Page 49 of The Villain

Or was spilling the truth to her the catalyst for this?

My trust in the closest allies I have left is starting to go into the negatives.

“I want to speak to him in private and try to clear shit up. Get him closer and away from Van,” Ira tells Brody in an aggravated tone. “With her around who knows what’s going to happen next?”

“There’s no way he’s going to fall for it.”

“The twins think he’ll come back to them. He’s been alone too long. You know how much he likes attention. I can see it happening,” Ira mutters. “If we get her to walk he’ll be desperate to find someone else. If she’s innocent she can leave, if not she’ll be dealt with.”

They all know about my fucked up need to be the center of attention. The twins were sleeping with me to keep me close and get info. What effective team members we have all of the sudden.

It hurts more than it should. The blow is more to my ego, knowing for a fact that they never had any intention of having anything with me. It was all a setup. The miniscule things I revealed to them about my personality and the mocking I endured. I’m nothing like how I was as bio’s right hand man. Now I’m nothing like the shade I created to fit in with them.

Add on to that they’re a threat to Evie. I don’t think she knows about me. Then again, with how everything else has turned out, who knows? Tera hasn’t told anyone that I know of. She assures me she never will. Even Evie says she won’t.

I still want to risk it. And I’m ready to skin someone over these reveals.

The door creaks and I go back to texting Tera with a small frown.

“Did she leave?” Melissa appears behind me with a fake pout. “I wanted to talk to her more.”

I step out of the shadows and continue texting while Melissa pretends to complain about Evie bailing on me. She sounds too smug for it to be genuine.

I would have bailed long before. Evie has a fuck ton more patience than I do.

I owe her. So fucking much. For shit she doesn’t even know that she’s done for me.

“Shade,” Ira clears his throat and Brody shifts on his feet with discomfort. The twins come out behind me and prop their elbows on my shoulders. I used to like it. That feels like a murky dream to me now.

“We done here?” I ask in my normal cold tone. I doubt they realize what I overheard. They’re suspicious, but they’ll blow it off. I walked out with Melissa right behind me. They won’t have anything to be concerned about unless she blabs. By then I’ll be gone.

A text pulls my attention away. I doubt they have any murderous intentions towards me right now, so I can afford the distraction. Even if they did, I could kill them all in my sleep. I hid a lot of those skills when I joined them to blend in better. I’m not that fucking slow or weak.

It’s Tera.

MoralCompass: I’m disappointed in you.

“Uh-oh,” Blaze laughs as he reads her text. “Is someone in trouble with the morality police?”

“What’s she mad about?” Felix asks curiously. “I can’t believe you still talk to her after she dumped you for three fucking guys and we don’t even get the time of day.”

“What kind of punishment will she put you through?” Blaze’s laughter gets louder. “Ignoring you?”

“Tera’s too sweet for that,” Melissa protests. It would be a nice statement if she didn’t sound so disgusted.

Me: How fucked am I

I turn to walk away, sipping my drink. I wince at the cold beverage and toss it into the trash.

“Bye, Shade,” Blaze calls mockingly. “Tell Van we said bye too.”

“Hope things work out with your new toy,” Felix adds. “I’d like to see her more often.”

I could kill them all right now. It would be so easy. Now that the blinders have been fully yanked from my eyes, the old version of me is coming out with a vengeance. That’s not who I am anymore.

When the phone rings I don’t hesitate to pick up.

“Why?” Tera moans dramatically.

---