Page 59 of Vows of Ruin

Torque snaps. He surges forward, hand going for his weapon. I already have my dagger in my palm.

“We walk out of here untouched,” Torque growls, “Or our people burn this place to the fucking ground.”

I step close, never blinking. “And what I just heard… no one here is innocent.”

Cyrus smirks. “You think I’m afraid of the Black Serpents?”

“No, but you should be scared of her,” Torque says, looking at me, then back to his brother. “Because she’s the only thing keeping you breathing right now.”

Cyrus narrows his eyes, scanning the ceiling, as if looking for snipers. Smart. But not smart enough. Because if he knew what we were capable of… he wouldn’t be smiling. He’d be begging.

Cyrus leans back, that smug grin oozing from every pore. “Well, little brother, I’m sorry, but you buying out his debt, when he’s poised to make me a whole lot more…” he clicks his tongue. “That’s just bad business.”

Then he turns to me, his eyes flicking over my body like he owns it. “Good luck, dear.”

It feels like a knife under my skin. He knows. Not just about Sebastian’s obsession, but about what’s coming.

I tug on Torque’s arm gently. The signal is subtle, but he doesn’t miss it.

“You’re a bigger piece of shit than I ever gave you credit for,” Torque spits, jaw tight.

Cyrus claps his hands. “Looking forward to it, Everett.”

We don’t give him the satisfaction of looking back. As we make our way down the catwalk and stairs, past twitchy muscles with twitchier fingers, my hand still grips my dagger. Torque’s knuckles are white on his weapon. No one stops us.

Back in the car, the silence hangs heavy, dense with frustration and fury.

“Fuck,” Torque hits the steering wheel. “I hate him so much.”

“He’s a real charmer,” I say dryly, still feeling the residue of Cyrus’s gaze crawling over my skin.

Torque exhales, hard. “I got the name one night when we were younger…”

I glance at him, but I don’t press. He catches my look and shakes his head. “No, you should know.”

“When I was eighteen, not long after Reaper left for his first tour, I was drifting. Pulled away from everyone. From the Serpents. From what family I had. One night, I was at home in the garage. Cyrus came in with two guys. Said he owed money to a bookie and they were there to collect.”

I sit quietly. Letting him speak.

“I told them I didn’t have any cash. They didn’t take it well and it turned ugly fast. I ended up killing both of them. All while never dropping the wrench I was holding. Cyrus called some guys he ran with. They cleaned up the mess. They gave me the name. Torque.”

He pauses, then adds. “Wrecker’s the one who turned it into something more, after he realized I could drive anything with wheels… or rotors.”

I smile faintly. “Did you think I’d judge you for that? You’ve seen me end lives without blinking. You watched me throw a dagger into a woman’s throat and then climb one of my husbands like he was a farewell carnival ride.”

He snorts a laugh. “Okay, yeah. Fair. Still… Cyrus always hung that night over my head.”

“Well,” I say, reaching over to squeeze his forearm. “We’re going to hang him instead. Him and Sebastian. One way or another.”

“Yeah,” he says. “If it’s the last thing we do.”

Then I grin. “So… milkshakes on the way home?”

Laughter bursts through the comms.”

“I fucking knew it,” Elias groans. “You can survive a warehouse full of creeps, face Torque’s evil twin, and still circle back to dessert.”

“Priorities,” I shoot back. “Yours are just out of order.”