Page 26 of Soulless Deeds

“Speak,” he barked, the command harsh and nonnegotiable.

All attention shifted to me—some expectant, others pissed off. I swallowed hard.

“Well, my tattoo isn’t ruined, so that’s a plus?—"

“—quit it with your smart mouth, Spencer. Now, spit it out,” Tanner reprimanded.

Since the losses of Chase and our father, we all willingly gave our trust and loyalty to one another without fault. It was an unspoken agreement, a natural progression. As we each knew the soul crushing defeat of failing a loved one, we’d do anything to prevent that loss ever having influence over us again. The crude reminder was immediate and raw when Micah went missing not so long ago.

Thus, I conceded and relayed the night’s events to my spectators, purposely omitting the perpetrator’s identity.

Micah sat beside me, shuffling into a comfortable position, lips curling in disgust. “You could have left out the sex part, Spence.”

“Well, you asked for all the details.”

“What’s up with her face now?” Psycho asked from his stool.

Emerson took another sip from Tanner’s drink, colour slowly returning to her face. “She’s had that dazed look since I found her bleeding out. Spouting some shit about falling in love.”

I flopped down in exaggeration and sighed. “Iamin love. I’ve found my soulmate.” I was in no way ashamed of my claim.

“You mean the one you slept with, or the one who stabbed you?” Tanner snapped.

“They’re one in the same,” I hummed with approval, my eyes closing.

Psycho laughed. “Of course your deluded ass would fall for the guy who tried to kill you.” Everyone chuckled.

The fucker was gettingwaytoo comfortable. In the past couple weeks alone, he’d found his voice alright. Wouldn’t stop long enough to let me get a word in. The moron even thought he was funnier than me.

Before I could reply, Micah cut in. “So, you’re just going to let him get away with trying to kill you?”

Silence shortly followed. I peeped an eyelid open to find her, Emerson and Tanner having a full conversation with their eyes alone. A noiseless agreement took hold; if I refused to find and kill Echo, one of them would do it for me.Oh, no, that won’t do.

“Ah, ah,” I tsked. “None of that, dear family. He’smine.I’m going to find him, own him, stab him, then fucking devour him till there’s nothing left.” I finished with an evil cackle, my toothy grin stretching wide with insanity.

All halted for a stagnant moment, then Tanner released a heavy sigh while my two sisters and I succumbed to delirious laughter. All three of us fell over each other in an exhausted, dishevelled heap, cackling hysterically like demented old witches.

“Stop making me laugh. I’ll start bleeding again,” I said between laboured breaths.

“Stop then, bitch. I haven’t got the energy to heal you again,” said Emerson. It seemed to sober us.

Psycho rubbed a hand down his face, and Ava watched on in amusement as Tanner shook his head with an unimpressed air. “That poor bastard. He doesn’t know what’s coming for him.”

XI

Spencer

“Can I go now?” I asked.

Emerson clucked. “You’re still recovering, so no.” She knelt beside me, hands hovering over my supine position on the fighting mats, Fran sitting next to her like the good puppy he was.

“It’s been nearly a week,” I whined. “Being locked up here iskillingme.”

Micah chuckled from the kitchen island. “Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you slept with… Who was it again?”

I still hadn’t given them his name, and my sisters anguished over my protecting his anonymity because it prevented them from hunting him down themselves. Although they’d never admit it, the lack of information was grating against their every instinct. The demand came with the bloodline. Kings weren’t used to being denied.

Nevertheless, Echo wasmine,and I was extremely possessive over his identity since it irrevocably belonged to me. He’d find out about his new ownership soon enough… As soon as I escaped that decrepit tomb of a home.

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