Page 97 of Ravaged Saints

“Fuck,” I murmur under my breath.

I hope the captain died in the plague. I should’ve killed him myself, and maybe then I’d have some peace of mind.

A knock at the door pulls me back. Thank fuck.

“Come in.” I sit back up on the side of the bed, running a hand through my hair.

Max walks in, a bottle of whiskey in one hand and two glasses in the other. “Hey, man. Thought you could use this.” He grins.

I nod. The guys know me too well. They know all of this is eating me alive.

“Thanks, brother.”

He pours the amber liquid into the glasses and takes a seat across from me in the black leather chair in the corner of my room.

“You worried about those footprints?” he asks, taking a sip, his eyes locked on mine. “Or just taking a walk down memory lane?”

I snort. “Something like that.”

He shakes his head. “I thought with all that chasing you did with Aspen—”

“What if there was someone outside?” I cut him off, shaking my head. “It was fucking reckless, but she drives me fucking feral,” I grunt, rubbing my jaw.

“She drives us all, brother.” Max raises his glass with a smirk.

“And you and Ryker?” I shift the conversation. Talking about Aspen is making my cock throb, and I’d throw her door down and take another piece of her in a heartbeat.

Max exhales sharply. “Fuck, I don’t know.”

“You fucked Aspen. It’s only fair he got with Bryn, right?” I ask, keeping my tone even. I know how this shit pisses him off.

Max drains his glass in one go before pouring another. “I don’t care that he fucked Bryn. It’s that thing Bryn said, if he would fuck her with Ethan.” He shakes his head. “Also, I fucked Aspen after,” he pauses, “I didn’t fuck her, not with my dick, man. I would never have something that intimate with her without telling him first. Fuck, I wanted to have Aspen with him.”

I hear the frustration in his voice. Max met Ryker in the first year of the unit, but a relationship was damn near impossible back then, and they both knew it, so when we were discharged, I thought they’d finally give it a go. But instead, Max went back to London, Ryker to Toronto, and that was it until I called them both back to form Bloodhawks.

The second they saw each other, we all knew they weren’t just mates; they weren’t just friends. There was something more between them. Love? Maybe.

Max wanted to take things to the next level, but Ryker still struggled. I know he cares about Max—he’d die for him—but he fights it, and there’s nothing any of us can do to help. I’ve done what I could. Their rooms are next to each other, and fuck, I even told them they could share if they wanted.

I don’t give a fuck who they’re with. They’re my brothers, and that’s all that matters, but I wish Ryker could see that. And now, with what happened with Bryn, I don’t know if this is the breaking point for Max.

“You two need to talk. Maybe get Aspen and fuck her,” I chuckle, but Max just stares at the wall behind me.

“Good to see I’m not the only overthinker around here.”

Max finally looks at me and huffs a laugh. “Fuck.” He stands, pacing the room. “Do you think he—” He stops, shaking his head.

“Loves you?” I say, watching the way he tenses.

He cringes. “I don’t know, Knox.”

“Then maybe you should just ask him.”

Max snaps his eyes to mine like I just said the most ridiculous shit ever.

“Maybe,” he murmurs.

The whiskey starts to hit, and I need some sleep because tomorrow I’ll take another walk around the base to make sure nothing else was moved.

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