Page 15 of The Aftermath

“She’ll be fine,” Rylan leans in and assures me. I nod my head. I know she will be.

“I know. I’ll make sure of it,” I tell him, causing him to laugh. The leaders excuse us and tell us to mingle in the main room and that’s just what I do. We stand and head out there, but before Angel can get too far away from me, I grab her wrist and pull her against me. Her body slams into mine, and she huffs out a breath of air before looking up at me. She doesn’t know what to say, so we say nothing. Instead, I start to dance with her.

And we dance in silence as she holds on tightly to me.

“You’re scared of me now,” I say, noting the way she’s holding on. Like she doesn’t know if she should let go for fear of me hurting her.

“You made someone kill themselves, Silas.”

“He was going to hurt you,” I tell her.

“How do you know that?”

“I know Simon. He’s a lot like his dad once was. His form of keeping a woman in line is abuse and rape.” A chill runs through her as I smirk. She didn’t know that little fact, and I didn’t either until Rylan informed me when I saw her get up and leave the table with him.

“So, I should thank you?” she asks, her tone a little pissed off.

“With my cock in your mouth. That’s how you can thank me,” I tell her. She looks up at me and bites her bottom lip.

“Do you really think he would have hurt me?” I nod my head.

“I have little doubt about that, Angel. I would have killed him regardless if that’s what you’re getting at,” I admit.

“Why?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

“He touched you. You’re not his to touch.”

“Don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with this whole touch her and die vibe you have going on?” she snaps at me. Now, I chuckle and shake my head.

“You want me to back off? Is that what you’re getting at?”

“Back off?” she asks, confused.

“Back off you, Angel. You want me to back off?” She doesn’t know how to answer that. She chews on her bottom lip as if she doesn’t know what to say now. She can’t actually think I’m going to walk away from her that easily, can she? Or maybe she does. Hell, even if she says she wants me to stay away from her, I’m not going to.

Instead of answering me, she rests her head on my chest. I keep her pressed against me because she knows that whatever this is between us is something neither of us can get away from, which brings me to my next issue. How am I going to get the leaders to let me have her? That scenario has played out in my mind in many different ways, from bribing them to killing them all, which wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. But for now, I keep Angel pressed tightly against me, holding her while she’ll allow me to.

The leaders announce it’s time to switch partners, but there’s no way I’m letting go of her after what she saw me do. She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her. I keep her tucked close until Ry comes and nods at her. I let him take her as he gives me Tamsyn. He knows I wouldn’t touch her, and I know he won’t touch Angel.

“You scared the shit out of my best friend,” Tamsyn says as we move around the floor.

“How do you know it was me?”

“Because you’re a lot like Ry, Silas. I don’t know if you two realize just how alike you are,” she answers softly.

“Is that a bad thing?” She pulls back to look up at me and shakes her head.

“Not for me, it isn’t, but she isn’t like me.”

“And how are you, Tamsyn?” I smile down at her.

“You know all about me and Ry. Don’t act like you don’t.”

“And you think Angel can’t handle it? She handles me just fine,” I tell her. Her mouth falls open, but she quickly snaps it shut. Maybe she doesn’t know just how much Angel likes what I do to her. Maybe Angel hasn’t told her that much.

“Just be careful with her. She’s my only friend,” she says.

“I’m your friend too, Tamsyn.”

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