Page 177
Story: Princes of Ash
To his credit, I hardly remember how we get to the hospital. It’s like one second we’re driving over the bridge, and the next, the black SUV is screeching to a stop in front of the doors.
Even getting to the car was a blur. Lex, carrying an unmoving Verity toward the headlights, blood dripping down her calves. Wicker’s pale face and panicked expression as he drove over Father’s prized roses.
I just remember dragging her into me the second we got inside, trying desperately not to freak out.
If we lose her…
If we lose him…
“Pace!”
I blink, looking up at my brother. The glare of the emergency room lights burns behind him, turning his long, auburn locks into a fiery halo.
“Let go of her, brother.” He leans over her body, prying my arm from around her chest. “It’s okay. They’re going to put her on the gurney and take her in.”
Another blink, and she’s gone, the three of us following blindly, breathless and trembling as she’s carted away by the hospital staff.
We only get as far as the waiting room before she disappears behind some bullshit, official-looking double doors. I barely have time to inhale before Wick spins around, hurling his words at me.
“How did you let this happen?! It’s your job to keep track of her!
“Me?” My jaw locks, and I spring forward, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You’re the one who showed her all those passageways! You know they’re not monitored.”
His face twists murderously. “Because keeping her locked up was killing her! She needed some freedom. Some air!” His hands slam into my chest. I rock back, avoiding his next hit, but preparing to make one of my own.
“Fuck you!”
“Hey!” Lex’s roar carries over our fight. “Knock it off!”
He appears between us, hands shoving at both of our chests. But even though the sudden emergence of emotion on his face is like a bucket of cold water poured over me, it’s not his intervention that keeps me and Wick from pummeling each other.
I feel a strong hand curl into the back of my shirt at the same time I watch Wicker lurch abruptly backward.
“You heard him,” a deep, rumbling voice says in my ear. “Knock it the fuck off.”
Simon Perilini’s face is an inch from mine, his hand perilously close to my neck. I took Maddox in the ring, but only with my knife. Based on pure physicality alone, Perilini could snap my spine in half.
“Fine,” I say, shrugging him off, but I direct my glare at Wicker, who I now realize is being held back by a stone-faced Nick Bruin. “But keep him away from me.”
I turn around and—
Crack!
A fist slams into my mouth.
“You had one fucking job!” Ballsack stands a foot away, vibrating with rage. “I told you to keep her safe!You—specifically.”
I spit blood on the floor, wanting nothing more than to release all this helpless, frenetic anger building in my chest. But no one here deserves it less than Ballsack. “Look,” I begin, trying so hard to keep my fury in check that there might as well be electricity arcing from my skin, “she freaked out and ran. This wasn’t us.”
“Wasn’t it?” he barks, fist balled again. “She called the Duchess and said she was running away fromyou.”
“What did you do to her?” Remy Maddox says, suddenly marching up into the mix. Behind him, I see the Lucia girl, who looks angrier than any of them. What the fuck did Verity say to her?
“Hold the fuck up,” Lex says, voice level and calm. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding here because I know everyone wants Verity to be safe.”
“She was scared,” Lavinia Lucia says, eyes burning into me. “She said she was out in the garden and wanted me to meet her.”
“Meet you where?” Nick asks.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192