Page 86 of Knot So Sweet

But when I reached the bottom of the stairs, my breath caught in my throat. What I saw wasn’t what I had expected and it stopped me in my tracks. Of course, my life would never be easy. Of course I wouldn't get the time to rebuild the wall around my heart before the tide ripped my feet out from under me.

A cold chill spread through my bones, a warning crawling up my spine, urging me to stop, to turn back and shield myself from the scene before me—but I couldn’t.

Not when I saw Vaughn carrying Kay's limp form in his arms.

Not when both of them were covered in crimson.

Blood. So much fucking blood.

The world around me tilted. The scene before me was too surreal, too horrible to comprehend. I blinked, hoping that when my eyes opened again, it would all disappear, that it wasn’t real.

But it was.

Kay’s body was limp in Vaughn’s arms. Blood dripped from her hands, her hair, her clothes. My heart stuttered as my gaze followed the trail of blood, splashes on the ground leading back to the alley.

"Vaughn..." His name slipped from my lips in a trembling whisper, barely audible over the pounding in my ears. "What... What the hell happened?"

My mind conjured the worst. Travis coming back. Creed or Owen getting hurt because of me.

FUCK.

He looked up, his dark eyes wild—the same midnight eyes like Viper's— they were filled with something I’d never seen in him before from my brother's beta.

Fear.

"Candi…." His voice was rough, edged with desperation. "You need to stay back."

But I couldn’t. My feet moved on their own, closing the distance between us, my heart racing as I tried to process what I was seeing.

"Is she—" I choked on the question, dread clawing at my throat. "Is she okay?"

Vaughn’s jaw tightened, his arms shifting as he adjusted Kay’s weight. "It's not her blood." His voice broke at the word, like he wasn’t entirely convinced. "But Adam—"

My blood ran cold.Adam.

"What happened?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Vaughn’s eyes darkened, a flash of something dangerous crossing his face.

"He’s dead."

The breath left my lungs, burning as I tried to process what that meant.

Kay had... killed him? I couldn’t comprehend it. All I could see was the blood and Kay’s fragile form, her hands stained with it.

How had things spiraled so far out of control? I had tried to leave it all behind. I’d run. I’d built walls so thick around myself that nothing should have been able to touch me. And yet, here I was, standing in the aftermath of another nightmare, and I didn’t know how much longer I could hold those walls up.

And Viper... Ghost... they would come crashing down the moment I reached out to them.

But I had no choice.

I couldn’t let this fall on Kay or Vaughn. They were my family. They needed me now. And no matter how much I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t call him, wouldn’t let him or Ghost back in... I was trapped. I was falling right back into the tangled web I’d tried so hard to escape.

I tore my eyes from the blood to Vaughn's face—Viper’s nephew, my best friend’s beta. The weight of everything crashed over me in waves, but I couldn’t drown now. I had to take care of my family, even if it meant reopening wounds I wasn’t sure I could survive.

"Creed's back there with Adam," his voice broke.

My heart hammered harder. Creed was forced to deal with his brother’s body.Alone.

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