Page 29 of Scavenger's Oath

Turning away, he stops after a few steps, voice coming out low and gritty. “I'm not doing this for her.”

I swallow back the lump in my throat and lift my chin. “I know.”

He glances over his shoulder at me. “You're not the only one who wants to redeem the past. But it’s not always possible.”

Before I have a chance to respond, he leaves, blade swinging casually in his hand, but his shoulders are tense now. Less relaxed. As if the weight of everything we're not saying isfinally starting to press down.

Standing alone in the low firelight, I clench my fists, chest tightening.

I couldn't save her from him.

But if he ever lays a hand on her again, I won’thold back.

Chapter 10

Phoenix

Zane’s voice has been echoing in my head all day. I can’t get rid of it no matter how I try to busy myself.

It held the kind of desperation of a man trying not to fall back into a version of himself he thought he’d left behind.

I meant what I said. I'll deal with Myles.

Part of me can’t wait to deal with Myles. It’s been too long since I felt his lips wrapped around my cock.

The other part has avoided this all day. Because if I don't get this right, he's going to ruin everything over a fucking girl. Then Zane will stop asking for help and start solving problems his own way.

None of us can afford that.

It took Zane so long to learn to ask for help in the first place. He found solace in channelling his violent urges onto ‘people who deserve it’.

And I can tell that he’s starting to see Myles as deserving.

The stairs creak under my boots as I head upstairs, a cold draft slipping through the cracks in the decaying walls. Myles’s room is the closest to the stairs. Closest to the exit, the only way he can rest. It’s been that way since before the collapse.

Myles’s door is cracked open already. The warm afternoonsun casts the room in a yellow glow that makes everything feel like it's about to tip sideways.

I push the door open with my boot and step inside.

He’s shirtless, halfway through unlacing his boots. Glistening with sweat like he's just been burning off whatever rage he hasn't managed to throw at the girl.

His eyes flick up before that cocky grin slides into place. “Didn't think I was on your cuddle list today.”

Shutting the door behind me, I keep my expression stoic. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

His grin falters. “Nothing she couldn't handle,” he mutters, shrugging as he rests his elbows on his knees. “Didn't think you cared.”

“I don't,” I retort.

“Fucking Zane,” he grumbles to himself, coming to the obvious conclusion before jumping to his feet. “I didn't hurt her.”

“Apparently she's bruised,” I grind out.

His chest puffs, voice rising with every word. “Oh, fuck off! You let Zane cry to you for five minutes and now you're suddenly Saint fucking Phoenix, protector of the meek?”

“I'm the one keeping your mess from turning into a war inside these walls. It's not about Zane or even her. You're getting sloppy.”

“Yeah, well,” he barks a humourless laugh. “Maybe if she stopped acting like a cornered animal, and started being a little more grateful, then I wouldn't have lost my shit.”