“I’m not going to fuck you tonight, Evie. Not yet.” The spark of life shining in his eyes dims. “We have a date to get to.”
17
SILAS
Evie tastes like salvation. Like a splash of sunshine in a sea of infinite darkness. It took every ounce of restraint not to drop to my knees and feast on her right then, but I have business to take care of.
Evie’s small shriek sounds from inside her helmet, ringing in mine, as I veer off the main highway onto a narrow road that parallels the beach. My larger frame cages hers in, not trusting her to hold on as we climb the side of the mountain at a brutal pace. Especially not if she knew why we were here.
Spindles of yucca plants and underbrush bathed in moonlight blur around us as we ascend the dirt path. The state park is secluded. There’re no lights, no patrols on the trails at night, which makes it the perfect place to get answers. Answers I’ve spent years hunting down.
Ocean waves rumble in the distance as I cut the engine and nudge the kickstand into place.
“What are we doing here?” Evie asks, tugging off her helmet. She spots the two men leaning against the hood of a car a few paces in front of us, a frown forming on her pretty lips. I do the same, replacing my helmet with my stitchedmask.
I give myself a moment to appreciate how fucking gorgeous she looks. Her skirt’s ridden up, exposing her thighs spread around my motorcycle, and she’s wearing the leather jacket I had custom made for her. An emerald serpent is embroidered across the back, marking her as mine. Evie won’t know what it means, but my brothers will. And I don’t fucking care.
“Don’t you recognize the one on the left, little fox?” I ask as Mark grunts. Memories of her body dragging along him have my blood boiling, burning with envy. She swings her leg off my bike, and I capture her before she takes another step. My gloved hands press against the soft curves of her stomach, making sure she feels how hard I am. “You were rubbing your ass all over him only hours ago.”
The hitch in her breath is audible, and I don’t bother suppressing a malicious chuckle as I lean forward, my mask scraping her cheek.
“Stay put,” I murmur, relishing the way Evie’s pulse hammers. “Do as you’re told, and I’ll consider lessening your punishment.”
“P-punishment?” she stammers as I step around her toward our guests. As much as I’d love to soak up the fear emanating from my little fox, this next part requires concentration.
“Whoever you are, you better get the fuck out of here,” the man next to Mark says, raising his chin with a hand in his pocket. “We have business here that doesn’t concern you.”
“Oh, but it does.” I grin, cocking my head slightly as I listen. A whistle cuts through the darkness behind them.
“What the fuck,” Mark mutters, scrambling back as his partner withdraws a gun and points it into the trees.
Mavros and Noctis emerge from the thick overgrowth, dressed in black. Their masks are firmly in place—red and light blue stitching crossing over their eyes and mouths, twisted into grotesque smiles.
“Clear,” Mavros says, ignoring the weapon pointed at him.The red bear embroidered on his jacket shifts as he cracks his knuckles.
“Only the two,” Noctis confirms with a shrug. In place of a bear, his jacket sports a creepy-looking sloth stitched in light blue, almost teal. “Turns out Mark and Andrew thought they could handle the southern region without backup.”
“That’s right, motherfuckers,” Andrew snarls, pointing his gun between the three of us. “I handle my own shit?—”
Mavros may be big, but he’s fast. A shot cracks through the air, and red stains white cotton a moment before Andrew hits the ground.
“Shit,” Mark curses, pressing a hand to his friend’s chest. But Mavros doesn’t miss. It won’t matter what Mark does. Andrew is already gone.
I lift a brow in Noctis’s direction and nod once. He steps forward, disarming Mark and retrieving the other two weapons from Andrew’s body.
“Did you get his phone?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Mark, but painfully aware of the silence stretching behind me.
Evie isn’t screaming. We just killed a man, and there’s nothing but the thickening quiet. And maybe that makes me a coward, but I don’t turn to check on her. This is who I am. What I’ve been forced to become. If she doesn’t understand that…
“Yes,” Noctis confirms. “I took his wallet, as well. We have a cleanup crew on standby, already aware that both will need dental work.”
I nod once. The bodies won’t be discovered. There won’t be anything left to find, but I still prefer to take precautions.
It was Noctis who first suggested removing the teeth of the men who’ve gotten in our way. It’s become standard practice now. No loose ends and all that.
“Call when it’s done,” Noctis says before he and Mavros disappear down the unmarked path. I wait until their motorcyclesrev to life and fade into the distance before turning back to Evie.
“What’s going on?” she asks, voice shaking as she stares at the growing red pool around Andrew. She’s pale and trembling, but she lifts her chin, eyes flicking from Mark’s scowling face to mine. “Is this because of me? I wasn’t thinking about him when we were dancing.”
