Page 5 of Legions

“No. I don’t think anything could have stopped that. But what does that say about me? How selfish, twisted, and dark must I be to love a man to the point of obsession who can do those things to others? Has done those things. Because of me.”

“Capri!” Thatcher’s voice made me jump as I swung my eyes from Sebastian to his brother. He was walking toward us in quick, long strides. His body strung tight.

“I know it doesn’t sound like it, but you make him better. You calm him,” Sebastian said quietly.

I wanted to ask how I did that when he was slicing off fingers and shooting men over me. But he was too close.

Sebastian turned and headed toward his brother while I watched them.

The thought of a life without Thatcher was unbearable, but how could I when his loving me was dangerous to everyone I came in contact with?

• Three •

The agony in her eyes felt as if she was ripping open my chest.

Thatcher

There was a silent warning in Sebastian’s eyes when I briefly glanced at him before reaching Capri. The devastation on her face was going to result in a death. I just didn’t know whose yet.

“You need to tell me something, brother?” I asked him, a lethal warning laced in my tone. He recognized it but didn’t flinch like most men would.

“This is a conversation for you and Capri,” he said gravely.

My eyes were locked on her. Studying her closely. The demon inside me slowly morphing into a legion. This wasn’t okay. Someone had hurt her, and I didn’t allow that.Who was foolish enough to make that error? Was it the new exercise trainer?

She reached up and wiped at the tear rolling down her cheek. My skin felt tight as if it couldn’t contain the rage ready to burst free.

“Who, little doll?” My voice was closer to that of a monster thana man, but it didn’t frighten her.

Those eyes that made me believe I may have a soul stared up at me. I could hear the blood swooshing in my veins as it simmered. My sanity was snapping.

“Capri, you’ve got to say something before he goes on a killing spree,” Sebastian told her.

She blinked her eyes, shifting to him and then back to me. The pink tip of her tongue darted out, wetting the lips I worshiped like many did a god. She was my higher power.

“I,” her voice soft and unsure. I was wrong. Someone wouldn’t die. There would be several.

I inhaled sharply through my nose, taking a step closer to her and reaching out to touch her face. She was afraid to tell me. I could see it there now.Who was she protecting?

“Tell me,” I urged.

She swallowed hard, and I ran my hand to her neck to feel it move.

“We need to talk about some things you’ve done. For me. Things,” she paused as pain sliced through her expression. “Things you did because of me.”

This was about me. What did she know? Better yet, who had told her?

“Who?” I bit out through clenched teeth.

“That’s not,” my brother started to say, and I swung my gaze to his, silencing him.

“You can go,” I told him.

He looked back at Capri with clear concern, but I knew it wasn’t for her. He feared my wrath for whoever had spoken to her. Told her things she should never hear.

“The who isn’t something I am going to tell you, Thatcher,” her voice sounded stronger than before. The slant toward fierce almost made me smile. If she wasn’t protecting someone, I would have. I loved it when my kitten pretended to be a tiger.

I stared down at her, my hand tightening around her neck, not to hurt her but so that I could feel her pulse under my palm. The way it quickened. It’s existence, my source of life.