Page 222 of Shadowman

Pacing slowly in between them all, I address our hostages. “You see, you brought this on yourself, Lemuel. All you had to do wasadmitwhat you’d done. Show even the tiniest bit of empathy for someone other than yourself and your bloody monster… Butno. You’ve proven that you’re a snake, and you can’t be trusted. Now, I’m not afraid of snakes. How about you, Byron?”

I glance up at him, and he shakes his head slowly. “Not even a little.”

“What about sociopaths with a murder kink…” Felix croaks.

I chuckle. “There’s nothing you can do to get out of this, muffin. We’re all too ready to find out just howweakthe two of you truly are when you’re on your own.”

The look Lemuel is giving me is titillating, I won’t lie. Burning flames of amber blazing at me to betray his stone-cold outer shell.

I’m getting to him.

This is perfect.

Spinning, I stride up to Byron, taking his jaw in my hands. His eyes widen a bit, shifting to the others in the room. It reminds me that he’s never really done this before—a public display of affection with a guy.Or maybe anyone…Either way, it’s adorable.

“You stay here,” I hum, swiping my thumb over his lower lip. “Keep an eye on our toy.”

He looks like he wants to ask me questions, but I kiss him before he can, effectively short-circuiting his brain. I’m weightless myself.

I will never get over how amazing it feels to kiss him…

“Don’t take too long,” Byron breathes.

“The lad is smitten,”Leo huffs.“Unbelievable.”

I shoot him a look, kissing Byron once more. “Don’t start without me.”

Releasing him, I go for Lemuel, yanking him along, razor athisthroat now.

“Wait, no… Please,” Felix begs, but I’m not listening.

I’m too busy admiring the flush on Byron’s face, and the twinkle in his deep brown eyes.

“I’ll be back for you, baby, I promise,” Lemuel says to Felix as I haul him away.

“Lemuel! I—”

Byron backhands Felix, effectively shutting him up while I laugh, shoving a snarling Dr. Love through the door and into the hall.

Dr. Love is surprisingly cooperative, allowing me to drag him along, out of the mansion.Unsurprisingly, though, he doesn’t utter a word.

I would assume because he’s smart, he figured out almost instantly that we’re heading for the prison. But once it becomes visible up ahead, through the swaying trees and sideways rain, he pumps on the brakes and finally decides to open his fucking mouth.

“Trevel,” he utters my name, and even that manages to annoy me.

“What?”

“I just have to tell you that if you harm Felix inanyway, I’ll kill you,” he says calmly. “I promise you that.”

“Right,” I huff. “Is that a promise, then…Doctor?”

“Yes. It is.”

My blood instantly boils over. I was hoping to at least keep my cool until we got into the prison, but no such luck.

Stopping short, I hold the razor up to his throat, to the jagged skin of scars I’ve spenthours upon hourswondering about over the last three years.

“And what would you know about apromise, hm??” I snarl. “You’re the least trustworthy bastard I’ve ever met! And that’s saying something, by the way…”