Chapter 28

The prom scene in Carrie is great on the big screen, but in reality, it”s a completely different thing. The blood is already drying and flaking when Rayth carries me into the closest bathroom while Killian and Damon stay in the living area to clean up the mess.

Killian stated they normally wouldn”t bother, but fucking me on the pretty marble tiles guaranteed that our DNA was everywhere. So they carried Mitchell’s body back to his bed and got to work mopping it all up.

So now I stand in a steady stream of beating water while Rayth pours expensive looking shampoo into my hair for the second time. As the warm water cascades over me, Rayth”s skilled hands work the shampoo into my hair. The scent of the expensive shampoo fills the air. With each gentle massage of my scalp, tension melts away, leaving me feeling utterly pampered.

He rinses the shampoo from my hair, the water finally running clear as it washes away the last of the blood. Then he pours on the conditioner, working it through the strands of my hair and I could almost moan from how nice it feels. Each touch is gentle, as if he”s handling something precious, and I can”t help but relax further under his hands.

Once the conditioner is rinsed away, he starts to rub soap into my skin and I sigh in contentment. He is careful while washing the knife marks on my skin, cleaning them, but not pressing too firmly.

I jolt when he cleans between my legs, and I look down to find him on his knees looking up at me. His lips pull into a smirk. ”Are you back with me, little dove? For a moment there, I thought we might have broken you,” he says, and I snort, shaking my head at him as he stands.

”I was just enjoying you on your knees. Maybe you should get back down there,” I snark, and he grins.

”You should know by now I”ll get on my knees for you anytime you want,” he murmurs as he leans down and brushes a kiss against my lips. “I would spend the rest of my days on my knees worshiping you and that pussy.”

My heart flutters in my chest. ‘Oh, be still my beating heart’, or whatever that bullshit is.

He must see something on my face because he just chuckles and turns into the water to start washing away any remnants of blood still clinging to his own skin. I reach over and grab some of the body wash, pouring it into my hand before gently starting to rub it into the muscles of his back. He groans and braces his hands against the wall to let me do what I want. The sound should be illegal. But then, illegal isn’t really a deterrent with us it seems.

“So, now that you’re all healed up and have the skills to kill, are we going after Owen next?” he asks, pushing away from the wall and turning his back to the spray again so he can look at me.

My hand moves to his arm, my fingers tapping against one of the tattoos there as I hum under my breath. There is a tattoo there that I recently realized they all have. The symbol of The Order.

I enjoy hearing about Owen slowly losing his goddamn mind. Every report that the guys bring home of his deterioration makes me ecstatic. I smile as I reply, ”I think I want him to suffer some more.”

Rayth smirks, his arms circling my waist and drawing me closer to him. ”What did you have in mind?” he asks, but before I respond, Damon comes into the bathroom.

”We have to leave, we have been here too long,” he says, and Rayth sighs, turning the water off. When we step out of the shower, I notice that Damon”s hair is already wet, and he is clean.

”Did you have a shower already?” I ask, surprised.

He smiles. ”Not all of us take forever to get clean, precious. We prefer to spend the time on getting dirty,” he says, and I snort. He wraps a towel around me and helps me dry while Rayth dries himself and grabs our spare clothes from our bags. It doesn”t take us long before we are dressed and leaving the house.

”It really is a nice house,” I muse as we walk away from it.

”We made sure to leave enough so everyone knows he died a gruesome death while making sure our DNA wouldn”t be found. I”d say give it a week, and it will be up for a flash sale,” Killian states from ahead of us.

I hum happily, almost wanting to dance as Damon grins from beside me. He grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together as we fall a little further behind the others and I smile sweetly at him.

“I love that you look all sweet and innocent and shit, but you can kill a man several different ways without hesitation,” he says, and I stumble, accidentally tugging him back by his hand connected to mine.

Love has never been a word that has come up before now. He looks at me almost sympathetically as I stand there unsure of what to do or say. It wasn’t as though he actually said he loves me, right? Humor crosses his face the longer I stand there.

“Do you need me to actually say it, precious?” he asks, and I huff at him and go to pull my hand from his, but he just tightens his grip and pulls me toward him, his other hand coming up to grip the side of my neck. “I’m not actually sure how you don’t already see it. We all love you. Killian may not say it because he”s an emotionless asshole, but he is just as obsessed with you as we are,” he says clearly.

I feel like I”m gaping at him like a fish when he takes advantage of my stunned expression to kiss me, soft and sweet and slow. It”s only brief, and then he is walking again, tugging my hand to keep me moving behind him. I didn”t even get the chance to respond, and in all fairness, I”m not sure how I would have responded. Do I love them? Are these feelings I have for all of them, the desperate need to dig my claws into them until they can never let me go, love?

It”s a word I”ve never dared to consider or hope for since my mother died.

The warmth of Damon”s hand in mine is both comforting and unsettling. I”m not sure how to process his words or what they mean for us. Is it possible for someone like us to love, someone who thrives in the darkness, surrounded by violence and chaos?

I’m still silent as we reach the car and Rayth looks at me curiously. ”You were saying something about wanting Owen to suffer some more?” he prompts, his gaze searching mine for an answer.

The question snaps me out of my thoughts, bringing my focus back to the present moment. ”He is falling apart quite nicely, don”t you think?” I respond, my voice steady despite the tumult of emotions swirling within me.

Rayth nods in agreement, and I catch Damon”s gaze beside me, his expression curious as he listens to our conversation. ”I think maybe he needs some more pushing, though,” I continue, feeling a surge of determination coursing through me. ”He needs to know that he is on borrowed time. I want him to be afraid for once, to feel the loss of people he holds dear.”

”But he doesn”t hold anyone dear,” Killian interjects, his voice cool and calculating.

I offer a knowing smile. ”But I”m assuming he has people he values and trusts, like bricks in his little empire, the foundations that keep him on the throne of his little ”Order.””

Rayth”s eyes widen with understanding as Damon chuckles, his laughter tinged with a hint of darkness. ”You want to take out all his key players, his suppliers, and the ones that keep him safe before taking him out?” he asks, his tone almost gleeful.

”I”m going to take his little organization apart brick by brick before blowing it up,” I declare, a wicked grin spreading across my lips.

Killian raises an eyebrow in the mirror. ”Are we talking actually blowing it up? Because that can be arranged,” he offers.

In that moment, I know without a doubt that I do love them. They are my partners in crime, my lovers, and my family.

”There are some people we should consider sparing though,” Damon suggests, his voice softer now. ”Not all of them are on Owen”s side, and I know that some of the others are like us, secretly taking out the evil ones while saving the innocents.”

I nod in agreement, acknowledging Damon”s point.

”I will get Tavish working on finding all the key players for us. We”ll see how long it takes for him to completely lose his mind before striking. I”ll also get working on making sure those who need to know are made aware, and we have all the plans in place to strike when we need to,” Killian says.

I smile as I relax back into the seat of the car. We will bring Owen to his knees. I will see him suffer for everything he did and then there will be nothing left but ashes.