Page 10 of Revenge Saints

We’re all carrying pieces of the wreckage now. Ethan’s betrayal. Dante’s capture. Bryn’s death. The weight of it drags behind us like ghosts.

The farm… it’s not just shelter anymore. It’s our only shot at taking everything back.

Dante

“Bryn! You’re alive?!” I stagger toward her, but a brutal knock to the head sends me crashing to my knees.

“Jesus, Roman!” Bryn snaps. She drops in front of me, hands frantic. But my head’s spinning, blood pouring fast from the bullet wound. I try to focus. Can’t. The floor’s slick beneath me.

“You shot him?!” she shrills, cutting through the fog.

“Not me, princess,” Roman drawls. “Your now-dead boyfriend did.” He steps beside me like this is alla fucking joke.

“For fuck’s sake!” she shouts, pressing hard on my shoulder. Fire blooms through my arm, and I grit my teeth.

“And Aspen?” Bryn asks, quieter now. Something dark hiding beneath the softness.

Roman sighs like he’s bored. “She got away. But I told her I’d let Dante go if she came back.” That amused tone, like Aspen’s nothing more than bait, makes my blood boil. I try to rise, but I drop again, knees folding under me.

Fuck. I’m too weak. And fading fast.

“Leave Aspen alone,” I growl.

“No one will hurt her. I promise.” Bryn whispers it so softly I almost miss it. But there’s something in her voice that chills me. Like she’s not making a promise to me, but to herself.

Roman doesn’t miss a beat. “You two. Help him up. Take him to one of the rooms.”

Hands grab me.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” I snarl, trying to rip free, but I’ve got nothing left.

Pain flashes through my scalp as Roman yanks my head back by the hair.

“You either behave,” he growls, “or I put a bullet through your skull.” His breath is hot on my ear. “Aspen’s coming. I don’t need you anymore.”

Aspen.

They drag me downstairs. My boots scrape the steps. Bryn walks ahead, her finger pointing toward a room.

Aspen’s old room.

Fuck me.

“Damn, this guy’s heavy as hell,” one of them laughs.

They drop me onto the mattress. My shoulder’s on fire, vision blurred. I’m trying, and failing, to slow my heartbeat. Blood pools fast. I feel it dripping down my arm.

“I’m dying,” I whisper. “Don’t let Aspen come, Bryn. Please.” My chest seizes. It’s not the pain; it’s the thought of Aspen walking into this nightmare. Of Roman touching her. Twisting her. Breaking her, just to hurt Knox. Just to ruin me.

Bryn kneels beside me. “She’s safer here than out there,” she says softly, like she actually believes that shit. Her hand finds my face, turning it toward her.

“And you won’t die, Dante. I have plans for you.”

“You sold us out,” I croak.

Her hand stills. For a second, just a second, something in her face cracks.

Then she leans in close. “I told Roman what he wanted to hear,” she says calmly. “I told him Aspen was the key. That if he took you, she’d come. That the Bloodhawks would come.”