Page 240 of Vile Boys

I tip up her chin. “Whatever choice you make, I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“I don’t know, are you mad at me?” I raise a brow. “We both keptinformation from each other.”

She snorts. “I guess we’re all liars here.”

“That’s what Tartarus is known for,” I muse, hooking my arm through hers. “Liars, deceivers, killers, gamblers, all the riffraff of society living under the same roof. I feel so lucky.”

She hides her laughter under her hand.

“Glad I could make you smile a little,” I say, winking.

“I’m surprised you almost let me kill him, though, that was very unlike you,” she says.

“Believe me, it took every ounce of my restraint.” I shrug as I add, “But you heard him warn us not to intervene.”

She frowns and looks up at the staircase where Caleb is helping Ares get back to his room. “It almost felt like he …wantedme to kill him.”

“Maybe …” I mutter. “He’s been dancing on that edge with Caleb for quite some time. Both of them keep each other alive when the other was about to fall.”

“They really have a complicated relationship,” she mutters.

“Yes. But when you came into the mix, it was like chucking a fire at a concoction of gasoline and alcohol.”

She swallows as though it falls hard on her, especially when Caleb glances at her over his shoulder. Even I can feel their palpable connection from this distance, like lightning zapping across the room, the same lightning I feel whenever I touch and kiss her.

I sigh out loud. “I’m sorry, darling. I don’t want you to think it’s all your fault. Those boys have been toxic for a very long time, believe me.”

“It’s fine. I know what I’ve done.” Her resolve strengthens, I can see it in her eyes. “I’m not finished yet. I just need to figure out …” Her words taper off as though she’s still trying to decide on the words to say. But no words will ever suffice for the complicated feelings we have.

I grab her hand and press another kiss to the top. “Whatever you choose, you know I’ll always be here waiting for you.”

Caleb

When she approachesAres’s room, I immediately walk to the door and stop her from entering. I don’t want to get between them, but if she still intends on ending his life, this would be the perfect opportunity.

She peers at him over my shoulder at his blood staining his shirt, so I block the view with my body and fold my arms while I peer down at her.

“I can’t let you see him when he’s at his weakest,” I say.

Her gaze sweeps across all the blood caking my skin, a hint of shock riddling her face. Still, she doesn’t back away despite the horrors she just watched us inflict on our enemies, and it surprises me.

“I just … wanted to say thank you. For saving me.”

I want to believe her. I really do. But I know she’d kill him in a heartbeat too.

“Why? You still want to kill him.”

Her face darkens. “You knowwhy.”

“Yes. I do.” The look in her eyes has definitely changed into something less vicious than before. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel hurt. “But Ares and I need each other, and I won’t let you take that away from me too.”

Her round lips part. “I … I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Her apology catches me off guard.

She averts her eyes. “I did mean to tell you about my struggle with him at some point, but I needed to prove first why I did what I did so you could understand.”

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