Page 68 of Pray for the Damned

“I went back to my father and told him that Emmett was on his way back and was held up looking for you because you were missing. Up until that night, I had never lied to our dad, but since then, that’s all I’ve done.”

I stare at him as I process what he’s just told me. At this point I’m happy to assume they grew up to be assassins. That would make sense given Emmett killed my dad, and Kade was there, along with gunshot wounds and everything else he just told me. But that still doesn’t explain why either of them felt the need to save me and then continue saving me all these years.

All this time I thought I was living on my own two feet. I thought I was surviving on my own, keeping myself safe, taking precautions to make sure no one found me.

But that was all a lie.

Because I’ve had two men standing in the shadows of my life, and now it seems they no longer want to remain in the shadows.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

KADE

For the first time, I can see why our father trained us the way he did.

Not caring. Not feeling. Not loving.

It was to make us strong, because I’ve never felt weaker than I do right now.

Every second that ticks by seems longer than the last, and I can barely breathe through the anxiety that’s set up shop in my chest.

Fuck me, things were easier when I had no emotions. How does Emmett do this shit every day? It can’t come naturally to him, because it sure as hell doesn’t come naturally to me.

Or maybe it’s just part of being the evil twin. The one that can kill without emotion and has never cared about anyone except myself.

And I guess Waverly and Emmett, seeing as I’ve constantly gone out of my way to keep them both safe.

Shit. Have I actually had emotions all this time and I just didn’t realize it?

Waverly takes a deep breath before looking between us a few times as if she’s seeing us for the first time. And maybe she is. We have just alluded to being assassins, as well as prettymuch confessing to stalking her for a decade. I guess that would change how you look at someone.

“You protected me all these years?” she whispers, her voice trembling beneath the words.

Emmett nods first, and then I follow his lead.

“I know it doesn’t make much sense, because we were both perfect strangers and could have walked away at any time. But I couldn’t do it, and I assume Emmett was in the same boat. As much as we both should have left you to live your life, it wasn’t an option.”

“I know this is a lot of information for you to digest, but I want to make something perfectly clear to you.” Emmett steps forward and grasps her chin between his fingers. He’s always been the more passive of the two of us, but right now he’s being anything but. “If you run, we will be right behind you. I don’t say that to scare you, but to make our intentions perfectly clear to you. The two of us have been by your side for a decade without you knowing, and we’re not about to let anything happen to you because we finally stepped out of the shadows.” His thumb brushes over her cheek, and I can’t help but be jealous that he’s touching her while I’m all the way over here. “Do you understand, Waverly?”

She nods. “I understand.”

“And do you understand that both Kade and I are interested in pursuing a relationship with you?”

Her mouth drops open with surprise, and I can’t swallow the laugh that forces its way to the surface, earning me a glare from my twin and a confused look from our girl.

I shove myself to my feet and prowl toward them, not stopping until I’m pressed against Waverly’s side and she’s staring up at me. I grasp her chin between my fingers in a much firmer grip than Emmett, forcing her to hold my eyes. “That can’t come as a surprise to you. We’ve both gone out of our wayto keep you safe for years. We’ve both fucked you in the last twenty-four hours. And we’re both standing here in front of you admitting things that we’ve never even told each other.”

“When you say it like that…” she murmurs. Her sinfully pink tongue darts across her lips, and I barely stop myself from tasting her. But I understand the importance of her acceptance about our intentions, even if I would rather just take what I want and ask for forgiveness later.

Emmett presses a chaste kiss to her cheek and drops his hands to her waist, pressing her more firmly between us. “How do you feel about us sharing you, Little Temptress?”

“I…I’m not sure.” She stumbles over her words.

Without hesitation, I slide my hand up her bare thigh and slip beneath the tiny towel that separates her from us.

I was hard as a fucking rock the second she stepped out in the flimsy piece of material, but when my fingers slide through her soaking wet folds, I just about come in my pants.

“Mm, so wet for us, Trouble,” I murmur against the shell of her ear. “I think you like the sound of being the filling in a twin sandwich.”

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