Page 69 of Temptation
Both were etched onto his face, and I had a feeling that he wanted to be here with us.
“But we will need to deal with Judah,” I told her, still looking at Dylan.
“Judah Blackwood is mine,” Dylan sneered, surprising me.
“What?” Skylar spun around. “Dy—”
“I know what he did to you,” he murmured, looking at Skylar. “I-I know.” His voice broke. “I couldn’t protect you from that, even when I vowed to myself that you wouldn’t have to go through the same shit I went through.”
A spear sliced through my heart and I understood what he was saying. Suddenly, I wanted to be there, to pull him into my embrace, even though the rational part of my brain told me he didn’t deserve it. He was a monster—one of the bad ones—but he didn’t deserve that.
“Oh, Dylan,” Skylar cried out and crossed the crypt, going to him. A pang of jealousy shot through my system, but as fast as it came, it also disappeared. “Judah—”
“It wasn’t Judah,” he cut her off. “It wasn’t Judah for me, it was….” he trailed off. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I failed to protect you.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should’ve known!” he roared, like a wounded animal. “I should’ve fucking known because I was supposed to protect you. I was supposed to save you from them, and I failed you.”
He collapsed to the floor, his head between his hands, and I curled my fingers into my palms, cutting the skin with my nails. I couldn’t go to him. I couldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t…
Goddammit, but I wanted to.
I wanted to be on the other side of him as Skylar crouched down, hugging him, and soothing him. I wanted to be there to tell him that he couldn’t have stopped them. I wanted to tell them both that they didn’t need to live in this filth anymore, but I couldn’t.
Shaking my head, I turned toward Kane, who had his eyes trained on Dylan. The happy-go-lucky persona he had mere moments ago disappeared, replaced by a look filled with hatred.
Shit.
I walked toward him, blocking the view of Dylan and Skylar, waiting for him to look up at me. When his eyes finally climbed over my body to my face, I shook my head.
“No, Kane.”
“No, what?”
“You know what. Don’t even think about it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re protecting him now,” he glared. “He deserves to—”
“I know.” I turned and looked at Dylan and Skylar. “But she doesn’t. She doesn’t deserve that.”
His eyes closed, and he pressed his fists together at his stomach, as if he was holding himself from walking over there.
I sat next to him, observing the scene unfolding in front of me. Rowan was lost, looking at them one minute, then at us. I held myself still. No matter how much I wanted to hate Dylan, I couldn’t.
Monsters often made monsters, and Judah Blackwood tried making one—but he failed. I could see it in the way he held on to Skylar. I could see it in Dylan’s pain and his anger. Judah Blackwood may have succeeded in some things, but he hadn’t taken Dylan from Skylar.
I knew that she was the only thing holding him together. Maybe if it wasn’t for her, he would’ve been lost a long time ago. But I still had to ask the most obvious question.
“Why did you attack her then?”
Both of them looked at me, then at each other, and with a small nod from Skylar, Dylan started talking. “It wasn’t me.” His eyes flickered to Rowan. “Somebody stole my mask and my cape, and I think you know who.”
“No,” Rowan denied, but there was no conviction there.
“Ro?” I stood up and took a step toward him.
“It wasn’t me,” he answered. “I swear it wasn’t me. I wouldn’t hurt her. I couldn’t hurt her.”
