Page 109 of Ravage
The long walk—because neither of us owns a car—gives me a lot of time to think and stew over what I will do when I get there. Jackson doesn’t say a word the entire time.
I almost get on his case for it, until I look over at him and notice how his eyes are constantly moving around us. He seems relaxed walking beside me, but a tension in his face gives away how alert he is to our surroundings.
My words die on my tongue, and I settle more into the quiet between us.
Even now, on our way for me to do who-knows-what to his brother, he’s watching out for me. I was just too busy rampaging within my head to notice.
We’re not even halfway there when I admit to myself that I’m not on my way there to attack Dane. At least not physically.
I was blinded by anger with the news of what he’d done when it first hit me, thinking that the only way to protect the others in this city was to get rid of him, but who was I kidding?
As furious as I am with the stupid decision he made, I could never consciously hurt him. I’m the one who hurt him this badly in the first place.
I still care about him.
I miss what we used to have and who he used to be.
If anyone is to blame for why he is who he is now, it’s me.
My temper and gift cool and fizzle out and are replaced with annoyance and surface anger at his stupidity. Jackson gives me a look as I take a deep breath and I wonder if he somehow sensed the change in me.
While I’ve decided that I’m not going to kill or maim Dane, I’m no pushover and have plenty of anger I can still throw his way to make sure he doesn’t do something so foolish again. And I’ll throw some Aiden’s way if he knows about it.
I shove the door open when we get there. Jackson stands just behind me like an ominous shadow for anyone who may try to get near me and it bolsters my confidence.
The three others are seated around the dining room table, having a meeting since there’s no food on the table, and they all snap to attention when they see me. Kellan looks at Jackson over my shoulder and then back to me. He looks annoyed and broody. Whether that’s still from me running away this morning or at this sudden intrusion with Jack at my back, I can’t tell.
Aiden just looks confused, and Dane looks pissed by my appearance in his home.
Perfect.
I storm up to the table and focus all of my attention on Dane.
“You’re a rat bastard and a real piece of shit, you know that?” I grab a pen off the table and chuck it at him.
He swipes it away and sneers at me. “Oh yeah? You finally ready to tell everyone the truth about how you feel?”
“What’s this about?” Aiden tries to interject, but I ignore him and lean over Kellan to point my finger at Dane.
“How about you tell everyone the truth about what you did? How you told GE that I’m here and how I’ve been getting followed and attacked for weeks, because of you? How you put everyone else in this city in danger by drawing GE here?” I bang my fist against the table in emphasis.
A chair screeches back on the floor and Kellan’s suddenly towering over me. “You did what?!” he snarls and grabs Dane by the collar of his shirt.
“Let him go, Kellan,” Aiden orders and stands from his seat.
Kellan and I turn our heads simultaneously to look at him.
“Did you know?” Kellan whispers threateningly.
I step back out of Kellan’s way as he holds Dane in one hand and Aiden’s glare on his other side.
“Of course not. But I want to hear it from Dane if it’s even true before you go trusting her over your own brother,” Aiden counters back.
We all look at Dane, who isn’t even trying to break free of Kellan. He slashes a hateful look at Jackson. “You’re a motherfucking traitor, Jack. I knew she would be trouble from the moment she showed up here, and that’s all she has been. Look at us!” He waves his arms out at the room.
Even I can see the divide between them. Kellan and Jackson defending me on one side, Aiden and Dane on the other.
They’re looking at each other with distrust, hate, and contempt. Nothing like how we all were together on the island. Was this all because of me? Because I’m in the same city as them?
