Page 78 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

Because they know.

They fucking know.

Someone inside my own gang did this.

Someone betrayed us.

Someone threatened Jayden’s family and made him suffer for it.

And I will find out who.

I release Jayden’s shirt, my fingers soaked in his blood, and exhale shakily. I don’t wipe my hands. Don’t move.

I just sit there, breathing through the storm rising inside me.

Then—

I stand.

Slowly.

But before I can even process the next thought, my vision narrows, a target forming in front of me.

Charles.

He stands there, unnervingly quiet, his shirt speckled with Jayden’s blood. There’s something in his face I don’t like.

My fists clench.

And then I snap.

I lunge.

The first punch lands hard, a solid crack against his jaw. Charles stumbles back a step, but his reaction is immediate.

He snarls.

Then he swings.

His fist collides with my ribs, the force knocking the air from my lungs, but I don’t stop.

I don’t fucking stop.

We crash into each other, raw and brutal, exchanging blows that land with sickening force. My knuckles split against his cheekbone, and he lands a jab to my ribs that makes pain bloom through my side.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I growl, grabbing the front of his shirt and shoving him back against the rusted wall. The metal groans under the impact.

His head snaps back, but before I can press forward, he grips my collar and slams me against the opposite wall.

"Are you behind this?" I snarl, my voice breaking with fury. "Did you fucking set him up?"

Charles’s eyes flare with passion and fury, and in the next second, he punches me.

"What the fuck?!" he barks, his breath ragged.

I recover fast, my lip split, blood dripping down my chin. But I don’t care. I shove him off me, both of us breathless, our chests heaving.

Charles spits blood onto the ground before glaring at me. "You really think I’d betray you?" His voice is laced with resentment. He’s hurt. "Me?"

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