Page 76 of Shattered Souls

His eyes refuse to meet mine as he walks Beth into the room I watched them carve that clown up in. I swallow the lump in my throat and turn to Hayze, but his eyes are trained on his brother as they disappear from sight.

“Go to my room, let me deal with this.” He signs to me, and the words blur in my vision. I shake my head, nose burning with the oncoming tears.

“I just told him I love him, Hayze.” I suck back the wobble in my voice. He grimaces, completely at a loss for words.

I push up from my seat and walk over to the mouth of the room. Bethany is in the middle of sinking to her knees in front of the man I just opened myself for. He looks at me from the corner of his eye, but quickly averts his gaze.

“Synn,” Hayze signs to his brother. Synn doesn’t look at us, instead he closes his eyes and pulls his lips into a hard line as Bethany slowly slips the thick sweatpants from his hips.

The bag that contains my sweats is still clutched in his hand, his knuckles white against the small handles of the bag.

“Synn.” I find my voice, though it wobbles against my wishes. Bethany looks over to me, hand roaming the hair and ink covered thigh in front of her. I don’t miss the lack of a hard on from Synn.

“What?” She smiles a toothy smile my way. “I can’t repay the favor? I mean, you did interrupt us the other night.”

I stare, slack jawed, at the pair.

“Bethany,” Synn talks to her with his eyes trained on me. “Stand up.” She looks up at him, confusion replacing that smug smile momentarily. But still, she raises, leaving Synn with his pants half pushed down.

“Tell her, Synn,” She purrs his name like she owns the rights to it. “That I’m yours now.” Synn looks in my eyes once more, the sight sending pain deep into my chest.

“Kiss me, Bethany.” I suck in a gasp as Bethany sears her lips to Synn’s mouth. He takes her mouth like a lost lover, devouring her with an angst that makes me sick.

One of his hands tucks into the base of her ponytail. He pulls her head back tightly, and away from his mouth. She groans, thrusting her hips into his touch. His mouth grazes her throat, eyes on me once more.

With speed I have a hard time processing, he brings a blade up and strikes it across her exposed neck. I shriek, covering my mouth with my hand, as Bethany staggers back. She’s clutching her gushing wound, eyes wide with fear.

“Wha—what did you do?” Her voice is a gurgled version of the usually soft and sweet voice.

Synn, covered in the woman’s blood, closes the distance to me and sinks to his knees. They hit the floor so hard I’m sure they crack.

“Rayvn,” He grabs my waist.

“Don’t.” I don’t push away from him, but I don’t embrace him.

“Fuck, Rayvn. We need to leave.” Hayze signs to me. He keeps looking at Bethany as she pushes her way to the wall.

“Idiots.” She coughs, the blood now spilling past her lips as well. “I knew you’d choose her.” Another cough wracks her weakening body. “I sent a text to Maverick. Not telling him the secret, per se. Just three words, and he can figure out the rest on his own.”

Synn stands to his full height and Hayze swallows thickly beside me.

“What the fuck did you text him?” Synn advances, not quickly. No, each step echoes through the room, a dull and angry sound, like the scraping of the reaper’s scythe on the ground as he comes for you.

“Check,” a cough. “The,” blood gushes from the wound as she presses the last word out. “News.”

Synn lunges, blade in his fist once more, and sinks the knife deep into her chest. Her eyes bulge impossibly as she desperately tries to gulp down her last breaths.

“Maverick’s coming—if not him, then the men he owes.” Hayze signs, his eyes glued to the ground.

“Why Maverick?” I ask, eyes jumping between the brothers.

“He needs money—bad.” Synn scrubs his bloody hand down his face, staring down at Bethany’s body. “And you’re now his ticket to freedom.” Our plane isn’t ready for three more days. Surely we can last three days. Right?

“Hayze,” Synn says to his brother, but his eyes are trained on me. “Get the bags in the car and find a way to get ahold of our pilot, we need to be gone in an hour.”

“An hour?” My eyes bulge. “What about her?” I gesture to Beth’s still warm body.

“Make it two, Hayze.” Hayze nods and disappears into the living room. Synn walks up to me again, sinking down to his knees once more.