Page 31 of Hostile Saint

Chuckling, I stuck up for myself. “I’m quite lovable. You just wait and see.”

Justice laughed over the phone. “I see you guys are already teaching Pup some bad ego habits.”

Once Lynx got off the phone, he told me, “She’ll get me some answers.” Lost in thought, he spun the burner cell around with his finger. “Kid, what do you think you would do if ever faced with your brothers again?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “After all that has gone down, how would you feel seeing them again? Blood or not, what do you think you would do?”

I hadn’t even considered seeing them again. I figured, since they left me for dead, that was the way it should be left. “Huh. I don’t know.” I eyed him. “What would you do?”

Grey eyes glowed with revenge. “I’d kill ’em.” He studied me. “Would you have a problem with that?”

Standing there, I realized there was a very high probability that whoever had taken his sister was now dead. I grimaced. “God, I swear I wish I could say yes, but…” Suddenly, images of the rape and how familiar with Lacey’s body all the brothers were had my jaw locking. Then I remembered the blade sinking into her sweet, beautiful skin. “No. I don’t have a problem with that. At all.” My skin flared with a sharp and ravenous rage, feeding me the strength to finally say, “I think they murdered my father.”

Ever so slowly, Lynx inhaled as if finally hearing what he had been waiting for. “How?”

“The pool. Drowned.”

As if totally believing me and understanding there was more to be said, he questioned, “Not an accident?”

“He was a certified swimming coach. Had me swimming by three.” I could feel how deadpanned my expression was. I could feel the hatred I had buried while trying to force myself to believe the lie I had been told. “Authorities claim he must have ‘cramped’ since he had no head trauma to speak of.”

Lynx lifted a blond brow as he sarcastically said, “That’s quite a cramp for a certified teacher not being able to reach the side of a pool.”

No longer a fool, I gave one curt yet menacing nod. “I only ask that, if they are to die, I get to do it. All four of them.”

There was no more joking or laughter echoing.

All that was now present was reverence for my hostile words.

Vice walking into the kitchen from the garage, with aviator glasses on his head, had my full attention. I was dying to hear anything and everything he had to say. But before he even had a chance to open his mouth with any news, I asked, “How is she?” In the living room, I was on my feet, so nervous I couldn’t hold still.

Dagger and Lynx flanked me, both sturdy as always.

Vice didn’t judge me either. He quickly and confidently answered, “I don’t know her like you do, of course, but from what I can tell, she is doing real good, kid. Real good. They even had her sitting outside in some real nice garden courtyard.”

“Flowers?”

“Oh yeah, a shit load. All different colors.”

For some reason, that was confirmation she was in good hands. “She loves flowers—” My legs gave out. No longer on medication that numbed everything and not distracted by talk of my shitty brothers, I finally could feel the impact of how worried I had truly been for her. It was violent. Almost too much for my body to take.

“Lay him flat,” said Dagger quickly.

Two sets of strong arms quickly grabbed a hold of me and helped me to the floor. Dazed, I laid there, blinking. “S-Sorry. I just—”

Dagger was studying me—my eyes, my coloring—but said, “Stop apologizing. You’ve been so consumed with worry for Lacey you haven’t taken one second to consider all you have been through, physically nor mentally. Here’s a quick recap. Your own flesh and blood tried to make you exit this world while, from what I can tell, absolutely terrorizing your woman. I got a feelin’ that your story is way up top on the list of the shit I’ve seen. Feel me? And I’ve seen some shit.” For some reason, he laid two fingers on the inside of my wrist. “Your young body is doing a stand-up job healing, but it ain’t done. Cut yourself some fucking slack.”

Two men standing over me, all worried, had my eyes leaking. I felt like I had won a lottery. It just wasn’t money I was being gifted. It was something so much better.

When Vice suddenly appeared, smiling ear-to-ear, saying, “You done being a drama queen and ready to hear more about your girl?” I burst into some sort of laughing-crying fit.

Still with fingers on my wrist, Dagger smiled. “Pulse is pickin’ back up.”

From the floor, I told Vice, “Tell me more.”

Vice teased, “First off, you’re right. She’s hot.”