Page 20 of Ferocious Nightmare

She took it from me, studying it.

“Keep this on you at all times. Do not hesitate or feel bad to hurt or kill him. Believe me, the asshole deserves it. Just kill him, if you can.”

She flipped out the blade like she was used to handling knives. "Gladly."

I grinned proudly, pressing my lips across her temple. “You will be with either me or Dante at all times, and you will do as I say.” She began to protest, but I interrupted what I assumed would be a rant, “but, I won’t keep you in the dark anymore. We’ll work on the plan together. Okay?”

My words made her lips clamp shut, and she nodded her head. “Okay.”

“Still, you need to swear to me that you won’t act out with my father. And don’t do anything that will put yourself in danger.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“And,” I continued, “anything you find out, anything you think needs to happen, you come to me first. You only tell me, or Dante. Then we will make the decisions about what needs to be done. Is that understood?”

She nodded, pressing her finger even harsher on the knife's edge, cutting herself, then she swiveled in my arms. Staring into my eyes, she fingered her collar, rubbing her blood across it in an ‘x’. “Cross my heart, I swear it, Coulter. Not on my father's life, but on my own. From here on out, I'll trust you. I will tell you everything, do what you want me to do. You have my word, bound by my own blood."

My lips parted in surprise at the intensity of her promise and my heart began to thud in my chest. This woman would never cease to amaze me. “You’ll trust me, then?”

“I swear it.” Narrowing her eyes, she put her bloodied finger to my lips. “Taste me, Coulter, and know that I speak the truth.”

As I sucked on her thumb, the taste of her coppery blood on my tongue, something deep passed between us. A profound sense of honor and loyalty.

It was similar to how the made men were inducted into the outfit, to even how I’d made a promise to my own father. Except this was so much more.

It was more than an oath, but a guarantee binding us together, through her blood and my willingness to let her in.

We were a team, united.

I gripped her wrist, keeping her thumb there, pulling on it and rolling my tongue around it, enjoying the taste of her in my mouth. Then I nipped on it softly, growling out, "Good. Because we're going to kill that son of a bitch father of mine."

Her lips split into a gorgeous smile. “Let’s go.”

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