Page 66

Chapter 21

Addie

Iplaced my hand in B.M.’s.

Her smile was smug, predatory even, and her eyes possessed a voracious hunger, primal and carnal. I met her smile...and then roughly pulled her to the ground. She let out a gasp, and I twisted my body so I was on top of her. Jamming my elbow into the back of her neck, I hissed,

“I’m not leaving them.” As an afterthought, I added, “Bitch.”

She lifted her head up, lips curving into a feral sneer. I would almost describe it as a snarl.

Frankly, it was not a sexy look on me.

“So you’re choosing to be selfish,” she hissed. I pressed her face into the dirt, and she let out a cry.

“No,” I answered evenly. “I’m choosing them. Always.”

I could hear the men behind me, my men, coaxing me to come home. I would attempt to heed their call, even if it killed me.

“You bitch.” Her face began to change and contort, becoming something entirely unrecognizable. Eyes turning a deep, garnet red. Teeth elongating. Nose protruding from her face. The change was so drastic, so sudden, that I staggered off of her, landing on my ass.

She towered over me, her features more monster than human.

Pain erupted on my calf as her claws dug into my skin. Hissing, I feebly kicked at the grotesque creature. I didn’t even want to refer to her as B.M. anymore. No, there was no resemblance to the girl I once knew. I was staring into the eyes of the devil herself.

And she was furious.

“Unfortunately,” she began, her voice a low growl that pulsated deep within me. It was a sound I had never heard before, a sound that I only thought existed in movies. Goosebumps erupted on my skin that had little to do with the cold. She crack her neck from side to side. “I can’t let you leave.”

Well...shit.

* * *

Fallon

The house was a cute bungalow style with a wrap-around porch and hanging plants. A white picket fence greeted us as we drove up, further highlighting the homey feel the house was emitting. Two cars were in the driveway, the untarnished paint hinting that this area might’ve been spared from the acid rain. I wondered what storms they had faced. Earthquakes? Tornadoes? Floods?

“Well...this place looks fucking cozy,” Tommy drawled. He pushed his head between the two seats and folded his arms on the center console. I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed him before. The shit face had been unnaturally quiet where he had sprawled himself out in the backseat. With the engine roaring and my own thoughts an inarticulate mess, I hadn’t even realized he was there until he had showed himself. I really was losing my edge.

“Language,” I said absently.

My entire attention was fastened on the closed window blinds. From what little I gathered, numerous houses on this street still had electricity. A small miracle, I supposed.

“Do you think anyone is home?” Declan signed.

Sighing heavily, I shrugged.

No, I didn’t think anyone was home. The entire neighborhood was too silent. Too still.

Too dead.

The epitome of a ghost town. What memories haunted these streets?

Instead of saying all that, I slid out of the car and slammed the door shut. The air was warm, humidity making my shirt stick to my skin. My hair was matted to my scalp.

Mosquitos buzzed overhead, the sound deafeningly loud.

“Don’t let them bite you,” I warned Tommy while simultaneously signing to Declan. “We don’t want to accidentally get infected.”