Page 16 of Crave Me

I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

I heard Dante cursing.

I moved to the other cheek and Ben’s shrieks became pitiful sobs. “God… I’ll tell you. I’ll fucking tell you! Please!”

I pulled the blowtorch back, watching him sweating and panting, his face—what was left of it—twisted in absolute agony.

He struggled to speak through it as he told me, “Don’t know… the name. But… I… I saw him. Once. Seemed military.”

“Military?”

“Yeah. And I heard him… when Elijah asked why he… why he was helping him… the guy said… he… said it was for his girl.”

“Gonna need a name,” Dante called over. “And you better fucking deliver, or he’s gonna melt your eyeballs next.”

I gritted my teeth at the clear disapproval in his tone, the seething sarcasm of his comment.

Ben went on, “Don’t know. But I remember he told Elijah something… something kind of specific. About looking after his girl… then shielding her away… from barbarians. That last part… his exact words.”

I stilled and took a staggering step back.

Jesus fucking Christ.

As I started to rapidly put the pieces together, Ben cut in, “I swear, King. It’s true… everything I know. Does it… does it help?”

“More than you know.”

Relief shone in his eyes.

What a pity.

I jerked his head back and hissed, “You knew all this time. All this time as my brothers were in Elijah’s clutches. You know well what he’s capable of but you remained silent, allowing them to endure that demented monster’s depravities.”

I released him roughly, then stalked to the gas can.

Opening it, I returned to him, ignoring his screams and protests, his pleas for his life, as I splashed it all over him.

“Caspian,” Dante spoke, coming over.

I shoved him back and continued until I’d drenched the bastard, then I drew a trail a few feet away from him.

As Dante came at me again, clearly intent on forcibly stopping me, I tossed the container, then snatched his smoke from between his fingers.

In the next second, I tossed it into the gas trail.

The spark caught right away and I watched with rapt fascination as flames traveled along the floor rapidly toward their target.

Ben bucked and shrieked as they licked up his legs, then consumed him entirely, burning him alive in the hell he’d wrought.

“Jesus,” I heard Dante utter a moment before a shot rang out.

It tore into Ben’s skull, killing him instantly.

I spun toward Dante as he holstered his gun.

He moved to say something, but I cut him off, seething, “They came after my family. No one survives that. No one.”

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