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“Hey, man.”
I turn to see Kashton walking toward me with an ice pack in his hand. “What the hell happened to you?” I ask, seeing the blood dripping from his busted nose.
“Trying to help Devin earlier with a patient. The bastard knocked the shit out of me.”
I laugh. “It happens.”
We both turn and exit the hospital to head back to the basement, and he looks around and sees we’re alone before he speaks. “Has anyone said anything about Ashtyn?”
“Nope.” Haidyn and I filled him in on what happened, but none of our dads have said anything to me. And as far as I know, Altus has been staying here at Carnage.
I haven’t told my brothers what Altus showed me, but I know that he’s on Ashtyn’s side. If the other dads found out, they would probably force his hand, but for right now, she’s safe. And I intend to keep it that way.
TWENTY-TWO
ASHTYN
I’ve been staying at my parents' house for five days, so my mother knows something is up. I never choose to stay here. She hasn’t mentioned anything about the stranger being here the other night and spotting my car.
I’ve also noticed that my father hasn’t been home since I’ve been here either, which makes me think he’s been at Carnage. I haven’t had any contact with Saint either, and I’m not sure how I feel about that just yet. He’s tried, but I’ve ignored him. I’m not sure what to do or how to proceed at this point. Too many moving parts that I just can’t trust.
One minute, I worry if he’s okay. Then the next, I remember him branding a woman tied to a chair in a straitjacket.
“Honey, I made us an appointment tomorrow,” my mother says, entering my room.
I’m on my third pint of Ben & Jerry’s mint chocolate cookie and my second bottle of wine. I close my eyes, and I see the woman begging them not to kill her. I see Saint just watching, not an ounce of emotion in his cold eyes. And I hear Haidyn telling me to stay quiet or they’ll replace the woman with me. “I’m not going,” I tell her. The last thing I’m going to do is tell her fucking therapist what I saw. One, they won’t believe me, and two, they won’t fucking care.
She huffs, her hands on her narrow hips. “You’re going, and that’s final.” She turns and exits my room, slamming my door shut.
I look at my cell and see that it’s almost dead. I haven’t charged it the last couple of days.
Rolling out of bed, I decide I need a shower to try to get out of this funk that I’ve fallen into. Maybe I’ll feel better if I clean myself up.
An hour later, I stand in my bathroom, drying my hair, when I hear a sound. I shut the blow dryer off and lay it on my counter. “Mom?” I call out. After a few seconds of silence, I exit my bathroom and enter my adjoining bedroom. Walking over to my closed door, I twist the knob. “Mom—?”
It’s shoved open, hitting me so hard that it knocks me on my ass. “What the…?”
“Hi, sweetheart,” a man says, entering my room.
I know him. Miles Hopper. He’s a sophomore this year at Barrington University. I’ve seen him at the house of Lords. He’s a couple of years younger than Saint. “Get the fuck out of my room.” They’re not friends, so I’m not sure why the hell he’d be here. Unless my brother sent him. But I don’t remember Adam being close with him.
He reaches around into his back pocket and removes a zip tie. The smile he gives me makes my stomach sink. “Come on, baby. You love it when Saint ties you up and plays with you.”
I scream, trying to get to my feet, but he’s faster. Grabbing my hair, he yanks me over to the side of my bed and pins me to it. I try to push myself up, but it’s useless. He grabs both of my arms, his fingers digging into my skin as he yanks them behind my back and secures my wrists together tightly with the zip tie. Then he wraps his arm around my upper arms and drags me out of my room, down the stairs and to the living room. Letting me go, he shoves me forward. I trip, falling to my knees.
A set of black boots steps in front of me, and the tip of a knife on my chin forces me to look up at him. “Where is your brother?” Tyson Crawford demands.
I knew this would happen.It’s better that you don’t know. Adam said that to me when he told me he was leaving. “I’ll never tell you,” I say through gritted teeth.
He sighs, crouching down in front of me. His elbows rest on his thighs. “You understand I have to hurt you if you choose to protect him, right?” He runs the blade over my heaving chest.
“Do what you have to do,” I spit out, refusing to give in. I won’t die for a Lord, but my brother? I have to give him time to find answers. I don’t know what’s going on, but he was physically shaken up. I’d never seen my brother like that before.
Standing, he shakes his head. “What a waste.”
“You’re the waste.” I pull my lips back with a growl. “Doing whatever the Lords tell you to do. You’re nothing but a fucking puppet.” The Lords think they have power, but they don’t. It’s a joke. They do as they’re told when they are told to do it. I never understood how much they control them until I became Saint’s chosen. He’s always being called to Carnage. Or ordered to do something that he can’t tell me. And what he did to that woman…
Tyson throws his head back, laughing. “What’s that make your brother?”
