Page 31 of Liar
“And if it wasn’t?”
He didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked, “Was that why you came here—to make sure the killer didn’t get me, too?” In spite of it all, the bastard thought it was a good time to give me a smirk.
I couldn’t believe him.
Well, I could, because it was Sawyer and I knew better, but still.
“Careful,” I warned. “Don’t let your ego get any bigger. I care about a lot of people, you know. I—I just don’t want anyone else to die because of me, okay?” I let out an annoyed grunt before stomping away.
This time, he let me go.
Chapter Eleven – Travis
Ash had a meeting with us. All of us. A fucking meeting like we worked together instead of dated each other. It was kind of ridiculous, but Ash was on high alert after what happened. Oh, yeah, I already knew all about it.
Word traveled fast when you kept your ear to the ground and knew who to listen to.
Plus, you know, connections. I had them, my family had them, etcetera.
Ash, Declan, Will and I were all cramped in their dorm room. Will sat near Ash’s right, while Declan sat on her other side, holding her hand and absentmindedly tracing her knuckles. They were both trying to comfort her, both trying to tell her—convince her—that this wasn’t her fault.
And it wasn’t.
Men were not born monsters. They were shaped into them, carved and molded by family and society. A killer was a killer. Ash could not hold herself responsible for something someone else had done, even if, misguidedly, that someone was only trying to keep her attention.
I leaned on Declan’s bed, my arms crossed, as I watched the two brothers comfort Ash. Or try to, anyways. Whether or not she was truly comforted would be up to her.
She was strong. She could get through this. She wasn’t weak like Sabrina.
“I just don’t want any of you guys to get hurt,” Ash spoke, glancing at all of us, lastly at me. Her eyes lingered on me the least, probably because she knew I could take care of myself. I might not have the muscle like Will or Sawyer, but I was smart. I knew how to take any sized opponent down, knew when to wait in the shadows.
I might not be totally good at listening to orders—one blow my ass, Markus. I should’ve been the one to kill Ray—but that was beside the point.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I said, earning myself a questioning stare from Declan and a quick glance from Will. Will still didn’t like me, but that was fine, because I wasn’t too particularly fond of him, either.
The way of the world was this: a well-crafted beast did not sit on the same level as someone who scraped the bottom of the barrel. No one in this room was on my level; the closest was Ash, and even then, she truly had no idea of the things I was capable of.
She’d turn away in disgust if she’d seen me and how much glee I took in tearing apart Ray’s face, forcing him to die with a smile.
But I did what was necessary. I did what I had to. I played nice with Declan and Will and Sawyer because I knew I would never truly have Ash otherwise. She’d given us each a piece of her heart, and we in turn gave her ours. It was only fair.
Only it wasn’t.
Only someone else wanted her heart. Someone else who couldn’t take the thought of her spending any time with another man, even if said man was a nerdy grad student who could barely tie his own shoelaces.
Corey Weinberger didn’t deserve to die. You didn’t slaughter people just because you thought they’d get in your way. My family had taught me that, but if Ash’s instincts were right, and if mine were too, the killer had no teachers in the way of hunting.
Plus, leaving the body to be discovered by whoever stumbled by next? Piss-poor, pathetic work. The killer needed to be careful of his next move, because I was watching. I’d already made the call I had to.
Will spoke, breaking the silence of the room as he suggested, “Maybe we should cancel the dinner with Sawyer tomorrow.” He ran a hand through his light brown hair, his hazel eyes focused on her.
Ash shot him a look. “What? No, no, I—” She paused. “It’d probably only put him in more danger.”
I knew Declan would go along with whatever Ash wanted; it was up to me to stand up to Will, to put my foot down and make sure we all went to that dinner. Will would not get his way—we’d go to that dinner if I had to drag us there. I wasn’t above tying up Declan and Will; I was certain Ash would be into it. She could get kinky.
“No, we told Sawyer we were coming, so we’re going,” I stated.
Will glared at me. “You don’t get to decide what we do—”
