Page 37 of Sin Like the Devil

“Circumstance excuses nothing,” I reply hotly, irritation bleeding from my words.

“Sorry, Ripley.” His tone lacks its usual playful lilt. “Circumstance is everything, isn’t it? You don’t blame soldiers for the price they paid to survive the battlefield.”

For a split second, I almost give him the benefit of doubt. Part of me actually thought that we were the same. But anyone willing to condone their friends’ violence is cut from the same fucked up cloth. He’s just like them.

You’re a hypocrite, Ripley.

Stop lying to yourself.

If I follow through and help Noah end his life, will I be any better than them? Willing to shed blood, to sacrifice another living, breathing human being, simply to achieve my own goal?

If they’re the villains in my story… am I the villain in theirs?

Circumstance. It’s a real bitch.

“Well, it’s a good thing that it’s just a painting.” My voice trembles with the torment clawing at my insides.

“Is it?” Raine challenges.

When I shift, trying to put a safe distance between us again, he manages to blindly snag my wrist. His thumb presses above the furious pounding of my pulse. Even I can feel it’s going wild.

“You’re angry.” He gently runs his calloused thumb across the thick veins protruding beneath my skin.

“You needed to feel my pulse to figure that out?”

“Look, I don’t know what happened between you and the guys, but?—”

“No. You don’t know what they did.” The words escape my gritted teeth. “To me. To her.”

“I know.” Raine’s chest rises with his inhale. “They hurt someone you cared about.”

My heart is a dead lump, entombed behind my ribcage. “They destroyed someone I cared about.”

“And? Isn’t what you did to them payback enough?”

“Someone’s been gossiping.”

Raine shrugs dismissively. “I know shit went down before I showed up. Xander doesn’t talk about it. Lennox punches a wall if I bring it up.”

Huh. Perhaps they didn’t escape as unscathed as I thought. I’d still like to know how the pair of them wrangled their way out of the deadly trap I laid for them.

“I’m going to hurt your friends, Raine. If you don’t want to get hurt too, keep your distance from them and me.”

Head dipping lower, his salty, citrus scent assaults me. “Is that a warning?”

“It’s a threat.”

“I’m not the type to abandon my friends. So you’ll have to hurt me too.”

Is he grinning at the mere thought?

Staring into the black depths of his lenses, I can’t decide if I want to punch this cocky shit or find out if the taste of sunshine also dances on his tongue. I must’ve finally lost it to even be contemplating the latter.

“I think I’m starting to understand why you’re here.”

Chuckling, he resumes stroking the sensitive skin of my tattooed inner wrist, causing the hairs on my arms to lift. I internally scold myself for enjoying the featherlight touch.

“This place is a hell of a lot more interesting than rehab ever was.”

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