Page 18 of Ravaged Saints

“Can I go outside?” Aspen’s words pull me from my thoughts, her gaze focused on me, waiting.

Knox stiffens, peeling himself off the wall. “Why?” His tone is sharp, cutting like a blade.

“Why not?” She snaps back, standing and meeting his gaze head-on.

Damn. She’s got balls; I don’t know many people who’d go toe-to-toe with Knox, especially someone half his size.

“I’ll take her,” I say, stepping in before Knox can decide to tie her up in the basement.

He nods, though his eyes never leave her.

“Will you be okay?” Aspen asks Bryn, her tone low but firm. The blonde glances at Ethan, then back to Aspen, and I catch the smallest shake of her head. There’s a silent exchange between them before Aspen stands and heads to the door.

I follow her but stop beside Knox. “You saw that?” I murmur.

He nods, his eyes narrowing as they fix on Aspen; she’s standing near the keypad that unlocks the gate, her gaze flicking to it like she’s memorizing it, and his brows furrow.

“She’s planning to escape.” Knox’s tone drops, cold and steady, his lips curling slightly with a flicker of amusement.

Knox has that look like he’s already thinking five steps ahead, and Aspen has no idea who she’s dealing with.

I move to the keypad, making sure my body blocks her view entirely. “Come on,” I say, glancing over my shoulder to make sure she follows.

The base is all concrete and steel, painted in a deep, murky green that blends into the wilderness. A tall fence wraps around the perimeter, barbed wire curling along the top like thorns on a vine. Over time, bushes have swallowed parts of it, disguising the sharp metal beneath.

A few feet ahead, a wooden table sits between two benches, the wood darkened from rain and years of use.

“We’ve got a small farm over there, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, stuff like that.” I point to the north side of the base.

She’s not even looking; her focus is fixed on the gate, calculating.

Knox is right; the brat’s planning a way out.

I smirk to myself. Let her try; I’d love to see how far she gets before we hunt her down.

“Over the fence, we’ve got some animals from nearby farms. Most of the farms were destroyed, but the animals survived, so we brought them here and started breeding them.”

That gets her attention, and her eyes shift to the back gate.

“That’s smart,” she murmurs. She glances toward the bunker door. “And that?”

“That’s where we store food,” I say smoothly. “There’s a small fridge hooked up to solar panels and a generator to keep the meat from spoiling.”

I leave out the part about the bunker being our surveillance hub, loaded with enough guns and explosives to start a war. There’s no need to give her ideas.

“So you and Bryn…” Her green eyes flick to mine. They’re sharp, assessing, but it’s her lips, small with a perfect cupid’s bow, that catch my attention, and my brain dives straight into the gutter, imagining those lips wrapped around my cock, her innocent eyes locked on mine, tears streaming down her cheeks—

“Me and Bryn what?” Aspen snaps, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Fuck.

“How long were you two on your own?” I take a step back, trying to put some space between her and the obvious problem behind my zipper.

She just stares at me, unblinking.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I say with a casual shrug, turning back toward the base.

“Almost three weeks,” she finally says, her words barely above a whisper. She pauses, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her sleeve, like she’s counting the days in her mind. “I think. I lose track of time sometimes.”

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