Page 68 of Tag

Cade leaned back, one arm draped behind him over the headrest. “Then we deal with it like we are now. This doesn’t change our endgame.”

I didn’t look at him, just kept my eyes on the field, spotting an unmoving lump of flesh. “It complicates it.”

“Everything about this is complicated,” he reminded me. “We can still do what we need to. Xander opted out tonight solely to put a list together, so we have all the information about the Huntsmen and who else was Marked. When the next dumb fuck comes near the girls—.”

“Then we’ll be ready to come back at them,” I finished.

“You got it.” He waited a minute, expression sobering. “How are you two?”

“She…” I started, then let it hang. “I’ll tell you when we’re done with him.”

Cade nodded. He knew when to let something lie. I pulled to a stop a few feet away from Kyle. He was still lying in the same position, one arm stretched out like a failed attempt to crawl away. We climbed out, and Cade walked over first, nudging Kyle’s side with Angela, getting no response.

“This feels a bit anticlimactic.”

I let out a dry laugh. “I’ll let you run point on the next one.”

Cade looked over. “You wanna do the honors?”

“Would love to,” I said, taking Angela from his outstretched hand.

The weight of the bat settled into my grip like it belonged there. I raised it high, then I brought it down. The crack of bone echoed into the field as Kyle’s head caved in under the blow. Blood sprayed outward, thick and red and beautiful.

I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Each swing was precise and brutal. I exhaled through my nose, steady on the surface. Inside, my mind was working overtime. Not out of control, but deep and calculating. If I hadn’t turned down that street when I did…

What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there? This spineless little bitch watched her go down from behind the wheel of his car. He only peeled out because he saw me coming. To add more insult and disrespect, instead of laying low like someone with half a brain, he went and got drunk. Not even at a decent place, but some shitty fucking pub. I kept swinging until my arms began to burn from the workout.

When I finished, I could feel the blood on my face, already drying at the edges. There was nothing left of his head but pulp and ruin, a shattered smear where eyes used to live. The same eyes that looked at what was mine led him here. The second he brought her name into this game, he wrote his fucking eulogy.

Cade stood beside me, nodding like we’d just put down a sick dog. “That should do it.”

I stepped back and exhaled slowly. Adrenaline still hummed through my veins, but I felt steadier. “Yeah,” I murmured. “That should do it.”

We turned and headed back to the truck, Kyle’s lifeless body left behind as meat for the animals and to rot. Something for the cops to find in a week, maybe two, when the smell got bad enough or someone wandered to this part of the field. I pulled off and headed to where Rook and Nick would be waiting at the old quarry.

“So… what was it you were gonna tell me?” Cade asked once we were back on the road.

I tapped my fingers against the wheel, eyes fixed straight ahead. “After I got her in the truck earlier, she had me take her to a drugstore away from campus.”

“Tampons,” he guessed.

“No, Sanj has no shame buying what she needs for that and she…” I trailed off. He didn’t need to know her flow was irregular. Some things I was keeping to myself in confidence.

His brow furrowed. “Please don’t tell me she had you take her to get condoms.”

“Fuck no. You’re on the right track, though. I think they might even be in the same aisle. Pregnancy tests.”

The second the words left my mouth, Cade’s head whipped toward me, eyes wide. “She’s fucking—?” His voice cracked mid-accusation.

“They weren’t for her,” I cut in. “Do you think if that piece of shit got her pregnant, I’d be sitting here?” I shook my head, laughing. “The only babies Sanj is going to have are mine. I would’ve had to crash out for a while. Go off-grid and prepare myself to raise one that wasn’t after I destroyed Ashton’s entire family, so they never had a claim to him. Or her.”

“We’d all be crashing out with you. I’m not ready to be Uncle C yet.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Motherfucker. You almost killed me with that one.” He blew out a deep breath and patted his chest like he was going to have an actual heart attack. “So, who’s preggo?”

“Who do you think?”

---