Page 45 of Tears of Revenge

“How about I go out and fill up our reserves while you stay behind?” As he spoke, he wrote down his real intent for leaving the house. I will also check on our little friend.

Marcus nodded and scribbled a reply. “We are running low.” Better you go, I might lose my shit with him.

He grabbed his car keys but before he left, he went back to Avalon. He knocked and waited for her explicit permission before entering. This was her private space and even though she’d shared her bed with them, he would never enter without her permission. “I’m going out.”

“I heard.”

He knelt next to the bath and brushed his lips across her shoulder. “Would you like me to grab you anything while I’m out?”

“I miss my own clothes,” she sighed.

“I can go by your house if you like. Maybe even get some of your books?”

“I don’t have my keys.”

“Rest assured a pesky little lock won’t prevent me from getting you whatever you want.”

“My knight in shining armour.” She giggled. “You know where I live, don’t you?”

“We do. We got worried after you didn’t show up to work. Marcus was able to obtain your address shortly after. We know you kept that information from us for a reason, but we had a bad feeling.”

Avalon shrugged. “I can’t be mad. I guess your instincts were right.”

“I will call you from there and you can tell me exactly what it is you want me to bring home.”

She turned her head and smiled at him. “This is my home now, isn’t it?”

“It is, for as long as you need.”

“Will you come with me if I ever decide to leave?”

“Of course, we will. We’ll go where you go as long as you want our company.”

“Thank you.”

“There is nothing to thank us for.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, hesitating before he left. “I have something to ask you and I want you to be honest with me. Can you do that?”

She too turned serious, her forehead wrinkling as her eyes narrowed. “I’ll be honest.”

“Did we go too far today?”

“No.”

Avalon answered immediately, but it did little to soothe him. “We didn’t mean to persuade you by letting you feel our antidote. We just wanted to help you but now looking back, I can’t help but feel like we’re no better than he was.”

Avalon held his gaze for a long moment before turning her attention to the water, using her hands to make waves across the surface. “The antidote made it easier to say yes. It was almost like a drug.”

His heart sank. He knew exactly how it felt. He’d felt the high for himself, had felt how every worry melted away and the things he normally wouldn’t do felt possible. And now he felt as if he wasn’t any different from the man he’d tried to save her from.

“You asked for my permission, and at no point did I feel unsafe with you. I trusted that if I told you to stop, you would. I felt safe because of it. I didn’t want you to stop—any of it. It made me feel something else but the shadow of him on me. I wanted every bit of it and I don’t regret trusting you.”

“Not even now that your mind is clear again?”

Avalon shook her head and gave him a sincere smile. “No.”

Varos immediately felt the weight lift from his shoulders. “Thank you for speaking so openly with me. Now soak a little and rest. I’ll be back before you know it.”

An hour later, he parked at an empty warehouse they owned. Or rather, one of their aliases owned. They’d bought it just in case they needed it for Lysander, learning from previous mishaps that multiple backup plans were necessary. The closer he got to the silver-lined cell, the more his skin itched.

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