Blaze (Virtues & Lies 3)

“I don’t have time for this shit,” Casper spits at him. I can picture his scowl. “I did what needed to be done. Fleur might not like it. She might not understand it. But it got the job done.”

“Maybe it’s not what she needed!”

“Who the fuck are you to tell me what she needs?” The violent grit in his voice sets me on edge. It’s menacing and promising. And I know what follows it. “You’ve been with her for a week, and you think you know her?”

“You said she’d fight with everything she had.”

“And she did from what Lucian told me.”

“He wasn’t there when she wouldn’t eat. When she cried herself to sleep. He wasn’t there when she didn’t fight.”

“You’re going to walk away now, and you won’t look at her again, brother.”

Casper’s footsteps come closer. I can tell they’re his by their sure footing and lightness. He’s so stealthy. The stealth he possesses is otherworldly.

“You fucked her up!”

There’s a loud crash. The tall pillar candle from the entrance rolls to a stop beside me, followed by the heavy silver holder.

There’s a slurry of muffled and groaned curses before Casper pins Ryan to the altar. His hands fist around the collar of Ryan’s shirt, grinding to his neck as he bites out, “I. Saved. Her. Because she’s mine.”

Ignoring my anger, my heart thaws at his words, and I recall what he told me last night— My trouble. I love you more.

“Are you certain of any of that?” Ryan pushes up, spitting the blood running into his mouth from his nose onto the ground. When he looks back up, our eyes lock and he adds, “Are you sure she’s completely yours?”

Fuck.

My mouth dries and my pulse rockets right into my throat, threatening to choke me.

Casper grabs him by throat with one hand, the other pulling back to pummel him in the face when Ryan pulls out his gun and holds it flush to his chest.

I can’t watch anymore as I jump out and try to push between them. My back presses to Casper’s front as I try to force him to step away. Ryan doesn’t hesitate holstering his weapon, his eyes firmly set on mine as he walks backwards towards the door.

“Ryan…” I have no idea why I’m calling him back, but the look of disappointment on his face mirrors what’s inside me. All that anger I pushed and hit him with thaws in that one glance.

Nodding, he smiles sardonically. “I’m sorry, princess.”

I want to hate him for calling me that in front of Casper, but I can’t because it’s glaringly obvious now. If I’m honest, I already knew…I felt it. He cares, I think more than he should or wants to.

“Princess?” Casper growls, turning me to face him when Ryan’s out of sight.

I shrug, levelling him with my best indifferent stare even though I want to wipe away the blood trickling from his lip.

“Oh, Fleur.” He lowers to my height, his forehead touching mine. Dark, cold eyes pierce mine. “The things I’ll do to you if you let him touch you…”

My mouth dries with his threat, but I refuse to cower from him. “If you cared so much, you shouldn’t have left.”

A daunting grin pulls at one side of his mouth. Chills run through me. This isn’t a side of him I’ve ever seen. He’s not a killer or a bad boy…he’s all monster.

“I have something for you,” he says as if we’re back to our normal taunting.

Grabbing my hand, he takes me back to the main building. People stop and stare at us as he stomps through the hall, taking me towards the stairs into the basement, somewhere I hadn’t ventured yet.

It’s dim and damp down here. The air is so thick that it’s hard to catch my breath. It feels like it’s congealing in my lungs. There are a couple of barred cellars he almost drags me past.

When we reach the only door down here, he opens it, taking me in with him. It’s so dark with the door behind us shut that I can’t see anything until he flips a switch.

“Say hello, Trouble,” he sings, holding me in place beside him when I try to pull away. “Say hi, Daddy.”