Page 32 of Revenant

My humor fades as that rule hits home, and I slowly nod.

His pale blue eyes darken, his expression hardening. “Rule three—no disappearing without telling someone. It’s too triggering for us.”

I swallow hard at his rough voice. Even though I didn’t have a choice, I virtually disappeared from their lives without a word. I thought that with me gone, they would just go back to their lives. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I nod and clear my throat. “I can do that.”

He rubs the back of my neck, his gaze flicking away for a second, and I narrow my eyes suspiciously. “Just say it.”

His eyes snap back to me, then a full smile blooms across his face. My breath catches, and my body tingles at being the center of his attention. “This rule no longer applies since we met you, but we vowed that no girls would come between us. It wasbrothers first, but I think everyone will agree to tweak the rule to sayfamily first.”

My emotions churn at his confession, and I have no hope of untangling them. Thankfully, Jaceson continues before I can study them too closely.

“Next rule—family first and always.” He steps closer, then crosses his arms, like he is having just as much trouble not touching me as I am not touching him. “We watch each other’s backs.”

I nod, carefully memorizing each rule like my life depends on it. I’m not afraid of being punished…I’m more afraid of disappointing them.

“One last rule.” He takes another step toward me, and my skin tingles with the need for his touch. It takes a concentrated effort to focus on his words and not his nearness. “Hurt one of us, you hurt us all. Vengeance must be claimed.”

His vicious tone should repel me, but I find myself nodding in agreement. If anyone touches them, I most definitely will be touching them back and hard. They’re mine to protect, and I won’t hesitate to do it with severe prejudice.

Before I can say anything, a knock echoes throughout the room. I panic and shove Jaceson behind the door, holding up my finger to my lips to keep him quiet. Though he doesn’t look happy, he nods once. Cold air creeps out from around the edges of the door like it’s a portal to the afterlife. While part of me wonders if it would be that easy to cross over into the afterlife, my instincts scream at me that my life would never be the same if I stepped into the land of the dead with my physical form.

I shake off my foolish thoughts, knowing the chill is merely a warning. Whatever is on the other side of the door is dangerous. What unnerves me more is the way Jaceson’s attention drops to the foggy mist.

Like he can fucking see it, which shouldn’t be possible.

It scares the ever loving fuck out of me.

With a shaky breath, I curl my hand around the knob, not even feeling the icy surface under my palm as I open the door. Two hulking men wait in the hallway, their severe expressions giving nothing away. Neither of them pretends to be anything but what they appear—guards.

The bigger man on the left has no expression on his face, he’s just doing a job. The other one is slimmer, but the look in his eyes is more chilling—complete apathy tinged with a sort of malicious glee that says he likes ripping wings off butterflies.

And fuck if I don’t get the impression that the dungeon is his own personal playground.

He steps to the side, a dark glimmer in his soulless eyes as he smiles, revealing a monster stuck in human form catching sight of his prey. “We’re here to escort you to your training session.”

From the tone of his voice, I might as well substitutetrainingwithtorture.

Chapter Twelve

RUE

Idon’t look at Jaceson as I step out of the room and firmly close the door behind me. The leaner man looks disappointed when I don’t put up a fight, and the two of them fall into step with me. The bigger man assumes the lead, his muscles flexing in a way that says he enjoys taking apart his opponents piece by piece with his bare hands.

That means he should be the bigger threat, yet I can’t repress a shiver when the slimmer man falls back a pace and trails me a little too closely for my liking. I swear his warm, fetid breath feathers against my neck, and I grit my teeth to keep from shuddering. He would enjoy that, and I refuse to become a target by appearing weak.

The hallways are once again empty, and I suspect it’s by design. This place doesn’t foster friendship or group sharing time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pit the residents against each other to prevent them from forming alliances.

We bypass the hallway with the hidden elevator. Instead of using the stairs for the lower levels, I am marched toward anancient elevator I thought was more for looks than functionality. The metal death trap should have been condemned fifty years ago.

The bigger man pushes the button for the elevator, then steps aside. Metal screeches against metal as the doors wrench open, revealing the dingy interior that resembles a crime scene from the 1930s that no one bothered to clean.

I must have hesitated entering for a bit too long. Rough hands jab into my back, shoving me so hard that I fly into the coffin-like space. I crash into the far wall, barely twisting in time so my shoulder takes the brunt of the fall instead of my face.

I clutch at the railing to keep from crashing to the floor. As I gain my feet and spin, the larger man is already striding back down the hallway, while the other guard with the cruel streak smirks at me, and the doors close ominously between us.

There are no buttons on the elevator, no emergency call button, not even a button to open or close the door. Before I can contemplate that, the floor drops out from under me as the contraption lurches into motion. I’m thrown against the wall again, and I grunt at the impact, my grip on the rickety railing tightening to the point that I’m afraid I’ll wrench it out of the wall.

The cables holding the elevator warble as the death trap careens lower and lower into the bowels of the earth. The car is narrow, the space a little over two feet wide and five feet deep. The musty smell of death haunts the crumbling fabric wallpaper, the once vibrant colors so muted that it’s like the life was sucked out of it a long time ago.

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