Page 136 of Saint

I meet Saint’s eyes from across the room. They’re nearly vacant as he stares back. It’s almost like he’s gone somewhere in his mind as his knuckles whiten from his grip on his blade.

Whatever he’s thinking has his singular focus, and it’s a look I haven’t seen since kneeling in Liam’s blood on the side of the road.

Rage brews in the hot depths of his pupils.

Destruction.

Saint doesn’t break my stare as I blink back my tears. He focuses on every drop—every whimper. We’re one.Connected.

I haven’t stopped crying since I woke up. And even if I still feel the wet rivers running down my cheeks, I’m numb to them. I’m silent.

The gag is no longer straining my lips, but still, I don’t speak. There’s nothing to say that won’t potentially send this all tumbling.

Pressing my lips together, I blink at Saint and silently ask him the question I’m desperate to get the answer to.

What’s stronger—his rage or his patience?

What matters more—revenge or me?

Saint is a killer. A psychopath.

But underneath it all, I’m certain Kole loves me.

Even when his love sometimes hurts or doesn’t make sense. When he holds me so tight it messes everything up. Saint is his darkness, but beneath the torment, Kole continues to exist.

And that’s who I see when the hard façade cracks just enough for the corner of his mouth to tilt upward. So faint I almost miss it.

I see Kole, and I see love.

I see the man who will do anything for me, even if it means turning his back on Sigma House.

My chest swells, and my heart races as I watch his expression shift. As he gives me the answers to everything I’ve needed to know since the moment I opened myself up to him.

We see each other’s dark side, and we’ve accepted it.

Kole is mine, and I am his.

It’s why Saint will protect me now, in this moment.

Just like when I sat in this very spot and told Declan I don’t fear him. He asked me why, and I knew the answer without having to question it. Kole won’t let anyone hurt me.

Relief floods my veins, and I no longer feel Brax’s fingers on my skin. I no longer fear his knife at my neck. I don’t struggle against the bindings around my wrists and ankles.

I’m at peace.

“You forgot something.” Saint’s dark gaze moves to Brax. He pauses, even if he doesn’t remove the blade from where it’s pressing against my throat.

“What?”

“You’re only two trials in, Braxton.” Saint ticks his head just slightly, and I don’t miss Declan shifting at the exact same moment.

Brax huffs. “So?”

“You don’t know all Sigma House’s secrets just yet.” Saint’s voice is almost haunting it’s so quiet.

It whispers through the basement and sends a tickle up the back of my neck. Again, Declan shifts, but all the attention in the room is on Saint because this is his unholy ground, and he commands it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brax’s tone is starting to shake.

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