Page 16 of Dirty Little Saint

He leans in and lays a soft peck on her cheek right before he snarls in her ear, “Plan for sooner.”

Atlas

“She has a fever.” I cradle her head in my lap in the backseat of Val’s car.

Riot grunts as he pounds his fist down on the dashboard. “I swear to the fucking raven I will kill him for this.”

“She did this for us,” I murmur as I stroke her cheek.

Valentin grips the wheel, taking the turns through the back roads of Raven’s Gate like a race car driver. “And we fucking let her. After everything she’s already sacrificed for us. Now this? It’s unforgivable.”

He’s partly right, but this is the world we live in. This is what it means to be Nocturnus. “Maureen knew what she was getting into with us.”

“Did she though?” Riot roars. “Did she even have a choice?”

She’s always been meant for us. There’s no escaping that fate. Maureen knew it the second she saw us. We knew it. Even as much as we all tried to fight it. “No. None of us had a choice. The ravens set this path in motion a long time ago.”

“Fuck the ravens,” Valentin grumbles.

“I wish I never went to Wickford Hollow that night.” Riot glances back. The pain in his eyes is palpable.

“You killed for her that night,” I remind him.

He reaches out to touch her, then shrinks back. “And I will again.”

We all will.

I didn’t grow up with the same violence that Val and Riot did. Their fathers are monsters. Mine was just never around. Even now, I barely speak to him. But you know what they say about idle hands. I got really fucking good at hiding my true nature.

While my father, Pisces Thorn, is a part of Nocturnus, he’s always been way too narcissistic to take any of it seriously. He’ll show up if Holden demands it, but he’s always got one foot out the door. Holden doesn’t give a fuck as long as my family keeps supplying him with poison.

The farther away we get from the Graves Estate, the lighter my chest feels. Or maybe it’s the copious amounts of nightshade I’ve been downing. I watch her take shallow breaths while she sleeps, her shoulders twitching under Riot’s leather jacket. But she is breathing, and that’s all that fucking matters. Although, knowing Maureen… she’s going to be feral as fuck when she wakes up.

Riot shakes his head. “What the fuck have we done?”

“Nothing,” I bark. “She paid a price just like we all have. And now it’s done. Get a fucking grip, Riot.” The poison is almost out of my system, and my patience is wearing thin. This is who we fucking are. Devils. But these two suddenly fucking think they’re saints.

Val glares at me in the rearview. “Forgive me for forgetting how unstable you are, Atlas. Thanks for the reminder.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “You love my chaos. And so does she. What you two don’t seem to get is the fact that Holden Graves may have just created the monster we need to defeat him and the Blackwells.”

Riot’s head jerks back, his eyes glowing bright blue. “So, she’s just a pawn to you?”

A wave of giddiness rolls through me. My cock instantly hardens at the idea of what dark and depraved things will come from our little firecracker in the nights to come.

I stroke her cheek, relishing the warmth it brings to my icy fingertips. “She’s whatever we want her to be. Don’t you see? Everything she does is for us. Every limb in her body aches to please us.”

Valentin sighs. “You’re an asshole.”

“I’m a fucking god. All three of us are. And she’s our dirty little saint. How quickly you forget that it was only a few weeks ago when you forced your cock into her mouth. And you,” I smirk at Riot, “shoved your fingers inside her bloody cunt. You might no longer hate her for being a Blackwell, but she’s still our doll to play with.”

For fuck’s sake, do they think we were going to hold hands and dance around a campfire together? These fucks need to be reminded of who they fucking are.

“I don’t give you enough credit, Atlas,” Riot mutters. “Your brand of psycho scares even me sometimes.”

I laugh as Valentin pulls into the driveway of the cabin. People always think I’m the sweet one. When your eyes sparkle like the ocean, it lures them in, makes them trust you. My level of depravity simmers. It hides behind my charming smile, sculptured cheekbones, and pretty blond hair. And just when you think you’re safe, I’ll strike. But Maureen isn’t some wilting flower. She’s strong and beautiful and feisty as fuck.

They’ll see.

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