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Shadow tendrils pluck knives from Arson’s various hiding spots that he typically keeps them strapped in, and surprisingly passes them over to Bellamy.

As if they’re sharing a brain, Bell works his way around the outline of Adam’s body, using his clothes to pin him against the tree spread-eagle.

As soon as he’s immobilized, I glance up to check on Kiara.

Only to find the tree branch completely empty.

Fear sends a sudden rush of ice through my veins. I promised we’d look out for her, yet we haven’t even been gone from the compound for six hours before I lost her.

“Oh fuck.” I fist my hair. “Arson, you know that guy, right? You know where to find them? We have to get her back-”

I don’t even finish my freak out before Vic is standing in front of Adam with a furious glare. “You truly don’t care who you hurt so long as you get what you want, do you?” Voice cold, he pulls a knife from his hip and shoves past Arson, wrapping a hand around Adam’s throat.

Swallowing down my nerves, I tentatively close the distance between us. “Where did you take Kiara?”

Vic doesn’t tear his glare away from Adam, but the corner of his eye does twitch. “Somewhere safe. After this is handled and she won't be at risk of catching a stray bullet, if she wishes to return, I’ll consider it.”

“ If ? Why the hell would she rather be carted off by a total stranger?!”

Finally, he turns to face me, pinning me with a merciless glare.

“For all I know, your group was holding her hostage, and this was a Fates’ driven encounter so I could set her free.

After I’ve confirmed the details from her personally, she can decide where she wants to go. As long as it’s somewhere safe.”

Fates save me from men that think they know what’s best for women they don’t even know.

Myles squeezes my hip, silently urging me to stop antagonizing the violent stranger that’s the only one who knows where Kiara is. If we want any hope of getting her back, pissing him off isn’t a great move.

“I’m sorry,” Ledger interrupts with a growl, “but who the hell even are you?”

Arson wipes his palms on his thighs. “Shit, sorry. Guys, this is Havoc Knight, master of the ShadowKnight guild. He’s the poor sap that took me in as a kid.”

Myles surprises everyone by stepping forward and offering his hand. “Thank you. For being there for him when nobody else was. And,” his throat bobs, “for saving our parents for him to deal with. It meant a lot to him.”

Vic cocks his head, but shakes his hand. “You’re the brother he left us to find, I take it?”

Myles nods, and Vic gives him a fatherly smile. “Good fucking luck, you poor bastard. That sociopath turned me grey before I hit thirty.”

It breaks the tension, an unspoken truce settling between the guys. Adam curses, and we all look to find him trying to slide out of his shirt to free himself and epically failing. Honestly, it’s kind of pathetic.

Unable to help myself, I pull out my phone and take a picture. Nothing like a reminder that karma may be a bitch, but my mates are happy to be at her service.

“Bastard didn’t even pay me a dime,” Vic grumbles, sharing a look with Arson. “All your dramatic acting skills, gone completely to waste.”

Arson snorts. “Like you were going to cut me in anyway.”

Vic’s lips twitch. “Consider it payback for eating me out of house and home all these years. But I see congratulations are in order.” He gestures to Arson’s wrist with a warm smile before turning to me and dipping his head in respect.

“From the way the jackass spoke, something tells me you’re due some karmic justice.

So I’ll hand his fate over to you as a mating gift. ”

Vic pulls out a new knife and rolls it between his fingers absentmindedly. Now that habit makes sense; it’s where Arson picked it up. “So, Ever. What would you like to do with this slimy bastard?”

I freeze, not used to being put on the spot.

Seeing my struggle, Arson looks way too happy as he suggests, “Could cut off his fingers and toes, then work your way up to lopping off limbs. I’m sure he’ll pass out before long, but I keep smelling salts on me for occasions like this!”

Bellamy’s lips twist in disgust as he stares down at Adam squirming. “He’s a cheating piece of shit. I vote we start with his dick and turn it into a pacifier since he’s being such a fucking baby.”

Ledger cracks his knuckles. “Let’s just snap his neck and be done with it.”

Not a single person suggests letting him go.

And honestly… I’m too petty to keep being the bigger person.

I tried to move on without making a scene.

I didn’t embarrass him in front of his coworkers before I left.

Hell, I didn’t even try to get him fired.

I just wanted to part ways and move on. He’s the one that turned this into a huge, dramatic thing because he couldn’t get past his own ego and wanted to fuck me over out of spite.

“You couldn’t just move on, could you?” I scoff.

“You had to try and steal my work, like cheating on me wasn’t bad enough.

So you know what? Fuck you. You’re a small minded, pathetic little man, and as far as I’m concerned, you don’t deserve a quick death and to get off scot-free. I want you to suffer.”

Arson sucks in a sharp breath. “I have the perfect idea, hold on.” He vanishes, reappearing at Vic's side and animatedly speaks in a furious whisper.

Vic raises a silvery-blue eyebrow. “Seriously? The wolf’s right, just kill him instead of playing with your food.”

“Pleeeeeeease?” Arson begs. “Think of how fun it would be.”

With a fond smile and a shake of his head, he relents with an overly exaggerated sigh. “Alright, come on.”

Clasping a hand on Arson’s shoulder, the two of them disappear in a haze of silver mist, reappearing less than five minutes later.

Vial in hand, Arson returns to my side. “Trust me?”

To my genuine surprise, I don’t even have to give it a second thought.

“With my life.”

The heated look he gives me shows he understands just how huge that revelation is.

Before them… there literally wasn’t anyone I’d count on to spit on me if I were on fire.

So the fact that I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I trust my mate enough to pass Adam’s fate over to whatever is in that vial without needing the details throws me for a loop, but in a good, albeit terrifying, way.

They snaked their way past my defenses so completely, that every single one of them has the power to utterly destroy me if they wanted. But… I’m not actually afraid they will anymore.

Then again, what’s the worst that could happen? Adam dies a slow, horrifically painful death?

Oh noooooooo, that’d be terrible . Such a shame, really.

Arson shoots a sidelong glance at Ledger when he uncorks the vial. “A little help, pops?”

With an irritated huff, Ledger clamps his fingers around Adam’s jaw, holding his mouth open as Arson force feeds Adam the contents of the vial. Electric blue and shimmery in the light, it’s hypnotically entrancing, and reminds me a little too much of nature.

The brightest, prettiest things are typically the ones you want to avoid like the plague.

Adam sputters and tries to spit it out, but Arson claps a hand over his mouth and pinches his nose shut, waiting until his throat bobs with his swallow.

Finally, they release his face, and Adam sucks down several ragged, deep breaths.

A full-body shudder rolls over him before he starts freaking out in earnest, thrashing in his bonds.

And I watch in horrified fascination as he starts to shrink .

It’s a painfully slow process, but I can’t look away. Several minutes tick by before he’s small enough that he slips out of his shirt and into the gaping waistband of his jeans. By the time he tumbles out of one pant leg, he’s the size of a hamster.

And butt naked.

Scrunching up my nose, the guys clearly share my distaste at that unfortunate side effect.

Once reality sets in and the shock wears off, Adam tries to bolt, but doesn’t make it far.

Bellamy snatches him up as Myles fumbles with his shoe and sacrifices a sock to the greater good, dropping him into the makeshift sack.

With an amused twinkle in his eye, Bell says, “You can stay that way until you grow the fuck up,” and closes the top of the fabric in his fist.

I can faintly hear the muffled squeaking of Adam’s indignant protests, and it’s the thing that finally pushes me over the edge. A giggle bubbles out of me, quickly escalating into full-blown, doubled over laughter.

Swiping at the tears in my eyes, my laughter tapers off as reality slowly trickles back in.

Bellamy’s tied off the top of the sock, him and Arson playing catch with the human hacky sack while waiting for me to finish my mini breakdown, tossing it my way, and as I glance down at the sock, it threatens to send me into another round of hysterics.

It’s just… ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous.

Adam can’t hurt me anymore; not when I quite literally hold his life in the palm of my hand.

Chucking him over to Ledger, I take a deep breath and stride right up to Vic, bracing myself for a fight. “Okay, he’s clearly not a threat anymore. So bring Kiara back.”

His jaw tics, glaring at the sock prison Adam’s being flung around in.

“Only if that’s what she wants.” I note that he doesn’t bring up the flimsy excuse of us holding her hostage again.

He knows Arson better than most; there’s no way he’d hold a woman against her will or try to sell her, and he knows it. Not after what his parents did to him.

Still, he hesitates. And I’m not the only one that notices.

Arson tosses the bundle to Myles and saunters over. “I respect you man, but if you make my girl cry by holding her only girlfriend hostage, I'm going to make your life a living nightmare. And you know better than most how little sleep I need.”

Vic mutters under his breath, the only part I catch being something along the lines of, “Fucking menace…”

I barely breathe for several minutes, and doubt creeps in that he’s coming back at all.

He took her and fled the country. How the fuck am I going to get her back? They could be anywhere .

Before panic can completely set in, Vic appears, a furious looking Kiara fighting his grip. “Seriously?” she demands.

Vic clenches his jaw without answering her, turning to Arson. “You'll get her settled in Mercy Ridge?” At my mate’s nod, Vic offers a terse, “Good.” With one last, longing look at Kiara, he disappears in a silver haze without so much as a goodbye.