Page 125 of Ravaged Saints

I swallow hard.“No matter what happens, I want you to know you were the best man I’ve ever served under.”

A pause.

“Dante, what the fuck are you doing?”Knox’s voice is sharp, edged with fear.

“I can’t let them reach her.”The words come out even, calm. If taking me down buys her time, I’ll take it.

“Dante, please, don’t.”Aspen’s shatters through the line, raw and pleading.

I exhale.“I’m sorry we couldn’t protect Bryn.”My voice is shaking too much.

“No, Dante!”She’s screaming now.

I shove the radio into my pocket and charge them.

The first fucker doesn’t expect it—too slow, too stupid, and I slam him to the ground, ignoring the burn in my muscles, the way my breath drags in my throat. He struggles, his fingers clawing at the dirt, but I grab his head and twist. The snap is sickening.

I push to my feet, panting—

Bang.

Pain rips through my shoulder, and I stagger back, clutching the wound, heat flooding down my arm. Blood. Fuck, it’s bad.

“Dante!”The radio crackles with Knox screaming, but I can’t answer.

A familiar chuckle sneers from behind me. “That was stupid.”

Ethan.

I turn slowly, pressing my palm against my bleeding shoulder, forcing myself to stand tall. His gun is trained on me, but it’s the gleam in his eyes that’s worse—wild, unhinged.

“Losing all of this over some pussy,” he chuckles.

Rage licks up my spine like fire. “Fuck you, Ethan. You were our brother.”

He laughs—loud, manic. “Brother? Let’s be honest. I was never part of the BloodHawks.”

I shake my head. “You might not have been, but you were part of our family.” My tone is low and controlled; even as my hands tremble, the blood drips between my fingers.

“Yeah, right. Then why didn’t I get a say in anything?” He’s shouting now, waving the gun like it’s part of the conversation. “Hiding. No women. Who the fuck decided that?”

I watch him carefully. “So what? Did you want to make prisoners? Take women by force?”

His grin is sharp as a blade. “A lot of them would’ve been grateful to be at our base. Like Bryn. Like Aspen.”

Something inside me snaps.

I lunge forward, fury roaring in my veins, but he presses the gun to my forehead.

“We can make something here,” he whispers alight with twisted excitement. “This could be our fucking empire.”

He’s delusional. A fucking lunatic.

Ethan picks up my radio, his grin widening.“You there, Reaper?”His question drips with venom.

“Yes.”Knox’s answer is cold.

“Good.” Ethan chuckles, low and cruel. “Now listen to your brother die.”

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