Page 35 of The Merciless

Ray rolled her eyes.

But yes, she’d done something.Cameron sighed from behind Neera and signed at her,

“Look,” he started as Ray bit the inside of her cheek, “Unless you messed the plan by acting on your feelings for Angel, there isn’t anything–”

She blinked innocently.

And Cameron gasped. And then Akash gasped. And Neera sighed.

“Youdidn’t.”

“I kissed him.” She started softly, easing them into it and turned to face Akash. Her best friend groaned out loud and put his face in his hands. She bit her lip and probed,

“Akash?”

His words were muffled when he responded.

“Was it worth the plan?” He cried and Ray smiled a small tentative smile.

“Maybe.”

“I hate you.”

Cameron looked up at her then, his gaze narrowed, “You couldn’t have kissed himbefore we put it all in motion?”he signed aggressively.

“Sorry.”

“What are we supposed to do now?” Cameron signed and none of them seemed to notice the set of her jaw.Lay down a trap,she wanted to say but didn’t,and simply wait for the mole to walk in.

Neera groaned again, drawing her out of her daze,

“I fucking owe Myra ten bucks now.”

8

He rolled his eyes so hard he was afraid he was going to lose them in the back of his skull as Jack asked the same question the fifth time,

“So, what’d you and Ray do?”

Angel sighed, choosing not to reply as he hadn’t for the past five attempts. He didn’t know if Ray wanted to announce it to the world yet. Knew he wanted to keep it to himself for just a bit though. Just to torture the four pair of eyes glaring at him,

“What, man?”Luke finally snapped. Angel simply leaned further back in his chair in response. They were still seated in Ray’s or Akash’s house, the four of them having had slept on the floor together.

He sighed.

In his defense, this was all Ray’s fault.

And he thought about it. Thought about she’d made it her life’s mission to ruin them and how he’d done everything in his power to turn his people against his father in his time here. She’d somehow ruined all his intricate plans and had now very possibly sold him on the idea of abandoning his entire group by simply doing the easiest thing ever.

Burning everything down.

“Ah,” Angel sighed as he thought about it, “I might’ve fucked up.”

If not Jack’s whines,hiswords finally attracted everyone’s attention. Everyone here knew how he’d carefully built himself up to rip the businesses out from under Martin’s nose. But knowing now, after talking to Raylene and telling her about the things he’d found in the hospital before the event, at the

end of all this, they were only going to end up in ruins.

There was a minute of silence that followed his words, and then,

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