Page 147 of Drown My Sorrow

I remember the plan to oust Typhor from society. How we need everyone’s help, and I swallow the furious, bitter words I long to spit.

“Come and sit down.” I force a smile. “Welcome to my home.”

In the doorway of the room, I see Aspyn in the shadows. She gives me a sad smile and steps backwards, out of sight.

I’ve never hated myself more.

Istandatthetop of the stairs, watching Holt. He’s whispering to the delivery man. I’m wondering what nasty surprise he’s got for me this time.

“Are you thinking about how to fire him?” Kelly asks.

“To be honest, I’m wondering where is the best place to hide his body.”

Kelly moves so he’s next to me, our shoulders pressed together.

“He revoked Shale and Aspyn’s codes on the door scanners. They were locked outside for an hour in the rain,” I say, seething all over again.

Kelly is silent while he absorbs that.

“He’s going to pay for all of it. We just need to be patient,” Kelly whispers.

“I hate him so much. He used to tell my parents when I did anything wrong. I’d find him lurking outside my door, peering through cracks, making notes of everything I did. It was bad enough I was too fat, too slow, not smart enough, not suave enough, but he made it all worse. He told them if I ate the wrong thing, if I fell asleep early, if I spoke to the wrong person. Holt even had the housekeeper, who was the only nice person, fired with no references and no pay. He’s a slimy piece of shit, and I want him gone.”

“Your wish, my command,” Keagan says and nuzzles my shoulder.

Kelly grins at him, and I see that we’re all on the same page. Whatever was holding us back is gone now. They pushed us the last bit closer.

“Aspyn was crying.”

I hang my head, wishing I could just burn the house down. “I’ll make it up to her.”

“You don’t need to make it up to her, Ezy. She understands. We can all feel how much you hate this place.”

Holt turns and looks up. He freezes, one foot in the air, his face transforms into a sneer.

“I want to give him all the filthy jobs in this house to do. I want to keep him working from dawn until dusk, but I can’t stoop to his level.”

“It will be okay, Ezy.”

Will it, though?

Aspynfelldownthestairs. Luckily, Gael was there to catch her, but the just-polished floors have had their carpets removed. Everyone knows you can’t just leave the polished floorboards with no runner. It’s a death trap, especially with the ancient shit my parents used to use to polish them with.

I slam Holt up against the wall and growl into his face.

“You cowardly piece of shit.”

“You’re as unnatural as your parents feared, Ezekial. You and your pack.”

I snarl and shove him back into the wall. He bounces off, hits my fierce thrust, bounces to me, but I slam him in again. His eyes widen, and I think I see the first threads of fear.

He glances behind me, looking at my pack.

“Don’t look at them. They won’t save you.”

“Kill me, then. Kill me because I will never stop trying to prove what a beast you are. You don’t deserve the name, you don’t deserve to be their heir.”

“And you want it? I’d die before I’d let someone like you take the Boothe name.”

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