Page 35 of Revenge

“That ain’t shit.” Axel snorts. “Drink up, Hellcat. It’ll put hair on your chest.”

Zane watches me and I wish I knew what was going through his head right now because it’s a bit unnerving. When I glance over to Asher for reassurance, his eyes are glued to my aforementioned chest.

I cradle the glass in my fingers and decide to hell with it. Things can’t get any worse tonight. I toss the shot back in one go. It goes down smoothly, but I’m not prepared for the after effects. Heat burns its way up my throat and lights a fire from the inside out. There’s no stopping the cough that escapes me.

“Someone’s a lightweight,” Axel taunts.

I’m still choking when a glass of water is slid in front of me.

“Drink this and you’ll be okay, Charlee.” Asher watches me down the water like it’s a lifeline.

“Thanks.” I wipe my mouth and set the glass back down. The burning has stopped, easing the fire in my stomach. Next time I may opt to eat first.

He nods and rests his elbows against the granite. His blue eyes flicker from his brothers back to me, and that’s when I realize something about his posture is off. Gone is the hard ass attitude. If anything he looks frustrated.

“We need to talk, Princess.”

All the air is sucked out of the room as I feel all three gazes trained on me. My palms sweat the more they continue to stare in silence. I toy with the bracelet around my wrist to keep my nerves steady. Having a panic attack would be the worst thing I could do right now. He’s hesitating. Asher never hesitates. A nervous feeling swirls around in the pit of my stomach

“What is it?” I’ve never been good at being in the hot seat.

“Just show her, Ash,” Axel sighs from next to me.

Zane slides his phone into my line of sight and I’m a bit confused when I read the headline on a news site. Then I keep reading and my world stops with each word.

“No. This is fake. It can’t be true.” Nausea swirls inside my stomach as my vision spins. Everything around me collapses into a void of nothingness. It has to be a trick. “He can’t be dead! He can’t be.”

The muscles in Asher’s cheek twitch as his eyes do something they haven’t done before—soften. He grabs my hand and squeezes. “I wish that were the case.”

“You’re lying!” I cup my hand over my ears, not wanting to hear anymore.

“I’m not.”

“You have to be.” I jump to my feet ready to make a run for it when the pain in my ankle stops me. The room begins to spin and I’m not sure if it’s from the whiskey or all of the pain hitting me at once.

“Charlee…” He moves around the counter to close the distance between us.

“No!” My hands drop into fists at my sides as I glare at him. “Why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to deserve this?” Numbness takes over my entire body as I sway on my feet and brace a hand against the counter.

Asher doesn’t let me be. He grabs me and shoves me against his chest, but I’m so angry I start hitting him. He took those last moments I could have had away from me.

“This is all your fault. I hate you. I fucking hate you!” My fists pound against his chest, while he continues to hold me.

“What the hell?” Axel gets to his feet to intervene, but I hear Asher stop him.

“Let her. She needs this.”

I continue to beat him until exhaustion consumes me and I have nothing left. Violent sobs wrack my body as more tears fall down my face. This can’t be happening. It has to be a dream. No. A fucking nightmare.

My vision starts to blacken as I lose my balance, but before I can fall I’m swooped up in a familiar pair of warm arms. Asher carries me up the stairs, but I’m too lost in my own head to protest. Maybe time locked in my cage will help ease the ache in my chest? Through my mental fog, I barely notice Asher pass my room and keep going across the hall into his.

I don’t put up a fight as he sets me down on his massive bed. I don’t move as he pulls back the covers. Not even when he slides in next to me and pulls me into his arms. The warmth of his body does nothing to soothe the cold ache inside of me. I feel dead inside.

He kisses my temple as his fingers lightly stroke my back. “I’ve got you, Princess.”

I cry until I have nothing left. Until I pass out from exhaustion, with Asher soothing me the entire time.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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