Page 165 of Revenge Saints

“Good,” he whispers. “Then kill me and be done with it.”

I lean in close. Closer than he wants.

“You don’t get that mercy.”

His breath hitches.

I grip his jaw. Hard. “You’re not my kill.”

Max steps closer.

I keep going. “You hurt him. You took our home. You made him bleed in front of the woman he loves.”

Roman swallows.

“When he wakes up, when he can stand, when he’s healed enough to look you in the eye, I’ll hand you over myself.”

He shakes his head, a weak laugh slipping out. “You’re insane.”

“No,” I whisper. “I’m loyal.”

I push off of him, stand tall, chest heaving.

“You’re his kill, Roman. Not mine.”

Roman stays on the floor, hands trembling, face covered in blood.

For the first time since I’ve known him, he looks afraid.

And it’s about fucking time.

Aspen

“Iknow I made your life difficult,” I whisper as I wipe blood from his cheek with trembling fingers. It’s already dried along his jaw, smeared across his lips like war paint. My hand shakes harder the closer I get to his mouth. “I,”

The words dissolve into a sob.

Tears pour down my face, dripping onto his chest, mixing with the dirt and blood. I can’t seemto stop them.

“I was alone for so many years, Knox,” I choke out. “When I found Bryn, I was tired. So tired. I just wanted it all to end. To feel like there was something left worth holding on to.”

I lean down and press my lips to his.

“Then your fucking trap,” I laugh through the tears, shaking my head, forehead pressing to his. “I thought I was done for. Caught like an idiot.”

Another kiss, just a brush of our mouths.

“But you…” I breathe. “You changed everything, my Reaper. You all did.”

I brush hair from his forehead, cleaning what I can. He’s so still.

I kiss his temple, then his jaw. I graze my lips over his ear. “I know you think that because I have Dante, and Max, and Ryker… that I’ll be fine. That you’re the one who could fall, and I’d still have something left.”

Another sob claws its way out of me. “But you were my first, Knox. My real first.”

I cradle his face, fingers framing his cheekbones, feeling the stubble scratch my palms.

“You were the one I let inside. The first I trusted, even when I pretended not to. The one my heart trips over every time you walk into a room, every time you speak my name.”