Page 39 of Revenge Saints (BloodHawks Duet #2)

Her pace quickens. She plants her hand on the couch beside me, her other sliding down between us. Her fingers circle her clit, fast and slick.

“You’re so deep,” she whispers, shaking.

Her moans get louder, each bounce of her hips making her walls flutter tighter around me. I’m sweating. Panting. Fucking dying .

“Eyes on me,” I bark. “Now . ”

She gasps, green eyes locking on mine, and I feel it, that snap in her body, the quake before she unravels.

“Come for me, pet.”

She does.

A cry tears from her throat as her body clamps down on mine. She shakes. Trembles. My whole body is wired so tight it feels like I’m going to fucking burst.

“Fuck, Aspen.” I grunt like a fucking animal. “I’m coming, fuck,”

My hips jerk up, hard. One final thrust.

I spill into her, every muscle in my body locking as I empty inside her. My back arches. My wrists pull against the tie. My mind blanks.

She collapses forward, avoiding the bandages, chest against mine, her breath warm against my throat. I feel her lips press to my jaw, soft and adoring.

“I love you, Knox,” she whispers.

I lean forward, forehead against hers, still buried deep.

“I love you more than the air I breathe, pet.”

It’s been three days since they left.

When the guys finally step through the gates, the shift in energy is instant. Dante’s eyes find mine first, but they flick past me a second later, locking on Aspen. He doesn’t hesitate. He charges and crashes into her.

He gives me a second look. “You fucked, didn’t you?” he growls against her lips.

Aspen laughs, breathless.

“You’re worse than he is.” He puts her down and tugs a strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, I’m not.” She bites her bottom lip. Max smirks.

Ryker snorts. “Liar.”

“I kept Knox happy and healthy,” she teases, looking at me with a little smirk that tells me she’s proud of what she did. Of who she did. I let out a short laugh, shaking my head.

“How was it?” I ask, standing from the couch.

“Everything went as planned,” Dante says. “Josh and his family are safe. Settled. Grateful.”

“And Sean?” Aspen steps closer.

Max answers, already stripping out of his gear. “The barn’s holding. We patched the roof and reinforced the walls with some of the spare plates. It’s not much, but it’s safe. ”

Dante wipes a hand across the back of his neck. “How are you feeling?”

I glance at the three of them. There’s something in their eyes, like they’ve been holding something back since the second they walked in.

“Not full force,” I admit, “but close. Ready enough.”

Dante steps forward. His hand finds Aspen’s chin, lifting it gently before pressing a kiss to her lips.

Then he turns to me.

“It’s time for your surprise.”

Max and Ryker follow suit, each brushing a hand along her arm, kissing her cheek.

“We’ll be right back, sweetheart.”

She nods, giving me one last squeeze. “Have fun, Reaper.”

The fuck?

I follow them outside, the gate locking behind us with a loud metal snap. We move through the woods, this part unfamiliar and darker. My hands instinctively curl into fists.

“What kind of surprise?” I mutter as Max falls in beside me.

“We needed a safe spot. Close to the base,” he says, nodding toward Dante, who leads us with that predator walk like he’s heading into combat.

They don’t explain further.

The deeper we go, the more my chest tightens. Every breath gets heavier. Every step feels louder. My body knows before my mind does. Knows something waits at the end of this trail .

A cluster of trees parts, revealing a cave. Rough, jagged. Guarded by thick brush and a makeshift wooden plank bolted across the entrance.

Ryker moves the plank aside. Dante stops in front of me.

“Go on.”

My pulse starts to climb. Heat crawls up my neck, sets fire to my jaw.

I step in.

And the world narrows.

It smells like iron, sweat, and rot. My boots scuff over packed dirt and leaves. The darkness adjusts, and then, I see him .

Roman.

Slumped against the cave wall, legs stretched out, arms chained above his head, his body limp like a fucking corpse. His face is sunken and pale, and his lips are cracked. His shirt is soaked with sweat and something darker.

But those eyes, they still fucking gleam.

He lifts his head with effort. Smirks.

“Told you,” he croaks. “Should’ve put a bullet in me when you had the chance.”

My vision pulses red.

For a second, I don’t move. I just stare. My chest is hollow. Cold. The memory of Aspen crying, of me bleeding.

My brothers standing over graves that didn’t have to be dug.

The trap. The betrayals. Bryn .

“You’re alive,” I say quietly .

Dante steps in behind me. “Surprise.”

I walk forward.

Roman flinches.

I crouch down in front of him. I don’t speak. I just look at him. Let him feel every ounce of what’s still burning in me. My hands are still healing. My side is still tight. But my heart? Cold as a fucking stone.

“You know,” I murmur, “I didn’t come here to kill you.”

He chuckles. “Getting soft?”

“No.” I tilt my head. “Just waiting.”

His eyes narrow.

I lean in.

“You see… I’m going to heal. I’m going to take my time.

I’m going to bury my cock so deep inside my girl, the sound of her moans will chase away the memory of your name.

And when my strength is all the way back, when my body’s whole again,” I stand tall, casting a shadow over him.

“I’ll come back. And then I’ll end you.”

His throat bobs. Sweat drips from his hairline.

“Because killing you right now?” I smile. “Would be too fucking merciful.”

I turn to the guys. “He doesn’t get to die today.”

But Roman cuts through the silence.

“You want to know why I did it?”

I stop. Turn.

“I know why. You wanted our base.” I snarl sarcastically. “No, you needed it. To heal from whatever the fuck is eating you alive. ”

He chuckles. “You’re right. But I’m not talking about that.”

Rage crawls up my spine.

“The mission,” he grins. A twisted smirk that makes my fists curl.

Dante steps up beside me. Max and Ryker flank the other side, like muscle memory from the field.

“Why?” My chest tightens, my breath coming heavier now. I feel the tension rolling off the others. Our hands twitch. Waiting.

“You were easy, Reaper,” Roman spits, that old sneer stretching across his sick face. “Grateful little soldier. So fucking thankful to have a team of your own. Brothers in Arms.”

My jaw ticks hard enough I taste blood.

“They offered money. Enough to disappear, never work another goddamn day.” He shrugs like it’s nothing. “All I had to do was kill the man, the agent, and grab the files.”

I stare at him. “So, that’s it? All of that was for money?”

Roman shakes his head, grin still twisted. “I could’ve done it alone. I had the access. But you,” He nods at me. “You were rising. Getting stronger. I knew I was getting replaced.”

“Fuck.” Dante chuckles, but it’s bitter, sharp. “Knox.”

I glance at him. “What?”

Dante’s jaw clenches. “You were going to take Roman’s place.”

I turn to Roman again. “You betrayed us, risked our lives, destroyed our careers because I was going to lead the team?”

Roman laughs, but there’s nothing in it. “Not just the team. The whole damn project. They wanted you. Reaper, golden boy, field genius. And me?” He scoffs. “I was getting sent back to babysit recruits. ”

It hits like a blade. Years of training. Lost. Years of loyalty. Burned.

I move before I think. My fist connects with his face, bone crunching beneath my knuckles.

“We lost everything! Our entire careers, our lives, our fucking names erased!” I grab his shirt and yank him forward, blood smearing my skin. “You motherfucker.”

He’s grinning through it. “You said you wouldn’t kill me,” he taunts. “Only when the big, bad Reaper is strong again.”

I smirk, stepping back. “Change of plans.”

The guys close in beside me, the weight of the years between us pressing like armor.

“You’re not dying today, Roman. You’re going to rot in this fucking hole, alone, until your diseased heart gives out.”

His eyes widen. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh, but I can,” I whisper. “And I will.”

We turn to leave.

Ryker pauses and turns back.

“You tried to destroy Knox. Tried to break us. And in the end, all you did was help form the BloodHawks. Our family.” He tilts his head. “And you still end up with nothing.”

Roman doesn’t reply.

Ryker walks out. We follow.

We leave him there, in the dark, chained. Forgotten.

And outside that cave, the air shifts.

Lighter.

Cleaner.

And for the first time in years—I feel free.