Page 32 of The Oath

Levi finds a local bar, and we head inside, finding some empty stools. We order drinks, and I take down a few shots. I’m not a huge drinker, as I prefer to be sober, but tonight is different.

So, fuck it, and I knock back a few more shots. The three of us move to a table where we drink and laugh. It’s been a long time since we’ve just sat around and relaxed. We tell stories and talk about how the shooting went down tonight. It was a fucking high like no other. Knowing they were out there just playing a friendly fucking game, and then we came in, taking out every single one of them.

It’s not the first hunt we’ve been on, but it was a damn good one.

We finish drinking, and I know Levi isn’t as drunk as Silas and I are. Thank fuck for that. We don’t need to get pulled over with bulletproof fucking vests in the car and have to explain that shit away. The Gods should be cleaning up the bodies so there isn’t shit for us to do.

We stumble out to the car and climb in. When Levi takes off, my head drops back onto the headrest, and that’s where it stays until we reach the house. Levi gets out, helps me inside, and up to my room, where I surprisingly find Syn. She claimed she wasn’t going to stay here, but there she was, sitting on the edge of the bed with a tiny pair of shorts and a tank top on.

“Fuck, man,” I slur as I stumble across the room toward the bed.

“Is he drunk? Are you drunk?” she asks, looking between the two of us.

“It was a long night,” Levi tells her as I pull my shirt over my head and toss it to the side.

“What the fuck happened to his face?” Syn snaps as I drop onto my side of the bed. I roll my head to look at her, and she instantly jumps to her feet and walks away. Does it look that bad?

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Levi says. I nod, and he turns, leaving the room. Then there’s just silence. A few minutes later, Syn comes back with something in her hand, climbing on and putting the washcloth to my face.

“What the hell is that?” I ask her.

“It’s ice, Rylan. Your whole fucking eye is swollen. What happened?” I grin up at her.

“Taking care of me, Syn?”

“If that’s what you need. You took care of me.”

“I don’t need you to take care of me, Tamsyn.” I swat the ice off my face knowing I’m being a drunken asshole, but I can’t stop myself. Syn sighs and moves to grab the ice off the bed and puts it back in place. I stare at her with my good eye, just taking her in.

Then I watch as Syn lays down on the other side of the bed and turns facing away from me. I growl low in my throat before I snap at her.

“Get the fuck over here!” I roar at her. She looks over her shoulder at me and shakes her head.

“You’re drunk.”

“And you’re mine. Get over here,” I tell her once more. She scoots her body back and presses herself against me, and I throw my arm around her body, keeping her tucked into me. And that’s how I fall asleep.

Chapter 16

Tamsyn

The swelling around his eye isn’t as bad today. Probably because I got up all fucking night and changed out the ice. He does have a black eye and I wonder how he got it. Not that he’ll tell me anything.

I’ve already showered and dressed while he lays there asleep. He must have drunk a lot last night. Now, I sit here in his chair and watch him sleep.

Some days, I wonder what makes Ry tick. What goes on in that head of his. Some days, I’d like to slip inside his head just to see what it would be like to be him. Others, I find I don’t care because I care about him anyway. I know what the Kings do. I know what they’re capable of.

I sigh as I lean back and just keep watching him when the door opens. I look up to see Matt, his dad. He looks at Ry and then back to me, motioning for me to come out of the room. I shove out of the chair and creep across the room and out the door, closing it softly behind me.

“What’s with him?”

“He came back pretty drunk last night.”

“Rylan was drunk?” I nod my head, knowing it’s a surprise to everyone. Rylan drinks but never gets drunk.

“Yeah. Whatever they did last night must have taken a toll on him,” I say, hoping Matt would tell me something, but I know he won’t. He just nods his head.

“I wanted to talk to you first before Rylan.”

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