Page 30 of Vengeful Valentine

A few moments later, Ace stormed into the room, the door bouncing off the wall from the force.

“Ace, I’m fine.”

Ace didn’t pause. He continued his path until he pulled back his fist and crushed it into Hawk’s jaw with all his strength.

Hawk’s face whipped to the side from the impact.

“You brought a fucking gun! Did you plan on shooting her? You would have regretted it for the rest of yourveryshort fucking life,” Ace heaved angrily, his chest rising and falling aggressively.

Silas stepped into the room next, taking in the scene. He raised a phone in his hand, shaking it in my direction. “What is this?”

My attention flickered between the three men. Ace inclined his head, Hawk’s mouth curved downwards into a frown, Silas’s face flushed with emotion.

“It’s a video of Ace and I losing our virginity to each other. And if you keep watching, it’s a video of me committing murder.”

“Murder?” Silas spluttered in shock.

He had always been the one that wanted me to be “protected” the most. I loved that fact about him–he made me feelsafe, but it wasn’t necessary.

I could hold my own.

“Are you all ready to listen now? Have you finished throwing your temper tantrums?” Cocking an eyebrow, I tapped the barrel of the gun to my temple. “We don’t have much longer until Kristoff wakes up. You all painted me as a villain in your stories…and I am one. But not for the reasons you think. There was a reason I went to the university. A reason I was forced to leave.”

Silas still appeared to be in shock, the phone dangling haphazardly in his hand. The screen was black now, but I could guess what he had seen. What he had heard. The video was from the day William had forced Ace and me to fuck each other. It was the beginning of the end.

“The Headmaster, the one that used to go around Jerald? Well, it turns out he had a vested interest in me. Enough to blackmail me.” I mimicked the gun going off against my head. “Apparently, I was his long-lost niece.”

A whoosh of air left Silas as he slumped back against the wall, but Hawk didn’t move at all, instead staring me down with his icy intense eyes.

Chapter 17

Ashmine

One Year — Six Months Ago

“You are sentenced to two years,” the judge announced, his voice booming around the nearly empty courtroom.

I only had a moment to catch Ace’s sepia eyes. He mouthed “wait for me” before two armed guards dragged him away.

Silas and Hawk stood loudly, ten feet to my left, before storming from the room together. Not sparing me any of their attention.

Gathering my wits, I followed them.

Knowing that Ace was going to be sent away and seeing it were two different beasts. But we didn’t have any other options.

Well. There was one. One that would have him released early.

I just needed to speak to Silas and Hawk first.

Racing after them, I finally caught up at the bottom of the courthouse stairs.

“Stop! Listen to me!” I screamed at them.

Silas didn’t pause, but Hawk did and I lunged for him, wrapping my arms around his bicep.

“I love you all, don’t you get it?” Emotions were slithering around my body in uneasy webs. I had never felt this overwhelmed by them before.

But I had never truly cared about anyone before these three men came along.

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