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She realized she was breathless. Heat shimmered like a mirage between them. His words stamped his claim onto her skin and seared it. She let it sizzle, she smelled herself burning and rejoiced in it.
She let out a little strangled noise in her throat.
He was slamming into her so hard the bed frame banged against the wall with each thrust.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she could only whisper back, her lips moving, mouthing the words, but no sound coming out.
It didn’t matter, he heard her, and smashed her through this realm of reality into the next.
“What the fuck happened last night?” Ash’s fingers suddenly clasped around her arms.
She jumped.
She emerged from Phantom’s bedroom the next morning, stiff and sore and thoroughly satiated. He wasn’t in the bedroom when she’d awoken, but it was late in the morning, she assumed he’d gotten up and was in the clubhouse somewhere. She’d showered, packed her overnight bag up, and had expected to bump into Phantom in the bar having breakfast, a normal day ahead of her.
But she was realizing this was not going to be a normal day after all.
Ash shook her a little, his face a shade paler than normal, his hair even messier than normal.
“Wh… what do you mean?” she stammered, as he steered her down the corridor.
“Phantom’s not in there, is he?” Ash barked sharply.
She frowned. “No, he already got up-”
Jared was hovering halfway up the stairs. He turned when he caught sight of her and Ash.
“You okay, Sugar? He didn’t hurt you or anything?” Jared asked urgently, eyes skimming over her, checking for what, she didn’t know.
“I’m completely fine, of course he didn’t hurt me, what’s going on?”
“It’s Johnny…” Ash swallowed, still with his hands on her shoulders, steering her down into the bar, Jared striding alongside purposefully.
Rita was at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes flashed to Sophie’s. She didn’t see the same warmth as last night. She couldn’t decipher it. Was it fear, mistrust, guilt? Something had rattled them all. Something had shocked them.
Rita held the door open and they all bundled into the bar area.
“He was found… about a block from here. This morning, early hours…”
“Okay…?” Sophie said, her overnight back thumping her hip awkwardly as she was frog marched forward by Ash.
“Dead, Sophie. Fucking throat slit open, chest slit open, a fucking mess, Sophie... hardly identifiable…”
She felt sick.
“I don’t think he did it…” Rita said hastily, “We… we are pretty sure it couldn’t have been him, could it?” she asked the last bit, her inflection going up at the end, betraying her confident front.
“What? Who, sorry?” Sophie’s head was trying to grasp at straws, trying to figure it all out, and failing.
“Phantom,” Ash said, his eyes boring into her.
“What?” Sophie squeaked. Her voice a whole octave higher than usual.
Jared ran a hand over his beard. “I mean, he’s our brother and we sure as hell trust him with our lives but he was so pissed at Johnny, we thought he might have crept out after you…”
“...Fucked,” Ash picked back up. “After you two boned each other’s brains out, we thought Phantom might have sought revenge and got up to find Johnny-”
“-And kill him?” Sophie finished. She tipped back her head and laughed. The idea was beyond ludicrous. It was a joke, right?
