Page 41 of Fatal Vengeance

“Prudence,” Asher murmurs, softly grabbing my chin and turning my face back toward him. "I may not be as eloquent as my cousin," he teases, his green eyes bright with something that has my stomach swooping. "But I'm going to do right by you. I promise. I have a question, though."

I nod mutely, my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth from the intense possession rolling from Asher.

He licks his lips and cocks a smile at me, asking in a deep, lethal voice, "Do you want the honor of ending your father, or should I take care of it? Because once we arrive, I won't leave that campus until his blood's been spilled right along with my dad's and Griffin's parents… The people who brought us into this fucked up world, who failed us at every fucking turn, will be taken down to their knees by the kids they considered failures. It's kind of poetic, don't you think?"

"I do," I agree softly, a shiver racing through me, and this time it's full of heat. I knew I was twisted, but goddamn, hearing Asher speak like that has my pussy fluttering and begging for his attention. Get a damn grip, girl. Clearing my throat, I murmur, "I don't think I mind who, um, finishes him. If I have the opportunity, I want to do it, but if not and one of you gets to him first, then by all means, Asher… kill him."

Asher's eyes flare with a potent mix of heat and danger, and fuck me, it's an intoxicating look. He moves his hand to the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair as he growls, "It'd be my pleasure, pet. But I'll try to save him for you if I can."

Before I can say anything, he tips my head back and slams his lips to mine. I gasp and moan while he coaxes my soul out with his tongue, unable to think clearly while Asher dominates me this way.

We break apart a few moments later when Creed crashes back into the room, carrying a plate piled high with leftover pizza from the other night. Griffin strolls in behind him with a bottle of wine, his arctic gaze catching mine with a promise of wicked things and a filthy smile pulling his plump lips up.

I think a round two is in my future. Might as well get it now before we all end up in prison for murder.

27

Prudence

After eating and eventually falling asleep between Creed and Griffin, a crash wakes me hours later, jarring me out of sleep so violently that I’m shaking and gasping for breath. I blink furiously through the dark room, trying to see what’s going on. Ever since the head showed up at the door, I’ve been on high alert, waiting for The Celestials to somehow get past Asher’s security and strike again. Is that what’s happening now? Have they come for us? My heart is pounding painfully, my palms clammy, and my brain desperately just trying to catch up after being yanked from a deep slumber so violently.

Griffin is in bed beside me, wide awake already and angling his body in front of mine in case someone bursts through the door. I hate it as much as I love it. That protective instinct in him warms me through to my soul, but also the thought of him stepping between me and danger and ending up hurt because of it? That makes me feel sick to my stomach. I’d never be able to live with myself if he, or any of these guys, got hurt because of me.

Another crash echoes through the room, coming from somewhere down the hall, and before I can react or ask what the hell is going on, Griffin tosses the covers off of himself and heads for the door. He pushes his curly hair out of his face, stumbling through the dark room in only a pair of black boxers, and grunts, “Stay here.” Then he’s gone, the door swinging shut behind him as he goes to fend off whoever it is making all that noise.

I stare hard at the closed door, clutching the sheets in my hands as I listen. There’s faint shouting from somewhere in the cabin, glass shattering, and a loud thud. I only last maybe two minutes after Griffin leaves me, and then I can’t take it anymore. I’m up and out of the room, worried about all three of those guys and my sister being out there while I hide away. Absolutely not. If I have to stand up to The Celestials in one of Griffin’s oversized shirts and sleep rumpled hair, then so fucking be it, but I refuse to stay back in my room while there’s danger.

I dart out of the room and down the hallway, prepared to see just about anything… except for what’s actually going on. Jerking to a stop, my mouth pops open to comment on what I’m seeing, but no words come to mind. Just heartbreak. It’s spearing through me, cutting my chest open with its jagged claws while I watch one of my loves fall apart before me.

“Creed! Drop it! It’s me, okay? You know me, man,” Asher urges, standing the closest to Creed as anyone else, but still with a safe distance between the cousins while Creed swings a kitchen knife through the air. Asher’s shirtless, standing wide with his hands out placatingly, like he’s trying to prove that he’s not a threat, but the message just isn’t getting through to his cousin.

Griffin and Genevieve are standing a few feet behind Asher, though Griffin has positioned himself in front of my sister in case things go south. Always the protector. It would make me smile like a damn fool if this situation wasn’t so nightmarish. My stomach twists, but I force my nerves down. Nothing is going to happen to anyone in this room.

I’ll make sure of it.

Creed sweeps his wild, unfocused eyes around the room, pinning Asher and then Griffin with his gaze almost like he’s trying to place them, but can’t quite figure out how he knows them. He slams his eyes closed, shaking his head violently and knocking his fist — the one holding the knife — against his skull like he’s trying to loosen something in there. “I-I’m not— We’re not safe. Not safe here, we’re not safe! I have to go— No! Get back!”

Asher jerks backward a step just as Creed slashes his knife through the air, a snarl on his lips that really should terrify me, but all I feel is the urgent need to rush to him and settle his broken mind.

Nobody has realized I’m in the room yet, so with a shaky breath and a silent pep talk to myself, I move forward. My legs tremble with every step, my lungs tight and suffocating me as I watch Creed. His chest is heaving, his skin deathly pale and sweaty, and his eyes — those beautiful, warm whiskey eyes that have captivated me from the first moment — they’re haunted. It’s as if every bad thing that’s ever happened in his life has come back full force and slammed into him all at once, tearing him from reality and dropping him into an endless pool of his own misery.

My eyes water, and right as I pass Griffin and Genevieve, I choke out a broken, “Creed?”

His gaze darts to me, his eyes widening slightly before his entire body seems to visibly relax. “P-Prudence?” he croaks weakly, reaching for me with his free hand, still angling the knife toward Asher to keep him back. Creed stumbles a bit, as if his muscles are giving out on him, but he rights himself quickly, pleading with his eyes for me to go to him.

And I do.

I’d do anything for him.

Griffin grunts something nervously, but I’m too focused on my storm of a man to hear him right. And from the whimper and snapped curse my sister lets loose, Griffin is too busy keeping her back to try and stop me. Suits me just fine.

"Prudence, wait—" Genevieve starts, but is promptly cut off by Asher.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Asher barks as I get level with him, closer and closer to Creed’s blade. He blocks my path, bravely putting his back to Creed and giving me his signature dick scowl. I try to sidestep him, but it’s no use, so I stop walking, arching a brow at the bossy asshole. A muscle in his jaw tics. “Creed is… He isn’t Creed right now. He had a nightmare, he was thrashing in the bed, and then he just… just fucking snapped and rushed to grab that knife. I can't get through to him right now, and that makes him dangerous, okay? Just stay behind me, let me try to talk him down.”

The look I give Asher could melt skin off bone. He even swallows roughly, like he’s regretting his life choices under my glare. I poke my finger into his chest, speaking in a deathly low voice as I say, "He’s never a danger to me. Don’t you ever insinuate otherwise. And the very fact that you’re saying he’s not in there? That my Creed is gone? Clearly you aren’t equipped to handle him, so let me by, so I can help Creed, because I’ll be damned if you misstep and confuse him any more than he already is.”

Asher’s nostrils flare as he glares down at me, but there’s a war in his eyes. He’s worried, yes. Scared for all of us. But he also cares about his cousin, and it’s obvious that seeing Creed like this has pushed Asher past his limits. There’s a small part of him, some desperation in his green eyes, that tells me he needs help here, even if he isn’t a fan of me being the one stepping in right now.

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