Page 16 of Unleashed
“I'm just trying to look at this from all angles, not buying into the fear and jumping to conclusions.”
“Conclusions?” I spit out, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “The proof is right there!” I point at the body, and Caelian starts rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I know, okay. Jesus. Just trying to find an explanation that doesn’t involve us being fucked up the ass sideways with this shit.”
Alexius interrupts, his voice low, dangerous. “Whoever did this knows exactly what they’re doing. And it’s personal.”
The room falls into a heavy silence, the weight of the murder pressing down on us like a storm brewing overhead. There’s something about the way the blood runs. The fucking silence of it all. My skin’s crawling, and I don’t even know why.
My eyes drift back to the body, the gory message that hangs in the air like a curse. And there’s one detail of the old murders rushing through my head.
I stalk closer, sliding on gloves from my jacket pocket, my gaze locked on her thighs. There’s a sickening familiarity about the way her legs are positioned—spread unnaturally, forced apart as if posed to send a message.
My stomach tightens with dread, every step toward her feeling heavier, like I’m wading through a nightmare that refuses to end.
“What are you doing?” Caelian’s voice grates behind me, but I don’t respond. Not yet. My mind is racing, pulling up memories. The details, the similarities—it’s too damn close to what we’ve seen before.
Alexius shifts beside me, his eyes narrowing as he watches me crouch near the body. “What do you see?”
“Fuck me,” Maximo curses, which leads me to believe we’re thinking the same thing.
With trembling hands, I reach between her legs and wrap my fingers around the rough wooden…thinglodged inside her. The second I pull, it comes free with a wet, gut-churning squelch that echoes louder than it should. My stomach churns, blood dripping from it as I hold it up, the weight of it almost unbearable.
“Isaia, is that…” Alexius’ voice cuts off.
“A cross.”
Just like Micah.
“Motherfucker,” Alexius growls, his thunderous voice echoing like a death knell in the room.
It feels like ice in my hands—unnervingly cold, the weight of it far more than physical. As I turn it over, my breath hitches, all the oxygen leaves my body in one brutal exhale.
Intricately carved into the wooden cross, a word sliced through the grain in jagged, deliberate strokes—like it wasn’t etched, butclawed in with rage and purpose, each letter a promise soaked in blood.
“What does it say?” Caelian leans over my shoulder, and I’m barely fucking breathing as I choke out the word…
“Punishment.”
Chapter 6
EVERLY
Iwake to the brush of his lips on my neck. Slow. Hungry. Familiar.
His breath is warm against my skin, the kind that leaves goosebumps in its wake. A low, deep sound rumbles in his chest as his mouth travels up to my jaw, then behind my ear, his tongue tracing the shell before his teeth gently nip at the lobe. I shiver, a full-body ache rising as heat blooms low in my belly, and I don’t open my eyes. I don’t have to.
I know it’s him.
It’s in the way he kisses me. The way his tongue brushes mine, like velvet, claiming slow but hard. Deep. It’s in his taste—the sultry sin of bourbon and smoke, rich and intoxicating. A taste that lingers for hours after he’s gone.
“Isaia…” I whisper, breathless, my back arching under him.
“Hey, baby girl.” The sound of his voice is a dark symphony that hums with desire and promise. A single phrase that holds the potency to unravel me in all the ways I crave. And my heart expands, my soul whole now that he’s with me again.
His hand slides beneath the hem of my nightdress, calloused fingers dragging slowly up my inner thigh, and I gasp, legs parting with a desperation I can’t hide. I need his touch. I need it like air. Like it’s the only sustenance I need to survive.
I melt into the kiss, already drowning, already consumed by the fire only he can light. How he touches me, it’s like he owns me. Like he knows there’s no one else but him. Those expert fingers move across my skin like I’m a map he already knows by heart.
