Page 32

RYDER

“Who wants to drive the car?”

I pulled back onto the road and stopped beside the Genesis.

“I’ll take it,” Nick volunteered. “Where to?”

“Old quarry. I’ll be right behind you.”

“I’ll ride with him,” Rook said, already sliding out of the truck with Lindsey in tow.

She didn’t resist. She let him lead her like some docile pet, obedient and pliant, eyes cast down like she’d accepted her fate.

None of us were buying that shit. She was probably still clinging to the hope that if she acted sweet and scared enough, one of us might change our mind.

She would’ve had better luck getting mercy from the devil himself.

Rook tossed Nick the fob he’d been given earlier, and he caught it mid-air before turning away. He pulled the Genesis driver’s side door open and brushed shards of broken glass off the seat with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Rook glanced over at me. “I’m gonna play with her. Then she can join DeAndre.”

“Do whatever you want. Just make sure she’s not breathing by the end.”

“She’ll be gone long before it’s over.”

I huffed a low laugh, shaking my head. Sick bastard. But he was ours, the one we pulled into our tightly stitched-together family from the day we met. Twisted in all the right ways and loyal in all the ones that mattered. He’d protect our girls, especially Sanj, with his life.

That made what came next personal.

He turned to go, then paused, patting his pockets. “Wait—gloves?”

Cade’s brows rose. “Look at you practicing safe criminal hygiene.”

“Yeah. I’m proud of you,” I joked, popping the glovebox open. I grabbed two pairs and tossed them through the window. “Take these. Give a pair to Nick.”

Rook released his grip on Lindsey to catch, and she decided this was her window of opportunity.

She wasted no time. She bolted, kicking off her heels and sprinting barefoot down the road, screaming for help like it might actually show up after all this time.

We all stood and watched her for a second.

“She runs in slow motion,” Nick stated casually, leaning over the door of the Genesis.

“And she’s going the wrong way.” Cade laughed. “There isn’t anything out there but more farmland.”

Rook sighed and pulled on his gloves. “Let’s get DeAndre in the trunk first. Then we’ll go fetch our stray.”

He reached into the back seat and grabbed DeAndre by one arm. Nick came to help him, taking hold of the other. They dragged him between them, his busted leg catching on the ground and drawing another pained moan. Without ceremony, they hoisted him into the trunk and then slammed it shut.

Nick dusted off his hands and caught my eye. “Quarry, right?”

“Yeah. Kyle won’t take but a minute.”

He nodded and hopped into the driver’s seat of the other car. Rook climbed in beside him, and they pulled off to get Lindsey.

Cade and I hopped back in my truck, and I drove into the field again, headlights bouncing over uneven terrain.

“What did Sanj say about all this?” Cade asked.

“She knows she’s been Marked, or she has a good idea she is.

If she got an official notice, she hasn’t said anything yet, but neither have the others.

I told her she had no Huntsman, but you know her.

She’s not na?ve enough to believe that after today.

” I slowed, scanning ahead of us for where we’d left Kyle.

“I should’ve had a better handle on this. This should never have happened.”

Cade sighed. “You can’t put this all on you. We knew it was coming, and we’ve been waiting since the spring. Admittedly, I didn’t think Chess Club would be the one to get the ball rolling.”

“He wouldn’t have been my first guess either. Doesn’t change the fact that he got too close to her. More will do the same if we don’t get ahead of this.”

Cade leaned back, one arm draped behind him over the headrest. “Then we deal with it like we are now. This doesn’t change our endgame.”

I didn’t look at him, just kept my eyes on the field, spotting an unmoving lump of flesh. “It complicates it.”

“Everything about this is complicated,” he reminded me. “We can still do what we need to. Xander opted out tonight solely to put a list together, so we have all the information about the Huntsmen and who else was Marked. When the next dumb fuck comes near the girls—.”

“Then we’ll be ready to come back at them,” I finished.

“You got it.” He waited a minute, expression sobering. “How are you two?”

“She…” I started, then let it hang. “I’ll tell you when we’re done with him.”

Cade nodded. He knew when to let something lie. I pulled to a stop a few feet away from Kyle. He was still lying in the same position, one arm stretched out like a failed attempt to crawl away. We climbed out, and Cade walked over first, nudging Kyle’s side with Angela, getting no response.

“This feels a bit anticlimactic.”

I let out a dry laugh. “I’ll let you run point on the next one.”

Cade looked over. “You wanna do the honors?”

“Would love to,” I said, taking Angela from his outstretched hand.

The weight of the bat settled into my grip like it belonged there. I raised it high, then I brought it down. The crack of bone echoed into the field as Kyle’s head caved in under the blow. Blood sprayed outward, thick and red and beautiful.

I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Each swing was precise and brutal. I exhaled through my nose, steady on the surface. Inside, my mind was working overtime. Not out of control, but deep and calculating. If I hadn’t turned down that street when I did…

What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there?

This spineless little bitch watched her go down from behind the wheel of his car.

He only peeled out because he saw me coming.

To add more insult and disrespect, instead of laying low like someone with half a brain, he went and got drunk.

Not even at a decent place, but some shitty fucking pub.

I kept swinging until my arms began to burn from the workout.

When I finished, I could feel the blood on my face, already drying at the edges.

There was nothing left of his head but pulp and ruin, a shattered smear where eyes used to live.

The same eyes that looked at what was mine led him here.

The second he brought her name into this game, he wrote his fucking eulogy.

Cade stood beside me, nodding like we’d just put down a sick dog. “That should do it.”

I stepped back and exhaled slowly. Adrenaline still hummed through my veins, but I felt steadier. “Yeah,” I murmured. “That should do it.”

We turned and headed back to the truck, Kyle’s lifeless body left behind as meat for the animals and to rot.

Something for the cops to find in a week, maybe two, when the smell got bad enough or someone wandered to this part of the field.

I pulled off and headed to where Rook and Nick would be waiting at the old quarry.

“So… what was it you were gonna tell me?” Cade asked once we were back on the road.

I tapped my fingers against the wheel, eyes fixed straight ahead. “After I got her in the truck earlier, she had me take her to a drugstore away from campus.”

“Tampons,” he guessed.

“No, Sanj has no shame buying what she needs for that and she…” I trailed off. He didn’t need to know her flow was irregular. Some things I was keeping to myself in confidence.

His brow furrowed. “Please don’t tell me she had you take her to get condoms.”

“Fuck no. You’re on the right track, though. I think they might even be in the same aisle. Pregnancy tests.”

The second the words left my mouth, Cade’s head whipped toward me, eyes wide. “She’s fucking—?” His voice cracked mid-accusation.

“They weren’t for her,” I cut in. “Do you think if that piece of shit got her pregnant, I’d be sitting here?

” I shook my head, laughing. “The only babies Sanj is going to have are mine. I would’ve had to crash out for a while.

Go off-grid and prepare myself to raise one that wasn’t after I destroyed Ashton’s entire family, so they never had a claim to him. Or her.”

“We’d all be crashing out with you. I’m not ready to be Uncle C yet.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Motherfucker. You almost killed me with that one.” He blew out a deep breath and patted his chest like he was going to have an actual heart attack. “So, who’s preggo?”

“Who do you think?”

He started running through names. “It’s not Cloe, she’s allergic to dick.

Roxxi’s not fucking raw and probably has like 10 different methods going to stop that from happening, and thanks to us, most guys are starting to steer clear of her.

Which reminds me, Graves is gonna get his ass beat and not even know why, and then one of us is gonna have to take one for the team when she realizes her taps are running dry and it’s our fault.

” His head turned sharply. “It’s not my Ari, is it? ”

That last part came with the barest hint of dread. I let out a short laugh. “I would’ve told you if it was. You know I wouldn’t have been this calm even if it wasn’t Sanj, but one of them instead.” I slid him a look. “And your Ari, huh?”

“Not like that,” he refuted. “I know she can handle herself if it came down to it, but she’s beautiful, quiet, and sweet.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She’s the one guys think they can get to the easiest because they don’t know her like we do,” he continued.

I didn’t need an explanation. I already knew all of that.

I’d grown up watching Arianna be overlooked by people.

She didn’t wear her sharp edges like Roxxi or mask her depth like Cloe.

She was soft-spoken and observant, and people tended to mistake that for vulnerability.

Cade didn’t like seeing anyone misjudge her.

None of us did, but with him, it ran deeper.

“It’s not any of our girls,” I reassured him.

He considered that, then groaned. “Ferret-face Layla,” he muttered, like the name physically pained him to say. “Of course.”

“She goes by Fey now. I’ll fill you in on that later,” I said dryly. “But yeah.”