Page 32 of The Revenge
I’d been hit with an uncontrollable rage, joining the same feeling that I’d been suffering from since watching her come in front of me in my classroom only a week before.
From the moment she walked into my classroom that day, I knew something was up, but I never guessed all the squirming was because of what had to be a toy controlled bythem.
With no lessons because of the exams anyway, it had taken me far too long to locate her, and when I did, she was dragging Synclair, Royal, and Gemini around by a fucking leash.
Whatever dickish comment I’m about to make dies in my throat as she lowers her head, and the harsh light of the room catches the bruises that cover her face. What little resolve I’vebeen clinging onto to stop myself from rushing over to her fades away in a flash.
My long legs make little work of the room as I march over, stopping abruptly in front of her.
Tori looks up, her eyes going wide. The mottled purple skin makes her blue eyes look almost unreal.
I reach down, avoiding the cuts on her chin, as I gently inch her head back a little further, my gaze drawn to the red mark around her neck. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” I utter.
“Just Tori.” Tori pulls her head back out of my reach.
“This isn’t something you can joke about. Which one of them did this to you?” I snap.
“It wasn’t…” Tori’s lips press together as she closes her eyes. “Declan Salaway.”
I take half a step back. “The kid they found dead? What the hell happened?”
Tori takes another large swig from the bottle, coughing slightly as she lowers it to offer it to me. I take the bourbon from her, and she slides out of the chair, moving towards the window.
“Someone released a video of me—a sex tape. While everyone was distracted by that, Declan tried to kill me. I think he would have succeeded if Syn, Royal, and Gemini hadn’t found me in time.” Staring out the window with her back to me, she takes a deep breath, but her body shudders as she releases it.
All I can hear is a roar in my ears, like I’m standing in a wind tunnel. My body seems to move on its own as I put the bottle down on the desk and then take the two steps I need to be right behind her.
Her eyes catch mine in our reflections as I wrap my arms around her, bringing her tight to my body.
She tenses, and something seems to filter through my mind that this isn’t appropriate, but it’s drowned out by the roaring wind.
And then she sinks back against me, her hands reaching up to cling to my arms wrapped tightly around her.
I lean forward, lowering my head to press my cheek against her unbruised one.
“Leave,” I tell her.
“I will.”
I straighten, releasing her as I grab her shoulders and gently turn her to face me. “That’s not a suggestion.”
“I finally got Syn to believe me when I told him my brother didn’t kill his. With Declan’s attack, we think we’re getting closer to figuring out the truth about what happened that night, and then, hopefully, we’ll know what happened to Lucy.”
Her eyes are round, and I can see the hope in them, but somehow, that makes something in me snap.
“I couldn’t care less about Lucy right now. You’re the one still alive. Barely at that,” I add, my eyes darting between all the visible injuries I can see at the moment.
And the idea of what I can’t see causes me physical pain in my chest.
“I thought you wanted to know what happened to her?”
“Not at the expense of something happening to you.” I raise my hand and gently brush my fingers over her cheek. “Somethingmorehappening to you.”
Her lips pout like she’s about to ask me a question.
There are two things my father gave me: an early receding hairline, which had me shaving my head from the age of nineteen, and anger issues. His anger issues resulted in him killing my mom before he turned the gun on himself. I’d promised my Grammy that I’d keep my anger under control, and until now, I’d never found myself close to getting angry enough that I’dwantto kill someone.
But what makes me react isn’t anger.
