Page 55 of Love & Power

“That must be challenging for you,” I said, unsure what the hell else to say.

How had I missed them during the oath ceremony? There was no way I wouldn’t remember this couple with her orange spray tan and duck lips in combination with a man who smelled like a distillery. My gaze dropped to her wrist where I should have found a bandage like everyone else, but there wasn’t any, only a few chunky gaudy bracelets that screamed designer knockoffs. Grabbing the hand she hadn’t offered to Atticus, I pushed back the bracelets just to be sure. There was nothing but blotchy, fake-tanned skin.

“Fiona,” I started, my grasp on her wrist tightening around the joint, pressing on the sensitive nerves there. “I’m going to ask you a question, and the answer that comes out of your mouth better be the fucking truth.”

Her eyes went wide as the color drained out of her face, making the bad tan job look even worse. As if sensing there was something wrong, Simon lurched forward, trying to grab my hand, but in his drunken state, he tripped on his own feet and started to crash into me. Atticus sidestepped, meeting Simon head-on as his hand shot out to catch the drunken idiot by the throat. This caused Simon to gag loudly which echoed around the room. This was quickly followed by a strangled scream as Atticus shoved Simon away from me, crashing into the people seated at the table behind him. Those at the table were equally surprised by a man getting tossed into them and scattered, drawing even more attention to the situation.

I ignored all that, knowing Ralph and Atty would deal with that situation. Right now, I wanted to know who the fuck this woman really was. Fiona’s attention had drifted to what was happening near the table, so I ground my thumb into the bundle of nerves and tendons just above her wristbone, reminding her where to focus. She gasped and tried to curl into the pain, dropping her to her knees before me.

“Tell me why it is, Fiona, that you don’t have a mark on your wrist?” I asked, keeping the question vague to avoid leading her into the answer.

Gaping at me like a fish out of water, she tried to think of an answer. Just when I thought I might have been mistaken about her being an intruder, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as she pulled something free from between her thighs. My body reacted before I could even discern what she planned on doing. With a quick twist, I broke her wrist and slammed my elbow into her face, stunning her long enough for me to get behind her, grab her head, and snap the bitch’s neck.

I watched as the life drained from her eyes, assuring me she was dead before I let her body drop to the floor. Ralph’s arm hooked around my waist as he spun, putting his back to the danger as he stormed out of the dining hall. My brain still hadn’t caught up to what just happened until I was set down in our private sitting room on the third floor. The second everything was back online, I was making a beeline for the stairs. Once more, Ralph caught me and marched over to an armchair that he dropped me into.

“Don’t, Astin,” Ralph warned.

The tone of his voice caught my attention, and I looked up at him. Blood seeped from a cut on his cheek, and the left arm of his suit looked like it had been hit with some kind of acid that was eating away at his clothes.

“Ralph,” I screamed as he dropped to his knees.

Without a second thought, I grabbed his suit jacket and tried to pull it off, but his shoulders were so wide I couldn’t manage it from the front. Grabbing the blade from my heel, I slipped over the chair’s armrest since he was blocking the front so I could get behind him. Tears welled in my eyes as I saw his arm wasn’t the only thing that had been hit with the acid. Half of Ralph’s back had been hit with the stuff, and the fabric of his suit was sticking to his skin. My hands started to shake as I grabbed the jacket’s collar, pulling it away from undamaged skin. The blade made quick work slicing through the fabric of the jacket and shirt, allowing me to pull off the half the acid hadn’t touched. When I tried to get the other half off, it started to take some of his skin with it.

“Ralph,” I choked out as he roared in pain.

It was as if everything I’d learned flew out of my brain, and I was frozen. Darkness joined me, wrapping me up in her arms, giving me the detachment I needed to think clearly.

“Pull your shit together, Astin,” Darkness snapped. “This is a chemical burn. We know how to fix this dammit. Think.”

Memories of my training came flooding back as I was tortured with acid being slowly dripped on the skin of my inner thighs. The pain of my skin burning and the acrid scent of the chemical had me gagging. A man was pressing me to give him information, but I refused. He promised to make the pain stop if I would only tell him what he wanted to know. This carried on until Frediano stepped into the light.

“Enough, she’s held out longer than anyone else, and we can’t risk the acid doing irreparable damage. Get her in the shower and set a timer for twenty minutes, not a minute less,” Frediano ordered. “If she still says it’s burning, keep the water running until it stops.”

With a gasp, I pulled myself free of the memory Darkness helped me to remember. Kicking off my shoes, I pulled Ralph’s arm over my shoulder. “Come on, big guy… we need to get you in the shower so we keep this from getting worse.”

“No, you have to stay here where it’s safe,” he argued.

“We are just going one room over. We’re not leaving this floor, I promise,” I assured him. “If we don’t get the chemical reaction to stop, that shit will keep eating through your skin. Please, Ralph, you need to let me help you.” My voice cracked as I pleaded with the man. “I refuse to lose anyone else I love, so you’re going to stand up and let me save your ass.”

I’m not sure what part hit home for the man, but I didn’t fucking care because it got him to his feet. Struggling under his weight as he leaned heavily on me, we stumbled into the hall. Thank fuck the bathroom was on the other side of the wall, but the downside to this plan was how small the damn room was. Oh, and the fact the shower had a tub paired with it. Switching gears, I stood in front of him and draped both arms over my shoulders as I guided him forward into the tub. He was tall enough to kneel and drape over the side of the tub, getting most of his upper body in.

I quickly turned the water on, climbed into the tub, and pulled the handheld showerhead free. “Okay, Wreck-It Ralph, this is going to be ice-fucking-cold, but it’s going to feel amazing on the burns. Deep breaths and we’ll get through this,” I coached, pulling the toggle to switch from the tub faucet to the shower.

Ralph snarled, clenching his fists as the water hit the burns. Slowly, I worked the fabric free, the water helping it to separate from the skin more easily. My lower legs and feet went numb with how cold the water was, and my hand ached from the cold, but none of that mattered as the rest of Ralph’s destroyed suit fell away.

“Astin!” Hound bellowed, panic and rage clear in his voice.

“In here,” I yelled over the water.

Seconds later, the bathroom was packed with my guys, each with a crazed look that calmed slightly once they saw me. I’m sure I looked just as feral hunched over Ralph, still dressed and soaking wet. Something in my heart eased seeing their faces until I noticed Atty and Ryker weren’t with them.

“Please tell me everyone’s okay,” I begged, tears spilling down my cheeks. When they didn’t answer, I lost it. “I need someone to tell me where Ryker and Atty are right now,” I screamed.

Ralph started to move as if trying to get up, but I draped myself over the undamaged side holding him still. “Don’t you fucking move, Boykov, or I will knock your ass out. Test me… see if I won’t.”

His hand wrapped around my ankle as he slumped forward, giving in but still trying to offer me comfort. Trusting Ralph wasn’t going to try and get up again, I returned my gaze to the men around me. There, front and center, was Atty, his left arm in a sling, a bruise on his cheek, and his glasses cracked, but alive. Ryker was right behind him looking bedraggled but other than that totally fine.

“Oh, thank God you’re all here,” I sobbed, dropping my head to rest on Ralph’s back as I wept.