Page 12 of Revenge Saints (BloodHawks Duet #2)

I t’s morning.

Max and Ryker passed out after fucking into next week, while Aspen rests in the other room, but me? My brain hasn’t shut down since last night.

I’ve been sitting at this damn table for hours, staring at maps and notes like something’s gonna change if I glare hard enough.

I want the base back, but that can wait; the priority is Dante.

“You didn’t sleep,” Ryker says, stepping into the living room.

I glance up at him. His hair’s still dripping, fresh out of a shower, but it’s the way he won’t meet my eyes that tells me more than words ever could.

“Didn’t need to.”

I go back to the papers. The floor plan Ryker sketched is solid, nearly perfect, but the problem is, we built the damn place to be impossible to infiltrate. No weak spots. No blind corners. Just the front door and the back. That’s it.

And they’ll both be guarded like hell now.

Ryker stands off to the side, running a hand through his wet hair. Nervous tic, and I sigh.

“What’s wrong, Recon?” I lean back in the chair, arms resting on my thighs.

He still won’t look at me. Eyes locked on the floor like it’s safer than facing whatever the fuck is on his mind.

Then Aspen walks in with Max right behind her.

“Morning,” Max says, all casual, completely missing the tension in the room.

“Morning,” I echo, eyes flicking to Aspen.

She smiles that soft, sleepy smile that almost cuts through the fog in my head and walks straight over to me, grabbing my face in both hands, kissing me, slow and sweet.

I let myself sink into it for a second, but when I open my eyes, Ryker’s staring anywhere but at us.

I break the kiss. “Sit down, Ryker.” My voice cuts through the room like a blade.

Max freezes mid-step, eyes flicking between me and Ryker, panic settling in fast.

“Knox?” Max tightens, and I see worry in his eyes.

“You two, sit down.” I jerk my chin toward the other chairs.

Aspen frowns, arms crossing over those beautiful breasts of hers, mouth set in that bratty little scowl that drives me up the fucking wall.

“Don’t be a brat and sit the fuck down, Aspen,” I groan, smirking despite myself.

God, I love when she acts like this, stubborn, with fire in her eyes. She makes my blood heat and my patience snap.

Max sits, gesturing for Ryker to do the same.

“Fine. Stand, then,” I mutter, shifting my attention back to Ryker. “I don’t give a shit if you fuck Max or Aspen.”

That was all it took; Aspen drops into the seat beside Max, jaw hanging open.

Ryker finally lifts his eyes to mine. “This is different, Knox. Me and Max… we’re used to sharing.”

“I know,” I say flatly. “Me and Dante shared too.”

The second it’s out of my mouth; I want to drag it back in.

“You shared ?” Aspen snaps. “So this,” she waves her hand between the three of us, “this is just routine?” The usual for you?”

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“That’s not what he meant, sweetheart,” Max starts, trying to ease it down.

“Don’t sweetheart me,” she cuts him off, eyes burning. “You all just passed women around? Is that normal? Before the plague? ”

There’s more pain in her than I expected, and it hits harder than any scream could.

I meet her eyes.

“We didn’t live a normal life, pet,” I say gently, but the anger in her eyes? It’s nothing like I’ve seen before. She’s hurt. Furious.

She’s about to rip into us.

Her fingers tap the table like a ticking bomb, the other hand clenched into a fist.

“What was your abnormal life before the plague, Knox?” She asks sharply, eyes locked on me like she’s ready to tear through flesh and bone for the truth.

Yeah.

We’re fucked.

“You already know what happened, the mission, Roman,” I start, trying to act like I don’t get what she’s really asking.

“Don’t, Reaper .” Finger pointed right at me.

And fuck me, she really needs to stop saying my codename like that because my cock reacts instantly, like a goddamn traitor.

“What do you want to know?” Ryker asks, and I shoot him a glare.

Great. Just fucking great. This is about to go downhill fast.

Aspen’s eyes are on me, hard and demanding. “What was your life like before the plague? Girlfriends? Wives? Kids ?”

My brows shoot up.

“Why the hell are you looking at me ? Do I look like the type to settle down with a picket fence and two kids?” I snap, sharper than I mean to .

She rolls her eyes, muttering something under her breath.

“I don’t know! I don’t know shit about any of you.”

She whips around and points at Max. “Are you British? Australian? What even are you?”

Max blinks. “I,”

“And how the hell did you end up in an American military unit?”

For fuck’s sake…

I rub a hand down my face. This conversation’s about to take a whole damn hour.

But then she turns back to me, eyes blazing.

“And you and Dante shared?”

The words slam into me.

“Shared what, exactly? Hookups? Girlfriends?”

Shit.

My jaw tightens. Max shifts beside me. Ryker goes silent.

Yeah. We’ve stepped right into the fire now.

“It was different,” I say, trying to keep my tone even, but the way her brow furrows tells me she’s not buying it.

“When we were with the unit, we never knew when we’d be called in. No warning. No idea how long we’d be gone. It could be a night, a week, or a month. Roman pulled the strings, and we moved.”

I shake my head, the memories scraping up things I don’t often let surface.

“None of us had girlfriends. Honestly, I don’t think we ever did.”

“So you shared hookups?” She presses, leaning in, elbows on the table, eyes locked on me .

“Not often,” I admit. “But it happened a couple of times.”

I’m not gonna lie to her. There’s no point. She deserves the truth, even the parts that might sting.

“Other military women?” She asks.

There’s something in her, something small. Like she’s bracing herself.

“No,” I say immediately. “Never.”

“It was always women we met out, nightclubs, bars. People who weren’t attached to our world. They didn’t ask questions, and we didn’t need to give them answers.”

I lean in closer; eyes fixed on hers, steady. I want her to feel what I’m saying.

“There was never anyone I wanted for more than a night, Aspen. None of us did. Not me, not Dante, not Ryker or Max.”

I glance over.

“Well… aside from Max and Ryker wanting each other.”

Max lets out a quiet chuckle. Ryker’s face goes red.

Aspen’s quiet for a beat.

Then, softly, she whispers, “If you’d met me before the plague… would you still…”

She trails off, shakes her head like she’s brushing the thought away.

“Of course you wouldn’t. Neither of you.”

And just like that, she’s not fire anymore. She’s wounded.

She stands, like she’s ready to bolt, to run before the truth hits too hard, but I’m faster .

I rise from my chair, grab her arm, and pull her straight into me. Her body meets mine with a quiet thud, soft curves pressed to my chest.

“You wanted answers,” I murmur, my head leaning to hers. “We’ll give them to you, but you need to let us finish.”

She doesn’t fight me. Doesn’t pull away.

I turn her gently to face the guys, her back against my front, one of my hands resting on her hips, grounding her, keeping her here.

“We wouldn’t have,” Max says quietly. “Because there’s no way a woman like you would’ve crossed our path, sweetheart.”

Ryker nods. “The women around us were older. More experienced. They wanted a good time, nothing serious, just like us.”

He offers her a soft smile. “You were what… eighteen when the plague hit?”

Her breath hitches. Then, quietly, she asks, “But what if the plague never started? And we did cross paths?”

There’s fear. Hope, too. She’s bracing for answers she might not want.

I lean in close, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “I would’ve fucked you the first chance I got.”

Her breath catches.

Max follows, his tone thick with heat. “You’re hot as fuck, Aspen. None of us would’ve thought twice about having you.”

She finally chuckles, that tight coil in her shoulders loosening as her body melts back into mine.

That sound, her laughter, real and soft, hits something in me. My arms slide fully around her waist, pulling her closer, steadying her .

Steadying me.

Because, fuck, my heart is still racing like I just dodged a bullet.

“And,” Max continues, “I am British. I was part of an international unit before Knox gave me the call. Roman’s unit was supposed to be global; the four of us were the start. But when things went to shit, the whole project got scrapped.”

Ryker leans back in his chair, casually flipping an apple in his hand. “I’m Canadian, by the way.” He shrugs, blinking like it doesn’t matter, but I catch the edge of emotion under his calm.

Aspen nods slowly, then tilts her head up to look at me.

“Pennsylvania,” I say, smirking down at her. Her emerald eyes are glowing with curiosity, like she’s trying to memorize every piece of us. “Dante’s from Canada too.”

“Oh,” she murmurs, and I feel her body tense in my arms again.

Ryker breaks the quiet. “And you, Aspen?”

She looks at him, then answers softly, “American too. But after the plague, we crossed the border through the woods.”

Silence.

“I need to ask something,” Ryker says carefully. My eyes flick to him, and Aspen nods, giving him permission.

“I know we’ve had some kind of conversation about… whatever this is.” He gestures vaguely between all of us. “But I need to know. Is everyone on board with the sharing? Can we really do this, for real?”

Aspen trembles in my hold. Then she tilts her head up to meet my eyes .

“Will you?” she whispers.

I smile.

“Listen, pet. If you asked me if I’d ever share you with anyone, the answer would be a hard fuck no . You’re mine.”

Her cheeks flush, but when I glance at the others, there’s worry there too. In Max’s eyes. In Ryker’s.

I sigh, pressing a kiss to her hair.

“But sharing you with Max, Ryker, and Dante?” I shake my head with a soft laugh. “That’s a no-brainer. I’ve got no problem with it, unless you do.”

I unwrap my arms from around her and step back just enough to look her in the eyes.