Page 29 of Ravage

"But—"

He holds up his hand, interjecting. "We're going with you. You're not being let out of our sight, and it will give us the chance to interrogate him."

Avery crosses her arms, shaking her head. "It washispill that caused me to lose consciousness."

"What do you remember?" Grey asks.

She shrugs slightly. "He told me it was my usual medication. It was in a little bag with my name on it."

"Loose pill?" I question.

"Yeah," she confirms. "But that's how it usually is."

Grey nods, deep in thought. "It could have easily been switched though. Markel leaves the key in the cabinet. Someone could have made the change when he wasn't looking."

"Or he's as fucked up as the rest of the staff," Avery snaps quietly. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"We'll figure it out," I say, stroking her arm. "An interrogation sounds fun."

Avery's face cracks into a smile. "Only you pair would think so."

I share a look with Grey, the two of us smirking at each other. It would befun.

As much as I hate to admit it, we work well together as a team. I normally prefer to work alone but beggars can't be choosers. When we were searching for Avery downstairs, we ended up being ambushed in the tunnels. Grey and I had agreed to go down further, to avoid being seen for as long as possible. But the guards had anticipated it—finding us in the darkness below.

Most people would freeze when confronted by guns and tasers. But not us. It was a challenge—their weapons, our hands. And I got to witness what type of predator Grey is.

He lured them in at first—acting like he was surrendering. And as they got closer, their confidence grew, and that was the fatal mistake they made. Grey lashed out quickly, slitting the throat of the first, before stabbing the next through the chest. They barely had time to see it coming. I'd almost call it a mercy kill, because I know, like me, he wanted to make them all suffer slowly.

They scrambled, of course—trying to regain control once they realized we wouldn't be going willingly. But by that time, I already had my hands on them, outshining them in strength easily.

We took them down quickly, leaving them in the tunnels. I hope Whittingham found them, seeing the massacre with his own eyes. But he doesn't seem the type to get his hands dirty. If anyone is going to suffer later for this, it will be him.

That's the difference between a coward and a true fighter. A coward will hide behind an army, while a fighter will be front and center.

In a way, that's why I respect Damon now too. He's a raging bastard, but I have to give credit where it's due. I would have pegged him as the type to hide behind his minions, but he was there—and he was the one who rescued Avery.

It will be interesting to see how today plays out. Whether the Lilydale staff like it or not, they will have to issue some type of statement and make an announcement. Avery going missing wasone thing, but the other girl… she was declared dead. And now their plans have come back to bite them in the ass. While it's definitely a problem, I have no doubt that the rich fucks have a contingency plan—money can buy almost anything.

"Come on, let's get you some breakfast," Grey says, reaching for Avery's hand. "You must be starving."

"I doubt there will be anything overly filling," she complains, looking back to make sure I'm following them. "Stale toast and rotten fruit doesn't sound very appealing."

I can tell she wants me to grab her hand too, but right now, I think she needs time with Grey. She needs to reconnect and lean on him as much as she does with me. And truthfully, he needs it too. He needs his moment with her since he missed seeing her this morning because he was trying to keep her safe. As much as I want to pull her into my arms and super glue her body to mine, a dick waving contest isn't going to help anyone. Besides, jealousy doesn't exist for me. Only the unwavering desire to make Avery happy.

And he does.

But so do I.

I hope that over time Grey comes to realize that. It's not about having a maximum amount of love to allocate—love is endless.

My sister once described it perfectly to me. Meatballs can be your favorite meal, and then you eat lasagne one day. Almost the same ingredients, right? Yet… they taste vastly different. But you can still love meatballs as much as you love lasagne. It doesn't change how much you love the other meal, just the fact that you can enjoy both. Life would be boring with no variety, especially when each meal can bring you a connection and fulfil yourneeds.

So, sometimes we want meatballs, and other times we need lasagne. It doesn't take away from the other delicious food at all.

As we trudge down the corridor, we're joined by other patients escorted by guards. The guards don't bother to look at us, but the patients watch on with perplexity—blissful ignorance.

I hope they sleep well at night believing the lie that this place feeds us. They think they have a future, that they are going to be saved by the rich.

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