Page 75 of Taming Raptor

Body tense, heartbeat hammering, I stood there watching him.

Neither of us said a word. Chin held high, he glared back at me.

“I brought him as a peace offering. This is the second time I’ve tried to help you. We need to talk,” Evan finally ground out.

There was a sharp edge to my laugh as I imagined wrapping my hands around his lying throat. “What the fuck do we have to talk about?”

“Falina.”

Her name on his lips set me off. It didn’t matter that I could no longer stand the bitch—it was like the crackling flame reaching a pile of dynamite. Without further processing, I lost my shit and rocked his jaw with everything I had. The satisfaction I thought I’d feel as he hit the ground was hollow.

“You fucked my wife? The entire time I was married? We were like brothers, Evan. Especially after my own brother died. I. Loved. You. Like. My. Brother. Yet you repeatedly betrayed me. The crazy thing is, that I had no idea how deep your backstabbing went until I saw Sam transition. To be cut open again by that knife you buried in my back was like it happening all over again.” My chest heaved and the agony of his disloyalty nearly brought me to my knees.

“Goddamn it, Adrien!” he cursed as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “They aren’t mine!”

“Bullshit! They have our mark! She ran to you! I found her in your bed!” I thundered.

He didn’t even try to get up. Instead, he laid on the gravel staring at the sky. Then he palmed his face before he rose to his elbows to glare at me. “I know what you saw. But I swear to you what she told you was a lie. Did I sleep with her once—after she ran to me? Yes. But I didn’t mean to.”

“You didn’t mean to? What the fuck are you talking about? Did you slip and fall and your dick just went right in? I’m sorry, Evan but I don’t know how you cannot mean to fuck someone but do it anyway.” My lip curled as disgust filled me at his pathetic excuses.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position with his arms resting on his spread knees.

“Because I didn’t know what she was capable of. I can promise you that I didn’t plan to sleep with her, nor did I realize I had slept with her. I’ve tried to tell you what happened, but you were so pissed off that you had blinders on! Think about what you said. They have our mark. Those boys aren’t mine, Adrien. I never slept with her before the night you found her in my bed—that I swear to you. So, whose boys are they?” His gaze locked on mine as confusion swirled inside me and a cold chill skated over my skin. If what he was saying was true, then who was Sam and Seth’s father? Had I been wrong all these years?

Turning my back, I speared both hands through my hair and tugged.

My phone rang and I almost didn’t answer it. Except something told me I needed to. I pulled it out of my pocket and caught the caller ID. When I saw Voodoo’s name on the screen, I knew I was right. Shooting one last glare at Evan where he still sat on the ground, I answered it as I restlessly paced.

“Brother, this isn’t a good time. Evan’s here. He just told me some unsettling news and I don’t know what the fuck to believe.” That was probably the understatement of the century.

“Well, that’s kind of what I called for,” he began, and I frowned. Though I’m not sure why I was surprised. The dude had a freaky way of knowing things that never ceased to amaze me. The thing is, he hadn’t ever really seen anything that had to do with me personally, so this was odd.

“Christ, lay it on me. What’s one more thing?” My head dropped and I rubbed the back of my neck.

“You need to do a paternity test on your dime.”

Complete silence—because my mind immediately went to my current situation with Sage.

“What?” I asked with deadly calm. My world was on the verge of imploding if he said anything that undermined the faith and belief I had in Sage.

“Sam and Seth.”

“Wait, what?” That wasn’t what I expected, and I was at a loss. After the conversation that had transpired between me and Evan, I was a little taken aback. Chest tightening, I waited for whatever he was going to drop on me, because now he was talking craziness.

He sighed. “I had a dream last night. I wasn’t sure if I’d interpreted it correctly until I went to my altar. I tried casting bones, I read the cards, it was all the same. When I questioned what I’d seen, I called my grandmother. She backed what I saw. Raptor… those are your boys.”

“Who fucking hired you?” I demanded of the man who was hanging by his arms from the rafter. Blade had already worked him over and he was covered in dried blood—and had pissed himself.

“This motherfucker isn’t talking. If you would let me really have at him, I might be able to get more out of him.” Blade stood with his arms crossed and his jaw ticking.

I sighed.

“This motherfucker shot me! He fucking killed Ruby, then went after Sage! He’s lucky I haven’t peeled his skin off in one-inch sections. Fucking piece of shit,” he muttered before he punched the guy in the side with a roar, eliciting a pained cry from the man slumped and dangling from the rafter. It was behavior unlike what I was used to from Blade. The man simply didn’t lose his cool like that.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. Then I really looked at him, taking note of his corded neck and hands that clenched and unclenched. Considering how badly I wanted to simply slit the man’s throat for coming after Sage, I understood. “You know what? Do it.”

The guy sputtered and groaned. Blade stilled before he gave me a wicked grin. Though calling it that was being generous. His lips pulled back, baring his teeth, and I could’ve sworn the fires of hell flickered in his eyes.

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