Page 22 of Cruel (Brutal Academy)

Whatever he was going to suggest, he didn't get to finish.

Zeke flew around the corner. His movement was immediately followed by a shot, then another.

The three of us didn't hesitate to follow.

One minion lay dead outside a doorway. The other three turned their attention to us. There was no sign of Hades.

I got off a shot before one of the minions could shoot my older brother. Zeke, that was. Hunter was busy taking care of the other man.

Asher aimed at the woman but hesitated.

She didn't. She aimed at him and fired.

CHAPTER9

PARKER

"Fuck!"

The bullet missed Asher by a hair.

I don't know who killed the woman in the end. Hunter, Zeke and I all fired on her at the same time. The impact of the bullets threw her back against the wall. She slid down slowly, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

I stepped forward carefully and peered into a room full of women. And Slade.

"Anyone else?" I asked with a grin.

"It's okay, he's with me," Lila said quickly to a blonde who aimed at me.

The other woman looked uncertain but lowered her gun.

"Don't worry, I only bite Lila." I put down my own gun and stepped over to embrace her. "You look hot."

Her bra and panties were virtually transparent. If I wasn't hard from all the excitement, I was hard from looking at her.

She snorted at me and accepted Slade's T-shirt when he slipped it off and handed it to her. It fell to mid-thigh. Somehow it was even more adorable than transparent underwear.

Hunter shoved me aside so he could put his arms around Lila and give her a squeeze.

"It's good to see you. You too, Slade."

"Looks like we got here just in time." I scanned the room, smiling at the scared, anxious faces around me.

"We had things under control," Slade said evenly. As if he wasn’t as happy to see us as Lila was. He could thank us later.

Lila glanced at him sideways. "You still haven't explained how you got here. How did you know where to find me?"

I knew that expression. That was the same one she had when she looked at her sister. Wary, mistrustful.

"The twins told me." Slade frowned. "What the fuck is going on?" He put out a hand to her, but she jerked away.

"The asshole running this operation, Hades, said you were working with my sister." Her voice was tight with stress and emotion.

He stared at her, open shock on his face. "Why the hell would I do that?" He lowered his hand and balled it into a fist. "Wait, did you say Hades? That explains it."

I slid the back of my knuckles down Lila's cheek. "I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of Hades' mouth."

"Absolutely not," Hunter agreed.

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