Page 24 of Endless Anger (Monsters Within #1)

ASHER

“Long time, no see, pup.”

Even though it’s never been her MO, I half expect Lucy to try and hit me when I pin her against the tree. If she had any sense of self-preservation whatsoever, she’d knee me in the balls before I could effectively cut off her escape.

She doesn’t move a muscle. Shock lines the dark edges of her ocean-blue irises, mixing with the white-hot glint of betrayal. I can’t fault her for that, considering I swore to myself that I’d never step foot on this godforsaken campus again.

Things change. People change. All we can do is roll with the punches.

I soak her in, noting the years of distance have been kind to her.

Two bright red streaks of hair frame her heart-shaped face, the rest as black as the night sky and just as silky smooth.

It’s shorter than I remember, sitting just below her collarbone, and there’s a cut on her pale cheek, caked with dried blood and dirt.

My heart taps slowly against my rib cage, as if it can sense her presence.

I fucking hate that .

The scent of sweat and alcohol clings to the air. Her hand comes up, fingers curling over mine, and she tugs her mouth free.

“What the hell ?—”

A branch breaks somewhere close by, as if someone is hovering a few feet away. Lucy immediately goes quiet. Footsteps thud on the forest floor, drawing nearer with each second that passes.

I recover her mouth and press farther into the tree trunk, moving slowly to make as little noise as possible.

My arm slides up, looping behind her neck, and I tuck her into me. She clutches my hip, clawing at my sweater.

It’s a tight fit. Our pelvises line up, every inch of our bodies plastered together while we wait in uncomfortable silence.

Her pulse beats a panicked rhythm against my chest.

I wonder if she can feel mine too.

She mumbles into my palm, her eyebrows knitting. I lean harder, sliding my gaze past the tree in a wordless explanation.

Her breaths start to come in thicker, uneasy bursts; they brush over my knuckles, and I focus on them as the noise dissipates.

Still, we don’t move.

A small whimper escapes her, crawling from the back of her throat. My eyes find hers; they’re tense and laced with confusion.

“Do you know who that was?” I whisper, straining to hear in case the hooded strangers return.

She nods.

Shit. “They killed her?”

I’m not sure why I phrase it as a question—I watched them pitch the girl’s lifeless body over the edge of the quarry and heard the distant splash as it plummeted into the water below.

If I witnessed all that and could put two and two together, there’s no way Lucy wouldn’t catch on. She’s the smart one.

Lucy blinks. Nods again. Tears well up in her eyes, and I grit my teeth, instantly desperate to keep them from spilling over.

I guess some things don’t change .

“Were you?—”

The sudden, frenzied sound of hastened footsteps interrupts my question. A startled noise rips from behind my hand, and her tears break through, sluicing over my fingers. My head swings toward the quarry, noting the group has dispersed, and I realize I may not have pulled us back far enough.

Every muscle in Lucy’s body is taut, on high alert, and I’m wishing I hadn’t fucking come to Fury Hill at all.

Relaxing my hold on her, I twist my torso, peeking out past the trunk.

She grips my biceps, her nails penetrating even through my sweater. When I look back at her, those blue eyes are wide and vast and completely terrified.

“It’s fine ,” I murmur.

I can’t blame her for the fear. Three years of not speaking and me showing up on the night a classmate is murdered—I’d be hesitant too, at the very least. Though it’s a little irksome that she thinks I’d ever endanger her.

Bar fires notwithstanding.

Scanning the area, I don’t see anything alarming, but I resume my position anyway. She’s easy to hide from plain sight; I cover her body completely, tucking her in. Just in case.

My nose grazes her soft hair, and I involuntarily inhale the sweet coconut scent.

She trembles, shaking violently as we wait for the footsteps to cease.

When they do, they’re accompanied by, “Whoa, hey, sorry for interrupting. I’m looking for my cousin, not Casanova.”

Even though I roll my eyes, relief sags in my shoulders at the smooth tenor voice. I turn us toward Foxe, whose six-foot, six-inch frame feels small compared to the forest. Moonlight spills in from behind him, illuminating his form like a god stepping down to earth.

His brows disappear beneath his messy umber locks as he gets a better look at us. A knowing grin twitches against his mouth, and he pockets his hands in his black distressed jeans, rocking back on his heels .

“Ditching me for Lulu again, I see.” Dark amusement dances in his eyes, hidden in the shadows. “Just like old times.”

After a single beat of silence, Lucy starts thrashing.

She shoves at me, so I let go of her, stepping back.

Lifting her chin, she tucks those red pieces of hair behind her ears, revealing a row of piercings decorating the cartilage on the left, and adjusts her plaid skirt where it’s ridden up her tight-clad thighs.

Foxe gives her a once-over. “Still loving those short little skirts, huh, Lulu?”

I let my gaze linger on her legs a little longer than necessary.

“Do not call me that,” she snarls. Storms rage in her eyes as they volley between us, and she crosses her arms over her chest. “And what the hell is going on? What are you two doing at Avernia?”

“Is this Avernia?” Foxe asks, glancing around. “I’d have expected a better reception. Most college campuses love having a rock star in their midst.”

She stares at him. “Avernia is a private school for the country’s best and brightest. The students here aren’t like your groupies.”

“You think I don’t have pretentious groupies?”

Her focus swings to me, ignoring him. “Well? What are you doing here?”

“Attending a party, if that’s allowed?” I pause, lifting a shoulder. “That’s what I was doing anyway. Now, I guess we’re all accomplices to murder.”

“Uh, what?” Foxe’s brows shoot up as he places a hand over his heart. “I know Ash-tree is a violent prick, but you too, Lulu? I thought you were a pacifist.”

Lucy doesn’t respond, pushing past us and heading back to the empty quarry.

Foxe looks at me, his expression lazy. “Didn’t take you any time at all to find her, did it?”

I roll my eyes, checking his shoulder with mine as I stalk after her. “It’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Dozens of bloody footprints mark the dirt path to the rock clearing, and I try not to cringe at what just happened or the fact that Lucy saw it all go down.

“Actually, you never told me why you wanted to come here.” Foxe falls into step beside me. “Just that you had to leave the tour to come slum it with a bunch of nerds.”

I feel his eyes rake over me, silently absorbing my disheveled state, but I don’t respond.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like I missed a very important bullet point in your journey though. Were you covered in blood when Aiden’s security team dropped us off?”

“Do you really want to know?”

He seems to consider this. “Good point.”

We stop a few feet away from where Lucy’s standing at the quarry’s edge, contemplating the lake below.

She doesn’t move at first, and Foxe slings an arm around her shoulders. “Thinkin’ about going for a swim, Lulu?”

Her hands ball into fists, and her spine tenses beneath the oversize cardigan she’s wearing. “They just…threw her down there.”

The lake is black, impossible to see through even during the day—according to my sister. Fury Hill residents say things that go in don’t come back out.

Because of the poor visibility, the girl they tossed has a low chance of being found, even if the local police department was to get involved. Fury Hill cops are notorious for their corruption and generally terrible solved-case stats. Avernia campus police are even worse.

Everything just gets covered up and ignored so this town can continue on with its pretend idyllic image.

It’s bullshit .

“Who threw who?” Foxe asks, letting her shrug out of his hold. “What’s going on exactly?”

Lucy swallows. “I…I don’t…” She trails off, a tremor caught in her words. Her fingers flex at her sides, and she just keeps staring at the water, her blue eyes wide as the full moon above .

Shock. She’s in shock.

Of fucking course, she would be. Watching a classmate be brutally murdered isn’t a daily occurrence, and despite her rough exterior, Lucy’s heart bleeds hard. She’s the kind of person who absorbs everyone else’s pain, and I’ve always envied her for it.

The only thing I’ve ever been capable of absorbing is other peoples’ anger. I store fury in my heart like I’m afraid I’ll forget how painful it is if I don’t.

Like father, like son.

Taking a step forward, I reach for Lucy’s wrist; my hand dominates it. Always has. She looks down just in time for me to tug her away from the edge, her legs struggling to keep pace with my easy stride.

“What are… We need to call someone, don’t we? This needs to be reported…”

“Later,” I tell her, keeping my voice firm so I don’t cave to whatever she desires.

“ Wait! ” She digs her heels into the dirt, halting me with every ounce of strength in her body.

I clench my jaw, slowly turning around.

She’s breathing heavily, an unmoored glint rippling her irises. Her chest rises and falls in short, rapid bursts, and her eyebrows draw inward, frustration coloring her features.

“You’re covered in blood,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to my shoes.

“Not exactly headlining news.”

“And you showed up here out of nowhere ,” she continues.

I can almost see the cogs rotating in her mind as she tries to piece together a puzzle she doesn’t understand. Her eyes lift, seeking mine, and she shuffles backward one step. Then two.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I followed you.”

Another step away from me. My chest aches with the distance, even though it has no right to .

“That is…beyond creepy.” She glances at Foxe without turning her head, but he’s leaning against a tree, not even facing us.

“Still, how did you know I was here , at this party? Why are you here? You don’t go to Avernia, and you don’t live in Fury Hill.

Last I knew, you wanted nothing to do with this school or town or m?—”

“Can I explain some other time? I really don’t think we should be hanging out when there are murderers running around in the fucking forest.”

“Good Lord,” Foxe mutters. “As if this place wasn’t creepy enough.”

I surge forward, reaching for Lucy’s wrist once more, and she jumps back out of my reach. My teeth grind together, irritation sewing into the enamel.

“No, no.” She shakes her head vigorously, her hair flying in front of her face. “I’m not going with you.”

“Lucy.”

“ No . I—I don’t know what you were doing out here. You could’ve been—you could have done something like the others. I’m…I need to go find Aurora, and then we can go to the police.”

She moves to sidestep me, her entire body shaking, and I take the opportunity to catch her from behind. Wrapping one arm around her neck, I palm the back of her head and gently tilt it forward.

Her hands come up, scratching at my skin as I increase the pressure to the sides of her throat. She bucks wildly, but I’m bigger, and she’s never fought anyone off in her entire life.

Why would she need to when she always had someone else around who was willing to step in—even when she didn’t ask him to?

“Stop!” she manages to choke out, but I don’t release her, and within seconds, she goes totally limp in my arms.

Foxe comes over, whistling low. “Goddamn. You Andersons really know how to make an entrance.”

I roll my eyes and shift Lucy toward him; he grabs her arms, holding her so I can haul her over my shoulder.

The forest is starting to feel like it’s bearing down on us, the darkness beneath the full moon cloaking the air like a vile film.

Almost as if everything about this town is as putrid and evil as I always said it was.

Not that I ever told Lucy that, nor do I think she would’ve listened.

Stubborn girl.

My arm envelops her legs, and I tug on the hem of her skirt, pulling it so her ass is fully covered. Foxe purses his lips, watching me silently.

He doesn’t ask again about what I was doing before I found Lucy, and I’m glad. I don’t need him to know that I’m making them accomplices to my own crime.

“This really does take me back, you know?” he jokes, nudging me as we start toward campus.

“Shut the fuck up, and let’s just get her back to the dorms in one piece.”

“Aye aye, captain.”