Page 114 of Ravaged Saints

She’s crying. God, she’s crying.

But then Ethan’s fingers push beneath the fabric.

Aspen tenses and her jaw locks, her whole body stiff, like she’s forcing herself not to react, but through the tears, through the fear, something changes. Her eyes blaze as she stares at him, at the man who thinks he’s won.

“The guys will get you, Ethan.” She spits back, cutting, and cold.

“You can do whatever you want to me, but you will never have me the way they do. You will never be half the man they are. You will never be as good a soldier as them.”

And then she spits in his face.

Ethan stills. His jaw flexes, and muscle tics in his cheek.

He shoves his hand deeper, his expression twisting with rage, but Aspen doesn’t make a sound. I know she won’t give him that.

“I’m sorry!” I scream, my heart breaking.

Aspen’s gaze flickers to me, and she smiles, a small, sad, knowing smile.

“Fuck this,” Ethan snarls, wiping spit from his face. “You can have her.”

He jerks his chin at the man restraining her, and the bastard grins. “Let her up,” Ethan tells the older man.

Pressure lifts from my back, and I stumble upright. Aspen yelps as she’s thrown to the ground, landing hard, her feet kicking up dirt.

“I love it when they fight,” her captor chuckles.

I spin to Ethan, my chest heaving. “Why are you doing this?” My voice is barely above a whisper. “I thought we had a deal.”

I stop. The words feel so stupid now.

Ethan barks out a laugh. “A deal?”

He steps closer, his expression cruel. “Don’t get me wrong, Bryn, you were an amazing fuck. The best distraction I could’ve asked for. You and Aspen kept the guys busy while I sped up my plan.”

I barely hear him.

My eyes are locked on Aspen. She’s still struggling, still fighting.

I need to stop this. I edge left slowly. One of Ethan’s men stands nearby, back to me, too busy watching the scene unfold.

“Why?” I ask to keep him busy.

“Why?” He grins, wide and unhinged. “We could rule the fucking country. The guys? Special forces. They could train men and take women as their! We could build an empire!”

He shakes his head, disgusted. “But no. They want to hide, to live out their pathetic lives like cowards.”

His eyes flick to the older man leaning against a tree. “We’re going to rule,” Ethan growls, dripping with resentment. “If you two hadn’t fallen into the trap, the guys would’ve never fucked another woman again. And me? I would’ve never touched another woman again and hid? Fuck that.”

He planned all of this for months before Aspen and I even got here.

He smirks. “I met him in town. We served together, and when I told him about the base, we both knew how much we could do with it.”

I keep moving. Closer. Closer.

“And me?” I ask, my fingers brushing the cool metal hanging from the guard’s belt.

Ethan’s smirk deepens. “You, babygirl?” His voice dips into something dark and vile. “You were the perfect excuse. Whenever the guys asked where I was, you covered for me, and like I said, you’re an amazing fuck. Don’t worry, Bryn. I’ll keep fucking you. But now—” He glances at the older man. “I’ll have to share.”

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