Page 41 of Shadow

He got to his feet and rubbed his eyes. “I can’t wait for him to be home so we don’t have to do this shit. I hate that fucking place. The sooner we tear it down, the better.”

“Truth,” I mumbled.

He went to the door, slid his feet into his boots, and grabbed his jacket. “I’ll talk to Ashes before he leaves. Let him know what’s going on. You guys can see if you can sort shit before I get back in the morning. And don’t fucking tell Sirena. Maybe we can avoid all this, and Sin will be fine.”

“Fucking hope so,” I muttered. I highly fucking doubted it, though. I knew Sin better than he knew himself. When he loved, he loved hard. And when he crashed?

Fuck.

* * *

I didn’t movefrom the couch. I waited for Ashes for over an hour. Finally, the front door opened, and he came in, his nose red from the cold and snow in his hair.

“Thought I was going to have to send a search party,” I said, glancing at him.

“Sorry, man. Church wanted to talk.” He took his jacket and boots off, came over, flopped onto the L of the couch, and yawned.

“He told you?”I asked.

“Yep,” he muttered, his blue eyes fixed on me. “What the fuck, man?”

I sighed. “What the fuck indeed. Got any ideas on how to head this shit off?”

He shook his head, remaining silent for a moment. Finally, he spoke. “Well, we know how Sin is, so we’re ahead of the game there. If Cady stays here for a bit, maybe we should consider what to do about Sirena. This will affect her. She may not know what’s going on, but she’s smart. She'll be able to tell. She already knows they were naked together. Any news on this matter won’t shock her completely, so that’s also working in our favor.”

I nodded. He had a point.

“So I think the best bet would be to keep an eye on them. Work on shit as we go and not make a big deal out of it. If shit gets bad, we tell Cady she has to go. I know she’s Sirena’s sister, but we have to ensure we’re looking out for Sirena and Sin first and foremost. We can always ask Asylum to deal with Cady.”

“She hates him. She does a shit job at hiding it, too,” I said.

He rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, well, he has a way of growing on people. Like a fungus.”

“He probably heard you say that,” I said with a chuckle.

Ashes gave me a grin and sat forward. “Hell, he probably predicted months ago I’d say it.”

I snorted. He wasn’t wrong. The guy was Grade A Strange.

But he helped with Sireana, and she seemed to give a damn about the weirdo, so that meant a fuck of a lot to me. We’d endured together. I’d never forget how he’d protected her. Even now, I knew the nut only wanted vengeance on those pricks who hurt us. I was sure we’d be getting it soon, too.

“I’m going to head up to bed,” Ashes said, getting to his feet. “Grab a shower and sleep. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“I’m sleeping with Sirena in Church’s room. You coming?” I asked.

“Absolutely. I’ll be up after my shower.” He left the room then, and I raked my fingers through my hair before getting to my feet and heading upstairs.

Sirena was fast asleep, her long black hair twisted around her, her bare leg peeking out from beneath the white comforter.

She was breathtaking, and I thanked God every day I found her. Life was mediocre before we met her. Now? I actually wanted to get out of bed so that I could have the chance to make her smile.

Fuck, what love could do to a man.

ASHES

Sirena seemed happier than she had been. I watched her leaning against the bathroom doorway as she brushed her long hair in the mirror. She finally noticed me and cast a sweet smile that made me push off the doorjamb and go to her.

I wound my arms around her midsection and nuzzled into her neck.

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