“He would have lasted if you showed any kind of control,” I said, draining the last of my whiskey. This was damn good stuff, but I wanted more.
“Oh, really, and you think you’ve got better control?” he asked.
“I know I do because I get to entertain myself for a lot longer than you.” I raised my brow as he came toward me.
We could fight. We were our only real competition. No one had been able to best us, and we’d killed one too many soldiers. When we beat the shit out of each other, our only agreement was no killing blows. It was a rush to hold back on one another.
There were times, though, I knew Gael and I wanted to kill Vadik and River. They had gotten a taste of her. They’d felt her tight cunt and knew how perfect she was. What did we get? Nothing. A few stolen kisses and the chance to watch. Nothing of any real importance. It pissed me off. Even as we’d taken over from our fathers, we all knew they still held the power and control over Emily’s life. Even if we were to kill everyone we knew associated with them, more would randomly appear. We were fucked no matter which way we worked it.
Emily’s life hung in the balance and none of us were willing to take that risk. Least of all, me.
“I guess you were always too quick. Never savoring anything,” I said, trying to goad Gael.
“Not tonight,” River said, pulling his blade from the man on the floor.
“Don’t even think to tell me what to do.” I swallowed my drink and stared at River, daring him to push me.
Of course, he would. Why not? He knew how angry I was. They all did. Most of my life I’d been lied to. We’d finally found a woman to complete us and what happened? Yeah, she was taken away from us.
I’d tried to find ways around it, but so far, all I’d come up with was nothing. No way of making this right.
I wanted Emily. I craved her. She was in my blood. My need was focused only on her.
“You want to do this again?”
Some of the new scars on my body were the result of fighting River. I’d made him use those blades in our fight. Feeling them hurt my skin gave me such a rush. He looked at me now, bored.
After I threw my empty glass toward him, he stepped out of the way.
Silence filled the air.
Tension mounted.
“Not tonight,” River said.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you want.”
“You think I don’t know what tonight is?” River asked, shouting back. He’d started to turn his back on me after I’d thrown the glass, but now I had his attention again. “We all know what tonight is.”
“Fuck you.”
“It’s her birthday.”
I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it.
“You want to fight and blame me, go ahead. It doesn’t change the fact we all fucked up.”
“Would she even want us now?” Vadik asked, making us all pause.
I turned toward him. He held a glass between his fingers, staring into his drink. He looked a little lost. His obsession was still in place. I’d seen the haven he’d created. The shrine he devoted to Emily. The pictures he constantly drew to make her memory feel more alive. I’d even seen a couple of drawings of her naked. It made me wonder if they were true to memory.
“What the fuck did you say?” Gael asked.
Vadik laughed, downing his drink. Like the other glass, he threw it onto the floor. We had cleaners to come and take care of our messes. I hadn’t cleaned up a single thing in years. It was beneath me.
“You think she’d want to be here after everything we’ve done?” Vadik looked at all of us. “When we had her, we were small fishes in a shark tank.”
“Now we’re the sharks,” River said.
“No, we’re the pieces of shit that pull the sharks out of the ocean and torture them,” Vadik said. “Look at us. We use women. We kill people for fun. Yet, no matter what we do, we cannot find a way to bring her back. That’s what we’re looking for. We’re trying to find our woman for us all.” He sighed. “Me, I wouldn’t take me back.”
“Fuck this shit!” I turned on my heel, about to walk out of the room, but came to a stop when I saw a man in an expensive suit, looking mightily smug. I recognized him and instantly, I wanted to kill him.
I charged toward him, landing a blow, to which he laughed. We went down and as I straddled him, he grabbed my arms and shoved me back. As I got to my feet, Gael, Vadik, and River surrounded me. All four of us united together against our enemy. I was ready to fuck him up.