Page 70 of Endless Anger (Monsters Within #1)

ASHER

Dad eventually makes his way to where we are, stretching his arms over his head, since the ceiling is much higher here than anywhere else.

He glances around the cavern as he stands beside me, both of us giving Lucy and Alistair a private moment to collect themselves. She’s wrapped in her dad’s arms, and right now, I can’t watch.

Not knowing Grayson and Violet won’t get that with Foxe again.

Dad clears his throat. “What I said earlier?—”

“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“Oh no, I did mean it.”

He turns to me, and I take a second to appreciate the heart-to-hearts happening in here while a corpse casually rots and the corpse-to-be continues to lie unconscious mere feet away. Frankly, I would expect nothing less from us.

“I hold you to a high standard because I know you’re capable of attaining it,” he says.

“For a long time, I was afraid of you, being my son. I didn’t want you to be like me, and you are in so many ways.

But I’m okay with that. I’ve made my peace with it because you’re a better version of me.

By a million miles. Sometimes, it just seems like you get stuck on your negative emotions, and they end up ruling when you should be making better decisions.

I try not to interfere unless you ask, but when it comes to protecting the people you love, that isn’t something to skimp on.

Ever. I’m sorry if that feels unfair or if I haven’t been the best role model for it, but that is the Anderson curse.

Taking care of the people who make your life better. ”

He used to be so quiet, always observing and reserving his thoughts for when he was asked for them. I grew up watching that and internalizing it, learning that sometimes words weren’t necessary. Action seemed better, and I loved my fists most.

They got results.

But I’ve always sort of resented the savior complex he seemed to have. No matter what, day or night, if someone he loved had a problem, he was there for them. Which meant there were a dozen or more people on the planet who took attention away from me.

Stupid, really. Selfish too. He never neglected me, yet I hated that he helped others, like it somehow meant he loved me less.

But he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t love me. I know that much.

Something tells me he came in the hope of finding his nephew alive and keeping me from Grayson’s wrath. Despite his silence on the phone earlier, there’s no doubt in my mind he’d never let anyone touch me.

Because he’s my dad, and that’s what they’re supposed to do.

I scrub a hand down the side of my face, nodding. “All right. I get it. Sorry for being a dick.”

Dad smirks. “You’re my kid. I expect it at this point.”

“Hey,” Alistair says, finally breaking away from Lucy. “Maybe we should get out of here before the others come back.”

My father concurs, and the two of them start the charge out of the cavern.

I hang back, taking a few extra seconds to get a better look at Lucy.

Her sweater is gone, her tank top and arms covered in blood.

There’s a purple welt on her wet, red face and trauma hidden behind her wide, guarded blue eyes.

But when I open my arms, she limps to me instantly, and I swear to God I never want to leave her embrace again for as long as I live .

Anger is impossible to hold on to when I’m wrapped up in her.

I keep her close to my side as we walk out behind our dads, but she freezes in place in the tunnel, staring to the left. She doesn’t move, even when I gently try to coax her in the opposite direction.

“Lucy,” her father urges. “We need to go.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t.”

I glance down, assessing her again. “Is it your leg? I’ll just carry you?—”

“No,” she cuts in. “I don’t want to leave those guys down here and risk letting them get away. Not after what…” She trails off, voice wobbling, and she rubs her nose with her hand. “Not after what they did.”

My eyebrows arch. Alistair exhales, and Dad purses his lips. “I suppose your father and I could go?—”

“ No. I want to see it. I want them dead, and I want to make sure it sticks.”

“Honey…”

Ignoring Alistair, she snatches the gun strapped to Dad’s side and shoves past me. The three of us look at one another for a moment, then blink, springing into action after her. I catch up easily, since she’s kind of slow right now due to her injuries, and pry the weapon from her hands.

“Don’t try to talk me out of it,” she deadpans.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, pup.” I show her how to use the weapon in the glow from Dad’s flashlight, aware that she’s not unfamiliar with guns because of her dad, but still. I need to do something with my hands.

She watches carefully, placing her fingers where I tell her to. Her breathing is labored, and mine matches it.

The last cavern before a dead end is totally lit up inside; we peer around the wall, noting the table where a tall, lanky man is strapped, lying in a pool of his own blood. He’s been stripped naked, and a metal device with a phallic end piece is set up behind him, between his legs.

It’s bloody too.

Dad curses under his breath.

Foxe’s face is black and blue, turned on its side. His head is restrained with thick Velcro straps, his ankles bolted to the table legs, while a slice in one exposes thick tendon and bone .

Lucy retches quietly, and I bite my tongue until a small piece tears off.

Other than my cousin’s lifeless form, there’s only one masked figure hanging out. He’s sitting in a chair with his back toward us, playing a game on his phone with earbuds in.

He must sense something is off though, because in the next second, he’s jumping up and whirling on us. I dive for his ankles, knocking him off his feet, and take out my utility knife, driving it into his stomach repeatedly until he matches what they did to Foxe.

I push the mask and hood off him, revealing that fucking redheaded guy Muna’s friends with. His eyes are wide open, unseeing as the life fades.

Lucy spits on him.

Getting back to my feet, I glare at Alistair and my father. “Thanks for the fucking help.”

“You had it under control,” Alistair says, leaning against the wall.

Dad walks to Foxe, bending for an inspection, and I hear him curse again as I drag Tiernan’s body off to the side.

“He’s alive,” Dad says, his fingers pressed to Foxe’s neck. “But we’ve got to get him out now .”

Before anyone can move, a gunshot rings through the air, shattering the illusion that maybe we were leaving unscathed. Dad clutches his chest as he’s hit, gritting his teeth and staggering against the table.

“ Dad! ” My shout echoes off the walls as another gunshot sends us into darkness. I duck, diving behind Tiernan’s corpse, and yank Lucy along with me.

Nobody moves or makes a sound. The atmosphere tightens, thickening around us as my eyes slowly adjust. I don’t see a third figure anywhere, so they must be lurking strategically.

Lucy flips onto her hands and knees. She starts to crawl away, and I hook my fingers around her ankle, stopping her.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I hiss, trying to drag her back.

She kicks at me. “I can see really well right now. I spent way too much time in the dark at the Obeliskos this semester, and my eyes are adjusting better from it, I guess. I’m going to go undo Foxe’s restraints and check on your dad.”

“Lucy, no. Absolutely the fuck not.”

Her grin tears my heart into pieces. “I wasn’t asking permission, pretty boy .”

Nostrils flaring, I release her and ball my hands into fists, casting my gaze back around the cavern, searching for the slightest movement. A breeze floats in from behind me, and I turn, keeping crouched low as I make my way toward it.

I feel an electric cord and follow the length, hoping it leads to some sort of light. Alistair has his, but I’m sure he’s keeping it off so as not to draw attention to himself.

My hand brushes something smooth and hard, distinctly leather, and I pause. Lifting my chin, I look up, tracing a figure standing just inches from my body.

Shock strikes my chest, and I blink, trying to register what’s happening but unable to do so. The clear mouth of a gun presses against my temple, and I swallow, cursing the entire fucking universe for my absolute shit luck.

I close my eyes, but they pop back open when an ear-piercing shriek snaps across the cavern, whipping against me. A flashlight shines on the masked figure as Lucy launches herself at it, bringing a fucking sledgehammer up over her body before swinging it into the guy’s head.

He crumples instantly, and I scramble to my feet, blinking with my mouth agape as Lucy drops the tool and stares at him. She blinks too, like she isn’t quite sure what she just did. I wrap a hand around her neck and kiss the fuck out of her.

She makes an excited noise in the back of her throat when my tongue parts her lips, but then she smacks me, shoving me toward the masked man as he tries to stand.

Planting my knee in his gut, I take out my knife again and hold it beneath his chin, ripping the mask off in a single flick .

Lucy gasps. “ Eli ?”

He coughs, straining against me, blood pouring from where the sledgehammer tore a chunk from his scalp. His eyes are vibrating. “Fuck, just kill me. Please.”

“Oh, I’m going to.” I push a little harder, the tip of my blade sinking into his skin.

“Wait!” Lucy says, grabbing my shoulder. She hesitates, and Eli’s green eyes find hers, devoid of even a hint of emotion. “What— why ? I thought you were my friend.”

“Look, you don’t become a fucking Curator without getting some blood on your hands, all right? It wasn’t personal, and it didn’t start with you. Your roommate, she was collateral damage. An initiation. Me, Tiernan, and that other kid… What was his name? Tag?”

“ Tag was there that night?”

“He helped kill her. It was the three of us, although we brought a manipulated recording of Beckett to frame him in case anyone stumbled upon the scene. Imagine my surprise when it was you , Lucy. The girl who rarely even left her dorm wound up in the wrong place and time that night, so Tag decided to get close to you to see if you knew anything about it.” Eli scoffs.

“Problem was Tiernan and I thought he was getting freaked out and wanted to confess to you, so we eliminated that problem as well.”

Lucy doesn’t say a word.

“My family has never taken me seriously, so I thought, why not sow contention between the founding families? Prey on Beckett’s dumb beliefs and have a little fun in the meantime.” He sizes Lucy up, cocking an eyebrow. “Too bad I didn’t get to finish. I had really big plans for you, if only?—”

A flick of my wrist sends the knife through his throat. He gurgles, reaching for me, before falling limp under my hold.

“Oops.”

Lucy lets out a long, shaky breath as I stand back up. I push some hair behind her ear, noting the missing piercing in her lobe, which has been slightly torn.

She pouts. “I didn’t get to actually kill anyone. ”

“You don’t want that burden, pup.”

“How come it’s okay for you then?”

“Because I don’t care about me. My conscience has been dead for a long time.” I cup her cheek, tilting her head. “But you? I love that yours is free. I don’t want to fucking change a thing about you.”

She leans into my touch. “Sounds an awful lot like a love confession, Asher Blake Anderson.”

I grin. “Baby, I’ve loved you my entire life. Seems like you have some catching up to do.”

“Okay, quit trying to make us grandparents, and get the hell over here,” Alistair snaps.

Dad’s propped up against the wall, holding his coat to his shoulder. Relief floods me at the sight of him, and then again when I see Foxe’s eyes are open, albeit pretty blank.

“We’ve got to get these two out of here,” Alistair says. “Asher, you and I will shoulder Foxe, and Lucy can walk with your dad. The bleeding is stabilized. We think it’s a shallow wound but can’t be sure until we have better light. And EMTs, probably.”

“Not like I’m a fucking doctor,” Dad mutters, getting to his feet.

As Alistair and I maneuver Foxe from the table, I try not to focus much on the fact that he doesn’t make a single sound. Not of pain or to crack a joke or anything.

It’s unnerving.

What the fuck did they do to him?

I pause once Foxe is situated between Alistair and me, noting the metal table he was just strapped to has three names written in big block letters in blood.

Quincy.

Noelle.

Asher.

And mine is the only one marked out.