Page 4 of Descent

“Liar.”

Asher doesn’t immediately defend himself. Instead, they stay trapped in a glaring contest while Vincent and I watch. The former looking entirely too trigger happy as he stares themdown. It took fucking everything in me to hold Vincent back when Asher slapped her. I’m surprised he remained silent because he raged like a beast that had finally been set free. We got more than a few curious looks, but lucky for him, everyone seemed to be far too interested in the…show.

I can’t blame him, though. The whole thing was hard to watch. Fucking miserable, but Asher slapping her?Spittingon her? Telling her he basically played her…now I kind of want to shoot the fucker.

Leaning over, I spit in Asher’s face, forcing his eyes to come to me as I snarl.

“You’re just like your father,” I say with a disappointed shake of my head, knowing those are the words that will hurt him the most.

He physically reacts like I’ve struck him, before all emotion escapes his face and he effectively shuts down.

“We can’t all afford to be the Putnam disappointment,” he says almost robotically.

The barb is lamely tossed and misses. If he thinks pointing out the obvious would hurt me, he has a lot to learn. I’m a lot like Liam in the way that I’ve accepted my title as the disappointment, it no longer bothers me. Maybe that’s why I like the kid so much.

“I hope breaking her was worth it,” I say with a shake of my head. “She will never forgive you, and neither will I.”

Asher lets out a hollow laugh as Liam tosses him to the ground, stepping away with a shake of his head.

“So, that’s it? Pussy over family? A piece of ass over blood?”

The butt of Vincent’s gun comes down on Asher hard. It connects right above his right eye, busting open the skin just below his eyebrow as he falls backwards. Vincent gives me an ‘I had no choice’ shrug, before I look at my bleeding nephew.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response. You and I both know she is more than that. We also know that family isn’t fucking shit.”

Asher doesn’t respond, just sits there and glares as I cross my arms over my chest.

“We’re going to move her in tomorrow. Do everyone a favor and don’t be around,” I say as I turn and head out the door.

I hear Liam and Vincent following close behind; we make our way through the hall and back to our girl. I wish there was a way we could keep her on campus, keep her out of that fucking house. There isn’t, though. It’s the expectation, and there are enough curious eyes on the four of us right now. We need to blend in, to go along with things exactly as my brother expects. Unfortunately for my baby, that means living with my piece of fucking shit nephew for the time being.

“What are we going to do?” Liam asks. “You have to know Christopher will have the surveillance bugged so he can keep an eye on them.”

“The outside, but not the inside,” I say.

“How do you figure?” Vincent asks.

I look over my shoulder at him with a raised brow as I continue walking.

“Because I’m the one he had install everything.”

“Okayyy, well how will we explain coming through the front door whenever we want to see our girl?” Liam challenges.

“You don’t. Tomorrow, I’ll be the one to move Skyla in. Then you can come over under the guise of seeing Asher,” I say as I point to Liam. “You,” I say as I look to Vincent, “will have to figure out your own way in and out, because everyone knows you and Asher fucking hate each other.”

Vincent nods, like he’s already thought over exactly how he will get in and out undetected. We walk the remaining distance back to Skyla’s dorm and are in the elevator when Liam speaks.

“I’m still in shock that he pulled that shit. I thought he was really falling for her.”

“He was,” Vincent says briskly. “Probably still is. It was a way to brush off her I love you, and probably make him look good in front of daddy.”

Yeah, the I love you. Can’t say that didn’t take me by surprise. Honestly, it shouldn’t have. They’ve been getting closer lately, and with Liam catching them kissing yesterday, it shouldn’t have caught me off guard. I think it was more the timing than the words, though. Women are to be seen, not heard, especially during a ritual. Definitely not speaking words of understanding and love. It made Asher look weak and pliable. Though she didn’t mean to, she painted a red X on both of their backs.

Maybe Griggs has a point. I’m sure Asher did it partially to appease his dad, prove that he isn’t controlled by a woman and that he is the one in power. He was also probably trying to distract from her confession. It doesn’t justify what he did, but I have to believe that my nephew isn’t all evil. That what he felt, and probably still feels for Skyla, was real. For her sake, at least.

Chapter Four

Skyla

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