Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Lucas

My eyes are closed, and the most incredible warmth surrounds me. The scent of gardenia fills my lungs with each intake of breath, and for a second, I wonder if that stab wound really did kill me, and now I’m in heaven.

My phone rings, jolting me awake, reminding me I’m still firmly anchored on Earth, Wyn curled against me, one arm resting on my stomach.

I’m on the bed, lying next to the wall, and my phone is on the nightstand, which is on the other side of Wyn.

Who’s calling me?

And more importantly, do I give a fuck? With a faint moan, Wyn nestles more firmly against me. In that split-second, with Wyn’s warm body molded to mine, I decide I don’t , in fact, give a fuck—so I ignore the ringing.

But, whoever it is just keeps calling back, and eventually, Wyn rolls over to grab my phone. She glances at the screen and then hands it to me. “It’s your brother,” she says groggily.

Annoyed, I answer. “Dude, we’re sleeping. What the fuck do you want?”

Christian’s voice comes over the receiver. “You need to get over here.”

I pull the phone back and glance at the time on the display. It’s only one in the afternoon—on a Saturday. Putting the phone back up to my ear, I rub my face with my other hand and yawn. “What the fuck? The meeting with the senior counsel isn’t until six.”

“Uh, yeah, about that…” my brother hedges. “Something’s come up. Just get over here.” Then he hangs up.

“Fuuuck,” I groan, throwing my phone across the room. It collides with the wall, but the screen is already cracked, so who gives a fuck?

“What was that about?” Her voice is sleep-drenched, and the huskiness is so damn sexy, just hearing it makes me hard.

“Christian wants me over at Rush House,” I say, rolling over onto my side, so I can pull her against me. I move to kiss her, but she laughs and holds her hand up between our faces.

“ Ugh! We both have morning breath!”

I move her hand away and kiss her anyway. “Get used to it, baby,” I say against her lips. “I’ll kiss you whenever the fuck I want, morning breath or not.”

She makes a scoffing sound as I climb over her and head to the bathroom. I grab her girly deodorant from the medicine cabinet, use her toothbrush, and then move back into the main living space to find my clothes and my shoes.

I’m dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, putting my shoes on, when she crawls over and starts kissing the back of my neck. I’m already rock-hard. It really doesn’t take much from her to get me there. “That’s going to get you fucked again,” I warn. She sinks her blunt teeth into my skin, and I turn on her so quickly that pain shoots through my chest. It feels like being stabbed all over again, and I must’ve grunted or something because she jerks back, alarmed.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

She’s near tears, hands up, her face apologetic. I curl my fingers around her arm and pull her into a kiss. “Put your mouth on me again, and I’m warning you now, I’ll bend you over the kitchen counter, and use any instrument handy to punish you,” I say stiffly.

She pouts. “So, I can’t stop you from leaving, then?”

I push out a sigh because I don’t want to leave any more than she wants me to go. “I won’t be long. It’s probably just some shit about the meeting tonight.” I get up to grab my phone off the floor, then walk over to kiss Wyn on the forehead. “I won’t be long. I’ll bring back some lunch.”

“Mmm,” she says settling back onto the pillow, her eyes fluttering closed.

I stare at her for a second before walking out the door, cursing as I head down the walkway to my car—waving briefly at the security guy stationed at Wyn’s front door.

Whatever Christian wants, it better be good. If it’s something that could’ve been handled via text, heads will fucking roll. I’m not even joking.

When I get to Rush House, the energy is weird. Well, honestly, the energy has been weird since Shadow and Ash rolled up and ambushed us. Everyone’s been on edge, looking over their shoulders. Fuck Sin Savano for that.

I walk past a few people in the hallway, and head straight for the study, because I know that’s where I’ll find the rest of the Sacred Sons. And sure enough, when I walk in, I see Jackson, Christian, and Ash standing around, waiting for me.

“Someone had better be dying,” I say, slamming the door shut.

Christian’s hair is wet, and he’s wearing a pair of dark jeans, no shirt, and a towel around his neck like he was just pulled out of the ocean for this.

“What is it?” I ask, annoyed. “Why am I here when I could be balls deep in my girl’s pussy right now?”

Everyone’s eyes shift to the right side of the room. I follow their gazes and see an unfamiliar chick standing next to the fireplace, hands clasped nervously in front of her.

Uh. “Who the fuck is this?” I ask.

“No fucking clue,” Jackson says with a shrug. “She popped up about twenty minutes ago and said she was here about the Shadow and Ash shit. We figured you’d probably want to hear what she has to say, too.”

My gaze moves back to the chick. She’s nothing special—average height, not skinny, not curvy, dark hair, and hazel eyes. She’s pretty, I guess, but not someone a Sacred Son would ever look twice at. Still, I can usually place a face, and I don’t recall ever seeing her on campus.

I lift my chin at her. “What’s your name?”

She pulls in a breath at my commanding tone, and I notice a spark of defiance in her eyes. Hmmm, interesting. I wonder if she knows who the fuck she’s dealing with.

“My name is Eden,” she says, lifting her chin. She sucks in another breath, and I can tell she’s nervous. “Eden Savano.”

Oh. Shit.

This chick has my attention now. In fact, we all perk up a little.

“Savano?” Christian removes the towel from his neck, and tosses it on the leather sofa, then steps toward her. “As in Shadow and Ash Savano?”

She swallows and glances down, twisting her hands. When she looks back up, her eyes connect with Christian’s. “Yes,” she says. “Sin Savano is my brother.”

A bomb could go off in this room, and it wouldn’t shock us as much as that statement does.

Christian is the closest to her, and he shakes his head, half-laughing. “You’re either super ballsy or super fucking stupid to walk in here like this…”

Jackson lifts his chin, arms crossed over his chest. “Why are you here? What do you want?” he asks her, his tone brusque, per usual.

Her eyes travel over each one of our faces. It looks like she might be regretting her decision to waltz into the lion’s den, and she’d be right. This wasn’t smart.

“I, um…” She sucks in a breath and starts over. “There have been rumors circulating about what happened here a few weeks ago, and in a world like ours, I know what that means…”

Christian’s face is hard, and unflinchingly cruel. He’s been like this ever since the ambush over a month ago. “Why don’t you enlighten us?”

“My brother moved on you, and I know something like that can’t go unanswered,” she says shrewdly.

“ Moved on us?” Ash laughs like she can’t be serious. “Your brother slaughtered one of our members on the front-fucking-lawn .” His tone reflects the anger we all feel.

“You killed our cousin,” she replies.

If only it were that simple.

Ash moves like he’s going to come at her, but Christian lifts his arm, blocking him. My brother's gaze never leaves Eden’s face. “If you’re here to make a case for your brother, then you’re wasting your breath.”

She swallows. “I’m not here to make a case for him. I’m here to offer myself as payment for what he’s done…”

Silence.

The fuck?

I glance over at the other guys, and they look just as confused as I feel.

“What does ‘offering yourself for payment’ mean exactly?” Ash asks.

We’re all watching her skeptically. She’s a Savano, which automatically makes her untrustworthy. Is she just another Trojan horse, like Gabriel was? Someone who can get inside, and then give Shadow and Ash the keys to our kingdom? I don’t know Sin Savano personally, but from what I do know, he’s ruthless enough to use his own sister to get to us.

Fuck, if he thought we’d take his mother, he’d probably send her in, too.

She lifts her hands. “It means…I’ll do whatever you want. My brother has no idea I’m here, and we’re very close. If he thought you’d kidnapped me, for example, I know it would kill him.”

Christian approaches her, and she flinches when he reaches out to grab her chin. “ Whatever we want?” he asks darkly.

She’s trembling, but my brother doesn’t seem to notice. Under normal circumstances, I might intervene, because it’s clear this chick is terrified. But she’s a Savano, and Savanos aren’t entitled to mercy in this house.

She hesitates, but eventually, she says, “If it means you won’t hurt Sin, then…yes, anything.”

Oh, fuck, she’s going to be sorry she said that.

Christian tilts her chin up and slowly leans forward to nip at her bottom lip with his teeth. I get the sense he’s doing it as a test, to see what she’ll do.

Her eyes flutter closed, and she remains perfectly still, her hands balled into fists at her sides. It looks like she wants to run, but manages to keep herself stationary somehow.

Interesting.

My brother lingers for a minute, then steps back, his nostrils flared, jaw clenched tight. If you’ve ever seen an addict take their first hit of a drug—the spark, the sudden awakening—that’s look in my brother’s eyes right now. That small sample of her has already hit his bloodstream, and he’s hooked.

And can I blame him? Sex and revenge, what’s not to like about that?

“Take your shirt off,” he commands.

I lift my hands. “I’m out. Let me know how this shakes out.”

Christian lifts his hand and snaps at me. Snaps at me. The asshole. “Ah, hold up. Let’s see if this chick is serious.” He turns his gaze back to Eden, and flicks his chin at her, urging her to do as she’s been told.

Her gaze skirts over each face in the room, silently begging us to intervene. But, hey, the bitch said she’d do anything , right? Her words.

When it’s clear no one is coming to her rescue, she swallows and reaches for the bottom of her pink-knitted sweater. Underneath, she’s wearing nothing but a bra. She drops the sweater on the floor beside her.

Christian’s gaze drills into her. “Bra, too.”

This is the true test. She licks her lips, and pulls in a deep breath, like she’s trying to steady her nerves. She looks afraid, and she should be. She’s stripping down in front of a bunch of guys who’d rip her apart for a bit of Saturday night fun, then discard her.

Eden reaches behind her back slowly, hesitantly, and unhooks her bra. It sags on her shoulders, and when she slowly starts pulling it off, Christian snatches it the rest of the way, speeding her up. He tosses the bra onto the floor next to her sweater while his hungry gaze eats her up.

Ever since the ambush, something in Christian has shifted. Gone is his usual charming, laid-back attitude. He’s angry now, and that anger has brought out a ruthlessness I’ve never seen in him before. He’s been hell-bent on revenge, and if this chick is offering him an outlet for all that bloodthirsty rage, then God help her. He’s going to eat this bitch alive.

“Should we give you two some privacy?” I ask with a sigh.

Ignoring my comment, Ash pushes off the wall and steps up to Eden. “How do we know your brother hasn’t sent you here?”

She shakes her head, and in her defense, she looks even more terrified than she was before. Like a field mouse stepping up to a lion. But, instead of cowering, she straightens her spine and pulls her shoulders back. “He’d murder me if he knew I was here.”

Ash lifts a brow, his eyes roving over her tits openly. “Then why come?”

“I’ve grown up in the society, and I know what you’ll do to my brother…” she says.

“And what’s that?” I ask for shits and giggles.

She looks at me. “You’ll kill him.”

“And how do you know we won’t just kill you instead?” Christian asks.

Her gaze shifts to him. “I don’t know that. But I also know that in societies like these, codes of conduct are everything. And I haven’t done anything wrong, so you’d have no grounds to kill me.”

Shit, this chick is good.

Because it’s true. We kill people all the time, but it has to be justified. There are rules around it. And so far, this chick’s only offense is being related to a fucking psycho.

I lift my chin to her. “Wait in the hallway. We need to talk this over.”

She glances down at her sweater like she’s about to grab it, but Christian stops her. “Leave it,” he bites out. “If you’re going to be our whore, then get used to being naked.”

Fuck. The way my brother is eyeing this chick, you’d think her tits were lollipops just begging to be licked. This isn’t good.

With a little nod, she folds her arms in front of her, covering her breasts, then walks briskly across the room, and out the door.

I rake a hand over my face. “Well, what do you guys think? I vote no.”

Jackson shrugs. “I say yes. We could keep her for a while, torment her brother, then kill him. Sounds more fun than just killing him outright.”

Ash crosses his arms over his chest and nods in agreement. “We might actually get information out of her, too, which could prove valuable.”

Yeah, okay. “But we risk letting a viper into our den…”

Ash scoffs. “You just saw her—she’s terrified. What damage could she do? We take her phone, cut off her contact with the outside world…” He shrugs. “Easy.”

Jackson nods, thinking. “Yup, and we could make it known that we have her. Send Sin photos and shit. Twist the knife…”

I glance at Christian, who’s lighting up a blunt. He lowers himself into one of the tufted leather chairs, tilts his head back, and opens his mouth, allowing a billow of smoke to escape.

He looks calm, but I know better. There’s a spark of something in his eyes—a dark interest—and I know what it means. He’s gotten his first hit of Eden Savano, and he wants more.

“If she wants to pay for her brother’s sins,” Christian says with a shrug. “Then, I say, we let the bitch pay…”