Page 110 of Ravage
I’m the villain.
This isn’t what I wanted. I was supposed to keep my distance from them and focus on my mission, and now it looks like I’m tearing them apart.
No matter what I do, everything I touch gets destroyed.
My throat thickens at the realization.
Aiden’s studying the room like me, eyes landing on Kellan and then Jackson with a deepening frown before it falls on me.
“Did. You. Do. It?” Kellan spits at him.
Dane glares at him. “I did. She’d do it to any of us. As soon as she killed the informant we had, I knew I needed to get rid of her. I just tipped GE off with her name and a picture in one of the newsletters I know some of them read.” His anger swings my way. “No one else was supposed to get hurt,” he snaps.
Kellan’s face and fist tighten with rage. A sharp stab of panic hits me that he might actually beat the shit out of Dane for this. Dane seems to realize it too, because his hands are glowing and gripping Kellan’s forearm to block his gift from coming out.
“That’s enough. Put him down.” Aiden has a sword in his hand out of nowhere and it lengthens until it rests against Kellan’s neck. With his gift muted by Dane, the blade nicks his skin and a tear of blood drips free. But the wound, even as tiny as it is, doesn’t heal.
What is happening?!
“What do you want, little one?” Jackson whispers in my ear so only I can hear him.
“Not this,” I breathe out, and I can feel his smile brush against me.
Kellan curses when a throwing star embeds into his wrist so deeply that I gasp. His hand snaps open, like the tendon keeping his hand closed was cut suddenly, and Dane drops to the ground.
He yanks the star free and relief floods me when his body immediately heals it.
I run to Kellan and check his wrist and neck, and then glower at Aiden until he puts the sword away. “Are you okay?” I ask him, and he grins at me.
“Aw. Were you worried about me, beautiful?” He strokes my hair through his fingers, and I stubbornly remind myself not to liquefy under his touch. He wants more from me than I’m willing to give. I can’t let that continue.
I push away from him, though not unkindly, and smirk at him instead. “Just making sure you didn’t lose the use of your hand. I’m sure you need it,” I tease, though he catches my real meaning behind it and laughs.
“Damn right, I do.”
“What the fuck are you two going on about?” Dane grumbles and turns to me. “So? You came here to rat me out. What now?”
“Now, it’s out in the open and we put it behind us.” Aiden steps forward, and I grind my teeth.
“You’re fucking joking. He sold me out to GE and is the reason they’re even here. He put your Guild and everyone else hiding from them on their radar. And I’m just supposed to let that go?” I demand angrily. “There’s no taking back what he’s done!”
I think of Portia. Elias, Kit, Ethan, and everyone else at Hype. Hell, I don’t even know anyone at this Guild other than Claudia and now Isabel being there, but doesn’t Aiden care at all that Dane is the reason they’re all at risk now?
“We’re never going to beat them like this. Us or you, Raegan,” he growls at me. “If we’re going to get rid of them for good, we need to work together.”
I stare at him in shock.
“I thought we could ignore you, but that’s clearly not the case. We keep getting in each other’s way and slowing the other down. It’s a win-win. We’ll all be on the same team and look out for one another.” He shoots a look over at Dane, before returning his attention to me. “And we’ll be working together on the same plan. There’s nothing we can do now to fix what Dane did, other than having us help keep them off your back. Dane is also their number one target for his gift, so you’ll get closer to them just by being around him.”
He finishes his speech and I just shake my head at him. It would never work. Dane would sell me out again to GE, to Gordon, in a heartbeat if I were close to them. And the others…it’s clear now that I only make things worse between them. I won’t be the reason they’re torn apart. They’re supposed to stick together.
With Elias’s resources, I don’t need Aiden or the guys to help me take down GE. As soon as he comes back, we can brainstorm our next plan of attack. I can keep moving forward without destroying the people I care about the most.
“What does that mean?” Aiden questions, his voice tight with irritation.
“No,” I answer firmly. “We can’t work together.”
His brow furrows. “Why not?”
