes, but as he watches Kaige set down the spare gas can from the truck before rolling over the empty oil barrel that he was sitting on earlier, it morphs into stunned silence.
“You’re going to burn him alive?”
“Better! We’re going to waterboard him with gasoline, but so we don’t waste it, we’ll do it over the barrel. Then we can drown him a couple of times, and once his eyes melt or he passes out, we chuck him in, light it, and see if that wakes him up or if he’s really dead.” The undiluted excitement in his gaze is mirrored by the horror in mine, but not Cinjin’s.
No, my brother finally met the one person he might actually contemplate leaving our mate for, if that look in his eye is anything to go by. Kaige painted the psychopath’s wet dream.
“Am I... gay now? Because everything about that idea arouses me. I’ve changed my mind, you can stay,” Cin decrees, hopping to his feet. Turning to me with a massive smile, he asks, “Haul him up while I find something to support his body?”
Rolling my eyes, I don’t object, even if I don’t get the same sick thrill out of this shit that the two of them do. Chucking the lid off of the barrel first, I crouch down. All of the blood makes it harder to get a grip, but he isn’t struggling anymore, accepting that it’s hopeless. Tears stream down his face as silent sobs shake his body, but by the time Cinjin and Kaige are back with another two barrels, I have Carter’s head resting on the lip above the opening.
I take a step back for the rest, letting the two of them work out their demons. Time ticks by with the occasional scream as Carter’s brought to death’s doorstep and back several times, but eventually, he remains silent. Whether he’s blacked out or dead, we’ll discover soon enough.
Using his belt to hogtie him, Cin eases Carter’s body into the metal barrel knees first. When he’s done, Kaige passes him a lighter, and my brother grins at his new best friend before flicking it open. Waiting until we’re several steps away, he tosses it, making the shot on the first try without issue. A sudden blast of heat threatens to nearly singe off my eyebrows even from here, and I’m forced to take another few paces back.
“Well, that’s a bummer-” Cin’s lament is cut off by a shrill scream, putting the smile back on his face. “Oh, yay, he was just unconscious! You owe me five bucks.”
Kaige withdraws his wallet and passes the money over without looking away from their human bonfire. “I can’t say I’m disappointed to lose this one.”
We stay until Carter’s screams fall silent, making sure the fire is holding steady to ensure there’s no chance of any miracles before we leave it to burn itself out until Brent’s cleanup crew arrives. Grabbing my bag out of the truck, I use a water bottle to hose off as much of the blood as possible before stripping. We use our old clothes as rags, returning inside long enough to chuck them in the fire.
“So, home?” Cin hops in beside me as I claim the driver’s seat, riding shotgun.
“Not yet.” Checking the time, I’m thrilled that it’s not as late as I feared, several hours left before the place closes. “Need to swing by the mall."
Kaige pulls his door shut as he climbs into the back seat. “What for?”
“I need to pick up Sabrina's gift.”
Cinjin eyes me suspiciously. “She doesn’t like gifts.”
Firing up the engine, I put it in gear. “No, she doesn’t likeexpensivegifts.” Kaige mutters something in his confusion, and I cut him some slack for once. “Her mom did a number on her, so the bar is so fucking low, it’ll make you want to help the Slaughters track her down so you can punch her in the face. Sabrina just doesn’t want to have to worry about food or being homeless, and anything beyond that makes her uncomfortable, like she doesn’t deserve it, or should feel guilty for accepting it.”
Strumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I get us back onto the road, thoughts of an even smaller Sabrina enduring all of that bullshit, of stumbling around alone in the woods, hungry and-
Stop. She’s alright, and she’ll never deal with that again. She has us to take care of her now, even if that looks differently than I previously imagined. We’ll tell her she’s amazing and deserves the world until the day she finally starts believing it, then every one after.
“She’s getting more comfortable living in our house instead of her apartment, but I think that’s more of the exhaustion and everything going on that’s helping soften the adjustment. Like the luxury is counteracted by all of the stress and baggage that comes with it, so it averages out as actually being okay to enjoy. She doesn’t want to be pampered, she wants to be respected, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Holding my phone up and wiggling it, I brag, “She gave me a cheat sheet when she came to stay with us, and we’ve been so busy not dying,we’re slipping in treating our mate the way that she deserves. I plan to remedy that before we lose another day, because gods know, that woman could have her pick of the lot.”
“So, what are you getting her?” Kaige asks, leaning closer with rapt interest that should piss me off, yet... doesn’t.
Aw, fuck.
Ignoring that train of thought for now, I meet his eye in the rearview mirror. “You’ll see. But if you want a peek at the list, it’s going to cost you. So tell me, Kaige; if the Slaughters only wanted to mate off their daughter to one of you for an alliance, and they have one now with Damian, why are you all so anxious to get her back home as quickly as possible?”
