Page 24 of Sinful God

“Even the Gods know she’s a mental case,” the second girl chimed in. “She’s nothing to them but a way to pass the time. It won’t be long before they get rid of her.”

I chuckled beneath my breath. How incredibly high school of them.

“I don’t know about that.” The first girl didn’t share her friend’s certainty. “Did you see Gage attack Daire at the party? He’s never thrown a punch for any girl before.”

There was a pause before the second girl said, “Maybe he just doesn’t like to share his toys.”

Some people would have been offended. Not me. I approached the barista and gave my order. After receiving my drink, I swept past the two women.

Catching their attention, I slowed enough to say, “Trust me, the Gods have no problem sharing, but only with each other, of course.”

With a sassy wink, I sashayed away. I felt their gazes following as I disappeared. Slurping on my iced coffee, I sucked back a dose of caffeine. That always hit the spot. Today was turning out to be a pretty great day.

On my way to the parking lot, I pulled a small bottle of pepper spray from my bag. I kept a close eye on everyone, making sure nobody followed too close. I didn’t know who the man in the mask had been. He could be a fellow student for all I knew.

Upon reaching my SUV, I thoroughly checked in, under, and around it before getting inside. It angered me to have to live this way. Nikki’s partner was still out there somewhere, biding his time until he came for revenge. Having been thwarted once, he would likely double down on his efforts.

The entire drive home, I watched the mirrors closely. Nobody appeared to be following. I reached the Gods’ house to find Havoc’s car in the driveway. Was he home early?

I entered the house, dropping my bag on the floor near the front door. The house was deadly quiet. Not usual at all for these guys. I was about to call out when I entered the kitchen and living room to find Gage splayed on the couch.

He was slumped over awkwardly against the couch arm, one hand on his head. The other clutched his side. There was blood everywhere. His hands and face. His clothing. Even on the couch itself.

Adrenaline gushed through my veins. I rushed to Gage, dropping down beside him.

“Oh my god, what happened? Gage? Are you okay?”

Carefully, I smoothed the platinum blond hair from his forehead. There was too much blood to make sense of where it came from. Gage’s eyes fluttered opened. He struggled to focus on me.

“Peachy keen, jelly bean.” He gave me a thumbs up that looked painful.

I hurried into the kitchen in search of a cloth, finding a stack of clean ones under the sink. Time moved like molasses as I waited for the water to run warm.

“What happened?” I demanded to know, panic making me frantic. “Who did this?”

I should call Havoc. First, I needed to tend to Gage and assess the damage. He might need a hospital.

Gage struggled to sit up straight. His anguished groan should have brought me satisfaction. It didn’t.

“Your good buddy Daire and his friends. Who else?” Gage shrugged, wincing in pain. He was in bad shape.

Returning to him with the warm cloth, I began to carefully clean his face. I stood next to him, lightly holding his chin in one hand. “I can’t believe they did this to you.”

“Why not? I’d have done the same if I were any of them. Of course, they fucked up, because now it’s my turn.” Gage’s swollen, bloodshot eyes gleamed with a hunger for violence.

One eye was almost swollen shut. The other was bruised black. Blood seeped from cuts on his nose, cheek, and eyebrow. The eyebrow was deep and a little disgusting. His face was decorated in bruises. It hurt to see the damage they’d done. Part of this was on me. Not all of it though. Gage had done his part to incite this incident.

He sat still while I took my time cleaning his face. I had to return to the sink several times to rinse the blood from the cloth. Gage told me where to find first aid supplies in the bathroom. His breaths were heavy with pain. I suggested that he see a doctor and was immediately shot down. He wouldn’t hear of it.

I’d almost finished cleaning his face when I said, “I’m sorry this happened. I shouldn’t have talked to Daire just to goad you. But you shouldn’t have taunted me by having another girl on your lap. Stop with the other women, Gage, or we’re done. This little arrangement will come to an end, and I’ll be gone. Tracker or no tracker.”

He was silent for so long I almost thought he’d passed out sitting up. His eyes were closed now, his breathing even. Gage leaned into my touch. There wasn’t a lot more I could do as I stroked his bloodstained hair.

Finally, he said, “I only did it to get a reaction out of you. I don’t want any of those chicks. I wanted to see that fire in your eyes burn. It’s the only thing that warms me these days.”

I was stunned silent. Gage had never struck me as the type to feel or say something so intensely personal. Words failed me. It wasn’t often that I didn’t have a response ready.

Before I could muster something, the front door opened. A moment later, Havoc appeared. He did a double take on Gage’s face.

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