Page 41 of Kings of Decay
"Like what?" My brother challenged.
"Difficult, like a whiny bitch." I gulped down the rest of my drink. "Are you still thinking about her?"
Pearce's stony expression flickered, and I knew I was right. He was still thinking about her. Willow.
"About Derek? About what she saw?" I lowered my voice.
Pearce let out a low groan. "God, you should have seen her face while you were kicking the shit out of him," he practically purred. "That girl has a dark streak, I'd bet my life on it."
"So what?" I asked.
"So, I want to bring her into our fold, Ainsley. Imagine a girl for just me and you. A girl who has seen our dark side and wants us anyways."
I paused. Now, that was a delicious thought. Neither of us could keep girls longer than a night or two. We had too much blood on our hands. And for some women, that was a thrill at first. But it became too real, too fast. They'd realize that every time we went out, they risked coming face-to-face with a ghost from our past.
"Well?" Pearce asked.
I looked up, our eyes locked. Pearce had that gleam in his eyes that made me shiver.
"What if we made her a part of us, Ainsley? A part of who we are. Someone who can take the heat and relish in it, just like us."
"I don't think she's that kind of girl," I scoffed.
"You didn't see her expression," Pearce rolled his shoulders. "The way she pressed against me as you sent that truck into the lake. She was just as turned on as me. Maybe she doesn't realize it, but that's the fun part. We can twist her, Ainsley. We can make her perfect for us."
My cock throbbed in response to the mental image. "Maybe," I sighed. "But when?"
"The big snow," Pearce said immediately. He'd obviously been thinking this out. "Once she can't escape. We'll have the whole dark winter to make her our girl."
Chapter twenty-eight
Willow
Something seemed different at Paydirt tonight.
I glanced around, watching the usually rowdy miners huddled while nursing their beers. Saturdays were normally loud and fun, but not today. Something was definitely off.
"Hey, Todd?" I said as he walked back in from a smoke break.
"What's up, Willow?" He asked.
"Does something seem weird to you?" I asked, tilting my head towards the customers.
Todd glanced at the two guys at the end of the bar, hunched over their drinks. "Willow," he lowered his voice. "Winter is a hard time for folks up here. Things get darker, colder, harder."
There was more to it than that. "It's like someone flipped a switch."
"Snow is coming. Soon, the roads will be unusable," Todd explained as he shined glasses. "Isolation is no joke."
Rose had said the same thing. The feeling was foreboding, like giant jaws coming down, tightening on helpless prey.
A guy waved me over. "Another round here, Missy!"
Todd gave me a tight-lipped smile. "It's our job to keep them hydrated until spring."
Hydrated. Right. More likemedicated.
I sighed and filled up a tray with fresh, cold pints.
