Page 60 of Fatal Vengeance

I lean my head back on Griffin’s shoulder as I ask, "How, though? Asher, your dad shot you. I saw your body, I thought…" I trail off because finishing that sentence is impossible.

Asher smiles sadly at me while Creed nuzzles into the crook of my neck and Griffin tightens his arms around me. “You got Creed’s ankles untied. I saw it a moment before those fuckers walked in. He just needed to get his wrists himself and then he’d be free. It was only a matter of time. When I told my dad that hurting you would equal his death, I wasn’t talking about myself.” Asher pauses and looks at his cousin, gripping the back of his neck affectionately. “I had no doubt that you would get yourself free and then rain bloody hell down on anyone you could get your hands on,” he tells Creed, who grins savagely. “When that piece of shit shot me and I went down from the force of it, I— Well, I blacked out, the pain was fucking unbearable, but when I came to, Creed was already free of his ropes, my father was dead, and the FBI was shooting the damn place up. But Prudence, you were gone, and I knew I had to fucking move, so I bit back against the pain and rushed to free Griffin, and then we came to find you.”

Griffin growls under his breath, sending vibrations straight from his chest into mine. "I'm sorry, baby. I wish we had been faster, that your father never got his hands on you, I—"

“It’s okay,” I offer, cutting off his apology. I don’t need it. The guys aren’t responsible for my father’s actions, and I think I handled myself well, actually. “It’s alright, we’re all alive, that’s all that matters. Get me out of this disgusting place.”

There’s no argument from any of them, each of us more than eager to escape this underground hell hole for good.

Asher leans into Griffin for support from his injuries as the two lead the way, and Creed carries me right behind them. My knee is absolutely killing me, but I haven’t told him that. Creed is simply holding me because he can. Because he needs me close as much as I need to feel his heartbeat beneath my hand.

When we make it back up to fresh air and tall trees, the endless night sky twinkling down on us, I take a long, deep inhale and then breathe out the last of The Celestials.

It’s over.

We won.

And now we can start the rest of our lives.

On our way out of the forest towards where Asher parked the truck, blue and red flashing lights catch my eye and soon enough, I see just how much damage ensued tonight. There are FBI agents and vehicles everywhere on campus, but that’s not the most shocking. No, that would be the raging fire sweeping through Lunar Hall, tearing apart the building with ease.

Creed stops walking to watch the chaos unfold, Asher and Griffin coming to a halt a moment later, and I grin to myself as I watch a few agents escorting some junior members of The Celestials into their SUVs. Heather is amongst them, cuffed and snarling as she’s shoved into the back of one of the vehicles. Her wild eyes find me in the distance, flaring wide when she sees me alive and well, and I flip her off with a smug grin right before the car door closes her in for good.

“Bye, Heather. Have a nice life in prison. I hope you get shanked,” I mutter cheerfully.

Creed snorts a laugh, looking down at me with a smile that’s carefree and happy, even as he’s covered in blood. “I knew you were the woman for me the very first day I met you, Ember. But that just sealed the deal.”

“Is that right? When’s the wedding?” I tease back, half delirious from everything that’s happened tonight. I need a shower, sleep, and possibly a doctor, but all of that can wait while I just enjoy the knowledge that all three of my guys are right here, alive.

“You’ll see, pet. Soon enough,” Asher answers for his cousin, cutting me a look that says he means it.

I breathe out a laugh while the guys start walking for the truck again, wondering how this is real life? How is it my life?

But then I remember that it all started with a plan for vengeance and the three assholes who got in the way. And look where we are now…

Fucking wild.

A few weeks after that fateful night at Blackwood University, I'm lounging on my sister's couch in her actual home, not the little hide away cabin, and watching the news. Every network under the sun has covered the discovery of The Celestials, and I don't foresee the media madness dying down anytime soon.

"The cult who ran beneath a prestigious college and got away with atrocious acts is now believed to be entirely dissolved. Any members who survived the FBI raid have been captured and brought in, thanks in large part to an anonymous phone call that started it all and lead the FBI to the unimaginable corruption happening right under everyone's nose," the reporter on TV says as she stands before the ruined bones of Blackwood.

The fire spread faster than could be put out, and now the campus is closed indefinitely while the school board scrambles to figure out what to do. Rebuilding might rock the very precarious boat, now that the masses know B.U. was home to such a monstrous and powerful group.

I grin at the screen, pleased to see that damn college destroyed. And happier still to know that anyone who hurt my mom is now gone. I finally got my revenge, and I just hope that wherever she is now, she knows I did all of this for her.

I found the truth and set it free.

Genevieve comes into the room with an apple in her hand, collapsing onto the aged couch beside me. She sighs dramatically. "How many of these news reports are you going to watch before you believe it's really over?"

I roll my eyes playfully, grabbing the remote and changing the channel to some home decorating show. "There, happy?"

She screws her nose up at the screen. "No," she deadpans before tossing the apple into my lap. "The guys are gonna be back any minute, and they will tan your ass when they find out you haven't eaten anything yet."

With a filthy smile, I shrug and say, "That doesn't sound like an awful way to spend the next few hours of my day."

Genevieve pretends to gag, and I smack her arm. "Well, until you four find somewhere more permanent to live, could you at least try to keep the sex sounds to a minimum? Seriously, my fucking ears are going to have lasting damage," she drawls with a wicked smirk, because of course she can't even help herself, she just has to rib me.

I scoff because it's all lies. None of us have had sex in weeks, since before the showdown on campus. Well… okay, Griffin may have woken me up in the dead of night a few nights ago and fucked me nice and slow while Asher and Creed slept, but that doesn't count since there's no way Genevieve would have heard it.

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