Page 15 of Shadow

But I loved her, so I tried not to make waves. I wasn’t so sure how long that would last, though. I teetered on the edge of violence whenever I was around the guy. One wrong move on his part, and I’d lose it on him.

I was still pissed over him having her first. At least as far as status went. They’d never fucked. Had they, I’d have busted his face in long ago. Even now, the thought of it sent my hackles rising.

“Could always be worse,” Bryce agreed, his voice low.

“Where are you guys headed?” I asked as we trudged along. “And where’s Mirage? Got him caged away?”

“Something like that,” Asylum mused. “As for where we’re headed, I thought we’d pop in and see my firefly before we paint the snow red.”

“Red? Who are you killing?”

“Who. What. It’s not important.” Asylum waved me off. “What’s important is that I need to see Sirena.”

I said nothing. I was fine with that. He’d saved her and me in the facility. He’d been there when no one else could be. And she loved him too, even though she sometimes flinched away from him. All I knew was that he’d have his work cut out for him with her, at least in his Asylum personality. As Mirage, he was a shoo-in.

“I don’t know if she’s awake,” I said as we walked up the steps to the house. I opened the door to find Church sitting in the living room with Sirena on his lap, holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

“Why are you here?” Church demanded at Asylum as I closed the door behind us. “And why is that fucking weasel with you?”

“Well, you took Sinclair from me,” Asylum said without missing a beat. “It’s lonely in my world when the voices are silent.”

“Do they ever go silent?” Church asked, raising a brow at him.

Asylum smirked. “Not usually. Anyway, Shadow and I came here to see Sirena.”

Sirena made to get to her feet, but Church tightened his hold on her and held her in place.

“Come see her where she sits,” he said, narrowing his eyes at the guys.

I knew why he was doing it. He didn’t think Bryce was brave enough to approach him. I even considered that Bryce would just forego it and catch her on campus next time she was out.

Shock raced through me as he moved forward and kneeled in front of Church. Clearly, Church was surprised, too, because he stared back at him, dumbfounded.

“I brought you something,” Bryce said, pulling a small container from his jacket pocket. Inside was a pretty pink cupcake.

She eagerly took it from him, wiggling on Church’s lap. He glared at Bryce.

“Your favorite… Cupcake.”

“Her name is Sirena,” Church snapped at him. “You don’t get to give her cute fucking names. You aren’t one of us, and she isn’t yours.”

“Easy, man,” I said, moving to sit on the couch so I was near enough to prevent a fight if it came down to it. Although I wasn’t so sure I would because I hated Bryce.

“Asylum and Mirage do. They aren’t watchers.” Bryce didn’t move from his spot and continued to stare Church down.

Church sneered at him. “Listen, you dumb motherfucker. I will slit your fucking throat and fuck her with your blood as lube?—”

“Church, man. Come on,” I said, wincing as I glanced at Sirena, who looked like she was on the verge of putting him into his place. I didn’t want to deal with a fight tonight. I also didn’t want to deal with Bryce, but here we were. One problem at a time was all I wanted.

“While I understand your need for blood and violence, I have a need, too.” Asylum broke in. “Dante, may I have a word with you? Alone?”

Church shifted his focus from Bryce to Asylum. I stared uneasily between the pair. Church didn’t often entertain people, and I knew he was at the end of his patience with these seemingly new additions to our lives.

“What is it?” Church demanded.

“Alone, Dante.” Asylum raised his brows at him.

I didn’t think Church would go, but he finally released Sirena and shifted her into his spot before standing. He leaned down and whispered something to her that we couldn’t hear before nodding for Asylum to follow him out to the back patio, grabbing his jacket along the way.

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