Page 16 of Ravaged Saints

“Bryn’s hot, dude,” Ethan adds. Ryker nods, and Max shoots him a look.

“Fuck. You’d rather have Aspen, don’t you?” Ryker runs a hand through his hair, and Max nods.

I can’t stop laughing. These two are the worst.

Ryker and Max have been… a couple? Whatever they are, it’s been four years now, but Ryker has a hard time showing affection when we’re around. Hell, they don’t even sleep in the same room. It’s been eating at Max, and now with these girls here, I hope it doesn’t blow up.

“You all need to touch some fucking grass,” Knox groans, standing up. “I mean it: no one touches them until we’re sure what the fuck will happen.”

“Yes, sir,” Ethan mutters, earning another slap on the head.

He’s the youngest, not special forces like the rest of us, but he became our brother the second we saw him hurt after the plague, but the truth is we aren’t soldiers; we were, but haven’t been since way before the plague; we are mercenaries…

“I’m heading to bed,” Knox says, walking to the door.

I snap back to the present and get up to follow him.

“Hey, Reaper,” I call. He stops and takes a deep breath, turning to face me.

“We can’t kill them. You know that, right?” I say, my eyes locked on him, steady as steel. I know him too well.

He cracks his neck, muscles taut under the strain. “I fucking know, brother. But I don’t trust them, especially the brunette. I’ve got a feeling she’s going to cause trouble.” His jaw tightens, a subtle flicker of tension in his shoulders.

I nod. “But there are five of us; we’ll keep an eye on her.” I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s give them a chance. We don’t know what they’ve been through.”

“Right.” He doesn’t sound convinced, but I know he won’t do anything yet.

He claps me on the back and heads to his room. I walk past the girls’ room and pause. Silence. They’re probably asleep.

A chill runs down my spine. I never thought I’d see a woman this close again—they’re like an endangered species. And Aspen… that defiance laced with fear…

Fuck me.

It’s too damn early, but sleep won’t come, not when my mind is tangled up in them.I throw the covers off with a frustrated sigh and head upstairs, hoping that maybe a hot cup of tea and something to eat will settle me.

I spent the night caught between thoughts of Aspen and Bryn. Even jerking off didn’t help, didn’t take the edge off.

I hear footsteps and don’t need to turn to know who they belong to.

“Can’t sleep, Reaper?” I ask.

He sighs and takes a seat on the bench next to the kitchen counter. “I’ve slept enough,” he deadpans.

I turn and set a plate with eggs and fruit on the counter in front of him, but his gaze drifts to the door that leads to the rooms downstairs, and I know what he’s thinking before he says it.

“I didn’t unlock the door yet,” I say.

He nods, his shoulders tense. “We need to keep an eye on them and maybe keep them separate for a while. See what they tell us.” His gaze is intense, words measured, like he’s weighing each one. The tension in his shoulders tells me he’s overthinking this.

“Bryn will tell us what we need to know,” I reply, taking a sip of my tea and wishing it was coffee. Coffee and chocolate were the first things to disappear after the wars, so we dry our herbs, and Max makes the blends; they suck, but at least it’s something warm to drink.

“Bryn isn’t the one that worries me,” Knox mutters, taking a deep breath.

I nod. Aspen’s different. I can tell she doesn’t want to be here, and the fact that she tried to shoot Knox and Max tells me everything I need to know, and it’s exactly what Knox is afraid of. None of us wants to kill a woman, but if Aspen becomes a liability, it might be the only option.

Ryker and Max come through the door. “Morning,” Max says, and Ryker nods.

“Morning.” I move two more plates to the counter.

---