Grayson holds out a hand to Cruz and the crowd gasps and rushes in, insisting that an ambulance is on the way. But one sharp look from Grayson has each of them backing up, and I don’t blame them. Grayson is scary as hell on a good day, but when he’s actually giving it a bit of effort, he looks like your worst nightmare.
Grayson carefully helps Cruz to his feet and my heart breaks as a cringe settles across his face, but seeing that I’m watching, Cruz slaps on a fake smile and pretends that all is good in the world. I roll my eyes. Boys and their stupid pride. It’s ridiculous. Do they realize that girls know they’re human just like us?
Fuck me in the ass sideways.
I keep my mouth shut. I can give him shit about it when he’s not hurting so bad, as for now, I have a thick set of bushes to disappear into.
I’m more than aware of the people watching us and just how easily one of them could point the cops in our direction, so we make it as quick as possible. King stands at the edge of the bushes and waits for us all to pass before making sure that we’re not being followed.
We walk for a few minutes, heading deeper into the bushes, twisting and turning, making it hard for anyone to find us. Once we are completely surrounded by brush and trees, the sounds of the sirens fade to a distant hum. Carver slows ahead, letting Knox’s heavy body fall to the ground with a satisfying thump.
Who the fuck does he think he is trying to turn me into roadkill? Though the bigger question is, who the fuck does Cruz think he is putting himself in direct danger to save my life? That selfless asshole. I know he loves me, but damnnnn. He really raised the bar today.
All eyes fall to Cruz, wondering how this will play out, but as we look his way, Knox’s eyes spring open, and fear slams through him as he takes in the five imposing bodies surrounding him.
Knox instantly scrambles. “Oh, fuck,” he breathes, pushing up to his ass and using his hands to drag himself backward. We don’t bother moving as he gets only a few inches before his back presses up against a wide tree, backing himself into a corner.
The panic surges through his gaze as his eyes flick around our circle, knowing that without a doubt, he will die today, and considering what he just did to Cruz, and what he had intended for me, he knows that it’s going to be brutal.
Cruz takes a step toward him and crouches down. He doesn’t show that he’s in pain, but I know he is, and I know it must be horrendous. “You look pretty good for a dead guy,” he rumbles, his voice low and deadly.
Knox keeps looking around the circle, silently begging each of us for help that he knows isn’t going to come. He attempts to back up further, though it’s not as though he can magically go right through the tree. He’s fucked and not in a good way.
Cruz clicks in his face, forcing his stare back to his and demanding answers. “How are you alive?” Cruz questions. “You were left in your uncle’s house to rot.”
“Window,” Knox spits before his gaze flicks back to me with a sick grin twisting across his face. “But it seems that I’m not the only one capable of surviving an explosion.”
My blood runs cold. I race forward and my hand shoots out, my fingers instantly curling around his throat and squeezing tight. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I growl, my stomach churning as the dread quickly sinks in.
Knox laughs and I squeeze tighter. He looks up at me and his eyes sparkle, and although not a sound has come out of his mouth, I know he’s laughing at me, at all of us. “That staircase certainly went BOOM, didn’t it?” he mutters, his voice low and strained from the hold I have on his throat. “You practically flew like a bird.”
“Fucking hell,” King mutters behind me, the anger in his tone fueling my own.
I clench my jaw, struggling to control myself as I pull my hand back, pulsing it at my side. “All those people,” I spit through my teeth, my head taking me back to that night, staring out at all the people that I couldn’t help, who were screaming in agony while I stood paralyzed, wishing so desperately that I could save them. “They were innocent. They had nothing to do with this.”
Knox just grins, taunting me, silently daring me to lose control. “What’s that bullshit you used to say? An eye for an eye?” he laughs. “You killed all of my men, so I returned the favor. All those lives lost, they’re on you. Their blood is on your shoulders.”