Page 9 of Lethal

After reading the message several times, I slowly peek over at Jasper. Cole has the piercings, but Jasper just sent me a new Ravenmaster rule. From the corner of my eye, I find him watching me. Waiting.

With measured movements, I click the button to lock the screen and lower it to my lap, folding my hands on top of it. Taking a deep breath in, and releasing it, I finally turn my head to look at Jasper. He’s always promised to tell me the truth. Now’s my chance to ask anything I want. To get the answers I’ve been waiting for.

“Did you send me the new rule?” Seems like an obvious question, but I’ve learned to take nothing at face value when it comes to Ravenmaster.

His dimple pops into view. Those true smiles from him coming more and more often. Maybe I’m not the only one who’s been changing in this relationship. “I did,” he says softly. Something in his tone is clear that he’s waiting for my next question.

“Did you send me all the rules?“ As I wait for his answer, I force the chaotic mess of emotions swirling in my head into a box, then reach into my darkness, withdrawing my tried and true mask. With it, I find the cold detachment I’ve been missing. Calmness takes over, clearing my mind. For a second, I wonder if he’s done this on purpose.

“I did not.” He shifts slightly to press his back to the door so he can face me head on. Settling in for the long haul.

I clear my throat while deciding what to ask next. “Who else gave me the rules?”

He leans forward as if to grab my hand but quickly changes his mind. “A few were from me, some were from Vander, but most of them were from Cole.” I momentarily question his willingness to answer so freely, but then I remember he’d know that Cole gave himself away since he has access to the text thread. However, I didn’t realize how much of a role Vander played in the Ravenmaster persona.

“How long have the three of you been working together to fool me?” I ball my hand into a fist before quickly releasing it. I can’t decide if I’m mad or happy that they worked together on this. If I wanted it to be one of them or all of them. If perhaps I wanted the challenge of discovering it was none of them. Some stranger I didn’t know this whole time. No. Not that one. Somehow, it makes everything between us seem so much more real. Especially with the way Jasper put such a claim on me from the very start.

“Since we came into your life,” he answers right away, leaving no time for me to jump to conclusions about whether he’s trying to decide to tell me the truth or not. Although, with Jasper, I never have to question such a thing. He values honesty too much.

Shit. This is a lot to unpack. Vander, Jasper, and Cole are all Ravenmaster. Working together as one to pull it off. No wonder I couldn’t pin a single one of them down as the mastermind behind my stalker. It was all of them.

“About time,” Grayson murmurs from the backseat. I’ve been so immersed in Jasper answering my questions, I forgot he was here, but I’m glad I won’t have to repeat any of this later.

I take a deep breath, clearing out the scattered thoughts threatening to overwhelm me. I needed a distraction from Cole, but this certainly isn’t how I wanted to go about it. Who gave me which rules?

Safe to assume they all texted me, too. So who said what? Who gave me the gifts? I’m fairly certain it was Cole who tattooed me, but can I really assume that? So many more questions flood in. “I need time to sort my thoughts.”

Jasper nods his head, almost as if he expected me to say that. “Would you like silence now or a completely different distraction?”

As I consider the two options, I seem to soften. I hadn’t even realized how tense I’d gotten. My shoulders drop slightly from where they were climbing toward my ears, and I’m able to take a deeper breath. “Distraction.”

This time when he moves toward me, he doesn’t back off at the last second. His hand cups the side of my head. “We good?”

I’m shocked he even has to ask. If we weren’t good, there’d be a knife sticking out of him, and he wouldn’t be breathing. I’d have to call Vander to help me clean up the body, but then again, he might be next if I was mad…

“Stupid question. Of course we are. Sure, I didn’t realize how much you were all involved, but I can’t be that surprised when the signs were there.” He barely waits for me to finish talking before he guides my face to his, kissing me softly. I swear this man is trying to consume my soul one sliver at a time.

He pulls away, a slight grin tugging at his lips. “Remember when we told you about The Guild?” Jasper pauses long enough to catch my raised brow and slight nod in answer before he continues. “Well, there’s an active hit available in the area. It doesn’t pay much, but it’s been open long enough that the dossier is pretty thorough. I thought you might like to have some fun, and then we can use his place to relax while waiting for the dickhead to come back to reality.”

A smile grows on my face, quickly becoming much wider than his. “Are you asking me on a date?” I question, fluttering my lashes.

Both my men laugh, but Jasper grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back. “A couple that kills together stays together,” he coos.

“Throuple,” Grayson grumbles, not wanting to be left out.

“Yeah, yeah. Semantics,” Jasper replies, glancing at him. “You sure you’re up for getting your hands dirty? Our girl might like you better as the innocent one.”

Grayson leans forward, moving between the front seats so he can reach me. His hand cups my cheek and his lips run over mine in a teasing touch. “Do you like me innocent, angel?” Each word teases my lips more, the fuckers are working together to slowly drive me mad with small touches and soft kisses, not giving in to satiate my desires they keep sparking to life. If they don’t watch out, I’ll jump them and have my way with them. All throughout our meal, they grazed my skin with subtle touches, lighting my body on fire.

When Grayson trails his fingers to my nipple, where he tweaks the pebbled bud, I can’t hold back the moan. “I kinda do,” I finally admit. Grayson is my humanity. I love corrupting him. But I don’t want to push him to the point of losing the brightness inside him that counteracts my darkness.

“Then I guess I’ll watch and take part in something more fun afterwards.” He winks at me, leaving no question as to what he’s referring to.

“Here you go, Little Bird,” Jasper says, gaining my attention once more, with his phone held out for me to take. “Go through this file. Study it front to back while I drive to his house.”

I do what he says, taking the device from him and diving into the information the file offers. It’s similar to the one Ravenmaster left me. The other one was printed out, though, tied up all pretty with a gun to use as the weapon. It had everything I needed to know about the man I killed in the warehouse before Vander got shot. It’s been a while since I got a present from him.

“Were you the one who left the gifts for me?” I ask Jasper, glancing away from the phone to see his reaction.

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