Page 19

Chapter 18

Ashmine

H awk didn’t fight Ace or lash back; he simply heaved a shuddering breath before stepping further back from the bed and taking up post next to Silas at the door.

I could see the hesitation, the confusion.

The need to flee.

Hawk was a runner. An escaper. I hadn’t expected Silas to leave him alone, hadn’t expected the outcome of the series of events that led us all to this moment.

But I would pivot. I would put our family back together. Whether they wanted me to or not.

Silas moved mechanically, opening the phone in his hand and starting the video over again.

“Watch this.” He thrust it towards Hawk, before giving me his full attention.

Finally.

Almost two years later.

Nearly two fucking years since Silas looked at me with anything besides pain.

Instead he was confused. His hands flayed on his pants, his head angled.

The mask, still in place.

I wonder if he would keep the mask on if he knew I picked them out. That I had given them to Ace earlier this week to distribute to the other men to wear. That it was another cog in my scheme for tonight.

Inhibitions waned when we wore our masks. We felt powerful. Stronger.

I hoped it brought them the confidence they needed.

“The Headmaster of St. Valentine’s niece? How? Why didn’t he take you with him sooner?” Silas spit out.

“He was waiting until I turned eighteen, he didn’t want to deal with me before that. But since I am his blood, it is his ‘duty’ to keep me close.” I laughed sardonically.

That whole university was a cesspool of fuckery.

Hawk’s face twisted as the video played out. His eyes widening, his nose flaring, his breath turning erratic.

It was the shortened version, but the original audio was still on it.

It was the video the Headmaster, my uncle , had sent me shortly after William’s untimely demise.

“But instead…I think I want to watch this boy here fuck you. Watch you bleed for him. When it’s done, I’ll rewrite the will as promised. That’s not too much to ask for, is it? Not for my whole life’s earnings?” William’s voice came from the phone’s speaker. From the video they watched.

Hawk’s hands began to shake.

“You came here for revenge. Because I cheated on Ace. You heard us talking about me losing my virginity to him. Well, here’s the fucking video. And if you keep watching? You’ll see that I poison William. You’ll then see me watching him die and doing nothing to stop it. And I don’t regret it,” I spoke evenly, willing my emotions to not seep into my voice.

Silas remained silent, his green eyes darkening as he watched the rest of the video with Hawk.

Ace moved to the bed, tossing his mask onto it before falling down beside me and wrapping me in his arms. “They’re listening to you. They aren’t running.” He nuzzled against my neck. “Does that mean I don’t get to chase you through the woods?” he purred against my sensitive skin.

My stomach clenched in desire. My sweet, steady, psychotic Ace. He was the only reason I hadn’t gone insane at that university.

“I never said that.” I leaned further into his embrace and reached into his pocket, retrieving a vial.

It was time.

As carefully as I could, I coated both my palms with the liquid inside. Years of building up my immunity would hopefully pay off.

Silas’s attention found us with a desperate gleam. He would be the easier of the men to convince, but I had run out of patience.

I was ready to act.

“She didn’t put me away on her own,” Ace advised. “We both got caught trying to cover her tracks. I helped on my own accord, knowing the consequences. I made her testify against me, threatened her . The Headmaster promised to shorten my sentence, to make her charges and the evidence of her past crimes fully go away. She just had to go to that school.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Hawk whispered, his voice cracking.

“Would you have believed me? You thought I was cheating on Ace. That he wasn’t aware of my falling into bed with the both of you. Newsflash you idiots. It’s not cheating if none of you are in relationships!” I screamed the words, jumping from the bed. I ignored the soreness that throbbed between my legs, the stickiness that coated my thighs.

Evidence of Silas’s mark.

They all leave their marks in different ways.

I moved. Slow careful steps until I stood right before Hawk and Silas.

Craning my neck, I examined them both.

Hawk’s mask was gone, but Silas still hadn’t removed his.

Reaching up, I wrenched it off, and he allowed me. It was the first time I had seen his entire face in person since the courthouse. He was just as handsome as I remembered, just as rugged, but now an unkept beard wrapped around his jaw.

I lifted both my hands. My left cupped Silas’s cheek, my right found Hawk’s.

I held them both there, glancing between them.

“I am a broken girl. A twisted woman. My soul is marred by the crimes of my past, but I don’t regret it. The only piece of me that has ever felt something is when I was with you.”

Hawk tried to break from my hold, but I didn’t let him.

“All of you. You fucking idiots, I want to be with all of you. Why is that so difficult for you to understand? You all thought I would break apart our family, that I would come between the bonds we built. But there was always another option. Ace was the first to understand and now it’s time for the both of you to, as well.”

Hawk wobbled underneath me, the poison finally soaking into his skin. Silas shifted uneasily before his knees buckled.

“What have you done?” Silas bit out.

“You two thought you came here for revenge? Well, you did.”

Botany class had in fact not been a waste of time. My hands dropped from their skin before I wiped them on the shirt I now wore; they were tingling, but there was no other evidence of the poison affecting me.

“For mine .”