Page 16 of Darling Wildfire
I didn’t want it to come to that. But they all had to understand there were no lines I wouldn't cross and no corner of hell too deep that would stop me from killing the man who had ruined my life and taken everything from me.
“Don’t you think you should give her that choice too?” Nyx asked. “Who knows, maybe she can actually help us. I’m just saying, if you plan to keep her, she should know what you’re willing to sacrifice to end this.”
When I didn’t answer right away, he shook his head and turned to go.
“Honestly, I hope you grow a pair and tell her because I’ve never seen you this way with a woman,” he nudged me with his shoulder and smirked. “I kind of like it. She and Graham are good for you.”
Once he left, I unloaded clip after clip at the target until it was a shredded mess. But I wasn’t seeing the paper outline, I was seeing Vetticus and his lust filled eyes and the smirk that always set my teeth on edge. His voice cut through the gunfire and it was his hands I was shooting as they reached for me, or Nyx or Atlas—I knew what I was getting into and yet I still wasn’t prepared for what it actually felt like to hear him stake a claim on our lives again.
But this wasn’t his game anymore. It wasmine.
And I knew it was only going to get a whole lot worse before the end.
9
NYX
Atlas was waiting for me when I emerged from the basement.
“Is he good?” Atlas asked. I scoffed and shook my head as I walked past him towards the kitchen.
“What do you think?”
I needed coffee—preferably something stronger but coffee was already brewing. I stood in front of the coffee machine, listening to it grumble to life. Atlas’ hand snaked around my waist as he reached for mugs above my head. He set them down and then jumped up to sit on the counter. His hand curled around the back of my neck, drawing my attention to him.
“It brought it all back for me too,” he said.
My lips curled in disgust and anger. Even knowing I’d feel this way wasn’t enough to stop the emotions from storming viciously to the surface.
“Hearing his voice again was—” I shook my head. “It’s like no time has passed.”
“I’m worried about him,” Atlas said quietly, and I knew he was talking about North. “He has someone important to him again right when everything is about to go off.”
“Shit timing is what that is,” I grumbled.
Atlas pulled me in to stand between his legs and I leaned into his touch, letting it calm the rage and ease the tightness under my skin. The shadows inside me were eager for release and when my eyes clashed with Atlas’ I saw the same darkness reflected there.
The storm was here, and we were ready.
His eyes darkened and the air between us turned electric as his fingers brushed against the back of my neck, teasing me closer. My hands drifted up his thighs to his hips and under his t-shirt, heat spreading through my body as I touched his bare skin. His hand pulled me closer, but before I could claim his lips in mine the way I wanted to, I saw Lachlan out of the corner of my eye as he came into the kitchen.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, but he had a smirk on his face.
“No, you’re not,” Atlas said easily.
“No, I am—sorry I didn’t wait another two seconds so I could watch,” he teased. “Last time was hot.”
Lachlan hopped up on the counter across from us and I turned, pushing my back against Atlas’ chest as his arms snaked around me and I rested an elbow against his thigh, unable to hide my grin. We’d met Lachlan in Austria shortly after our escape and he’d quickly become one of our best friends which to us, meant we may or may not have hooked up in various capacities over the years.
“Saw North downstairs shredding paper,” he continued. “Did Vetticus make contact?”
“Yup—he wants a team briefing in the morning,” I said.
The noise of the coffee machine cut through the air, struggling to dispense the last bit of coffee into the pot. I left Atlas’ embrace and grabbed it, pouring it into the two mugs.
“Coffee, Lach?”
“Sure, I won’t be able to sleep with North prowling the property.”
