Page 16 of Revenge Saints (BloodHawks Duet #2)

I twist my head, catching a glimpse of his jacket, the insignia.

Roman’s men.

“We lost four good men because of you!” He growls, breath hot and foul against my ear.

“I don’t know why Roman and that bitch want you back so bad.”

My blood turns to ice.

Wait.

“What bitch?” I gasp, struggling under his weight.

He grins down at me, teeth bloody and cracked.

“Your blonde friend. ”

“You’re lying!” I snarl, rage burning through my fear. “She’s dead!”

I don’t think. I move. I lunge, snapping my head back with all my strength, and I hear the bones in his nose crack.

He howls, jerking back. His fist flies and connects with my cheek, hard enough to make my ears ring. The taste of blood floods my mouth.

Pain sears across my face, but I don’t stop.

I can’t.

I drive my knee into his ribs. He curses, body flinching, and that’s the opening I need. I scramble back, my fingers finding the handle of the knife strapped to my waist.

“You little bitch,” he spits, reaching for me again. “Fuck this. Let the blonde play with the mercenary. We don’t need you—”

I drive the knife under his chin, burying the blade to the hilt.

Blood gushes over my hands, hot and thick.

He gurgles, clawing at me, but I remember what Knox taught me—I twist.

The sound he makes echoes through the woods.

I sit there for a second, chest heaving, watching his blood pool around him, soaking the dirt and my clothes.

My fingers tighten around the bloody handle.

“She’s dead!” I scream, yanking the knife free and stabbing him again. And again. And again.

Blood splatters everywhere, hot, slick, soaking into my clothes, my skin .

His body stills. I know he’s dead, but I can’t stop.

Tears fall in thick, hot rivers down my cheeks as a guttural scream rips out of me, raw and endless, echoing through the woods until my throat burns.

I sit back, hands shaking, chest heaving, trying to breathe through the blood and panic.

Trying to remember who the fuck I am.

A crack of leaves behind me makes my body lock up. I lurch to my feet, knife raised, adrenaline blasting through my veins.

Someone steps toward me, too close, and I charge, screaming like a fucking animal.

“Fuck!” He shouts, rough and familiar.

A fist slams into my wrist, and the knife clatters from my hand. I cry out at the sharp sting shooting up my arm.

Another hand grabs me and hauls me in so hard our bodies crash together.

“It’s me!” he growls, breathless. “Aspen, it’s me!”

“Ryker,” I sob, collapsing into him, my fists clutching his jacket, my whole body trembling like it might break apart.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper into him, the words hiccupping out of me with my tears.

His hands find my shoulders, steadying me, and he pulls back just enough to lean down, eyes locked onto mine, scanning every inch of my face.

“Are you hurt?” he asks.

I shake my head fast and point behind me, where the body lies crumpled on the ground.

Ryker’s eyes follow, and his jaw clenches so hard it ticks.

“Shit, Aspen.”

My hands won’t stop trembling.

“He punched me,” I mumble, touching my cheek. His eyes soften instantly. He reaches up, brushing his fingers feather-light over the bruised skin.

“You’re a warrior, love.”

He presses a kiss to the tender spot, and it steals the breath right out of me.

“Knox and Max?” I ask, needing to hear it from him, needing something solid to hold on to.

He pulls back, dropping his hands to his sides. I see the worry clouding his face.

“They went to get Dante.”

“And because I ran, you had to come get me…” The guilt thickens in my chest. “I made it worse,”

“No, Aspen.” He cuts me off, reaching for me again but stopping just short, like he’s afraid I’ll break if he touches me wrong.

“Even if you’d stayed at the house, one of us would’ve stayed behind. We weren’t going to leave you unprotected.”

He is so gentle it splits my heart wide open.

I realize I’m holding my wrist awkwardly. Ryker notices too.

His face twists in panic. “I hurt you,”

“No!” I rush to say, grabbing his hand before he pulls away. “I was about to stab you. You barely touched me.”

His shoulders sag, and he smiles that soft, heart-shattering smile .

“Come on, love. We have to move. Once the guys free Dante, all hell’s going to break loose. We can’t stay in these woods.”

I nod, wiping the blood off my hands onto my pants.

We walk in a steady, limping rhythm.

The woods are so dark, so endless, that it feels like we’re marching through another world.

“Are they mad at me?” I ask, barely above a whisper.

Ryker runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “More worried than mad.”

“Liar,” I mutter with a weak laugh.

He grins, but there’s no real humor behind it.

“They’re pissed, love,” he says softly.

A shiver runs through me.

Knox is going to tie me to a bed, if I’m lucky.

We walk for a while in silence.

“Wait!” I shriek.

“What?” He whispers, scanning the shadows around us, glancing back the way we came, tense. Always looking for danger, gun in hand.

“That guy,” I blurt out, heart hammering faster again. “The one I killed. He said, he said a ‘bitch’ wanted me back. A blonde one.”

Ryker’s whole body goes rigid.

“I fucking knew it,” he mutters, turning to move again, his steps faster now.

I grab the back of his shirt, yanking him to a stop. “Knew what, Ryker? ”

He doesn’t want to say it. I can see it all over him.

“Dante used a code,” he finally says. “A phrase. It meant someone we thought was dead was actually alive.”

I feel the blood drain from my face.

“We didn’t know if he meant Bryn or Ethan,” Ryker continues. “But now we do.”

I shake my head violently.

“No.”

I saw her die. I saw her. Blood everywhere, her body limp, her eyes empty.

Tears burn my eyes, but this time it’s anger rising with them. “She’s dead, Ryker. I saw it!”

He leans down, meeting my wild gaze head-on.

“Did you check for a pulse?” he asks.

The words slice through me.

I stumble back a step. “No,” I whisper. “There was blood,”

“Are you sure it was hers? That it was real?” He presses.

I blink hard, replaying the memory, the chaos, the panic. I never checked.

The realization claws through my chest.

There’s no way she would—

No.

Oh my God, she betrayed us? Me?

It feels worse than if she had just stayed dead.

Ryker pulls the radio and warns Knox. His voice echoes, and my heart breaks.

I don’t know if he will ever forgive me…