Page 30 of Ever Dark

Suddenly, her face is in mine as she drops down to her knees. “Van Bones Crane, you broke into that girl’s house wearing a ski mask like a criminal. That is not how Papa taught us to do business. Those friends of yours are going to get you into more trouble than we can get you out of this time.”

I hate when she calls me by my full name. It reminds me of my mother scolding me as a child. I’m a grown man, and those three words reduce me back to pre-pubescence. Especially coming from my baby sister.

I sigh and roll out from underneath the car. “When you put it like that, you make me sound like an asshole.”

She stiffens her upper lip and folds her arms over her chest, her brows scrunching together. “Well, quit acting like one.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt her, Lettie. Draven really needs that baneberry so they can push Aries’s father out for good. You know what that monster did to Libra.”

She drops her arms, her eyes softening. “It’s awful. But tormenting Mia doesn’t make you any better than Gemini Thorn. Just think about it, okay? For me. Please?”

I nod and wait for Lettie to leave the garage before I roll back to finish working.

I have thought about it. I’ve thought abouther. Mia Harker is so sexy it hurts to look at her. I think about her every night now and wonder how far she’d let me go next time.And there will be a next time.

I want to see that look in her eyes again. The way she trembled with something much darker than fear. I want to see that wet spot on her white cotton panties again. Only next time, I’m not going to stop at the seam. Next time I’m going to slip inside her wet cunt and fingerbang the life out of her. I want to see her cum so hard her soul leaves her fucking body.

Fuck. NowI’mhard. Great.

I can’t even focus on my work today. I’m so riled up. Dravenwants the baneberry, Aries wants to screw over his father, and I just want things to stay the same. I need routine. Along with a healthy dose of drinking, fighting, and fucking to keep me sane. But ever since this chick got to town, it’s thrown everyone into chaos.

Draven is obsessed with getting her land, but after seeing the way he reacted at my party the other night, I’m guessing he’s obsessed with her pussy too. Especially since he’s already gotten a taste of it.

This girl could be our ruin if we’re not careful.

My phone buzzes with an incoming text from Aries.

You ready for the fight tonight?

Am I fucking ready? I snicker. I love how he still checks in on me like it’s my first time stepping into theCircle.

Always. Now fuck off.

I grin as I hit send. He’s never missed a single one of my fights in all these years. But I love to give him shit for acting like an overprotective boyfriend. The truth is, he’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to one. But our friendship comes first. Those are the relationships that last longer.

I finish up my repairs and hop in the shower, scrubbing hard to get the grease off my arms and hands. I actually like being dirty, but I’ve been working on presenting myself more respectably. It makes my sister and my parents happy. And it gets me into less trouble.

I throw on a white muscle tee and a pair of gray sweatpants, still sporting the blood stains I couldn’t get out from last time. I take a look in the mirror before I leave, admiring my own shredded physique. I’ve never been a vain man, but I am prideful. I work hard on my body, sculpting it like a fucking piece of art. Like a machine.

Where Draven and Aries are attractive in the universal sense, pretty boys who dress to kill, my appeal is edgier. I’m the bad boy parents warn their daughters about. From my back alley tattoos and knuckles that are constantly bruised and bloodied, veins that are always bulging from adrenaline,I’mthe guy they want to fuckin the bathroom at Duff’s. Not Draven. If I had crossed paths with Mia first…

Fuck.We’ve shared women before, but this chick has got us acting feral. Possessive. The most fucked up part is the fact that neither of us has any business being inside her panties when we are literally trying to force her to sell her home to us. Every time I see her, the lines blur a little more. I know Draven and Aries feel the same. I can see it in their eyes. The energy has shifted. And I’m not sure if this will end well for any of us.

I dab a tiny bit of cologne on my wrists before grabbing my leather jacket and hopping on my bike. I need to ride for a bit so I don’t get into a fight before my actual planned fight tonight.

These woods used to terrify us as kids. We grew up hearing stories about the monsters that lurk in the trees. In the shadows. But Draven, Aries, and I weren’t like other kids. It wasn’t the threat of evil outside that scared us. It was what lurked inside. I used to wonder what our families would think if they found out that we were more monstrous than their urban legends.

We were terrified of the woods because we thought that the monsters would recognize us as their own, claim us, and turn us into a fucking tree or something. As I ride my bike through rocky paths in between the skeleton branches and dark spots where even the sun is afraid to shine, I dare a bitch to fuck with me.

Maybe that’s what I need. What I crave to quell the demons in my mind. A fucking worthy opponent for once.

I hit the throttle until I’m flying so fast that my heart is practically in my nuts. The bitter wind whips at me like venomous snakes, attempting to peel the skin from my bones. I fucking love it. The pain, the rush, the struggle to catch my breath at every turn. It’s mylittle slice of peace. The only thing that calms the anger in my veins and the self-deprecating voices in my head.

It’s even better when I crash. On the days when I feel like I have an extra death wish, I push it to about two hundred and fifty. I know these dirt roads like the back of my hand, but even then, sometimes I get lost in the hum of the engine when the scenery whips by so fast I can’t see anything around me. I just hold on and let my instincts take over.

The last time I wrecked, I was in a coma for weeks while they sewed me back together. But I always bounce back. I have poison running through my veins. There’s not much that can kill me.

But I promised my family that I wouldn’t scare them like that again. I still hear the sadness in my mother’s voice.You are strong but not invincible, mijo. Don’t break my heart like that again.

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