Chapter 38
Corwin
My phone buzzes. Two words. Her name on the screen.
I snatch it up like it’s oxygen.
The message in the group chat she created is short, clipped, but it slams into me harder than a fist.
Little Horror: Don’t touch Kylo. Don’t even think about it. I mean it.
My jaw locks. I read it again. And again. My chest burns. Behind me, Garron leans over the back of the couch. “Who the fuck is Kylo?”
Evander flicks his lighter open, the flame catching his eyes. “Yeah. Who the fuck is that?”
My thumbs move fast, rough against the screen.
Me: Who’s Kylo?
Her reply comes almost instantly.
Little Horror: He was in my shoot today. Lo brought him in. It was nothing.
Nothing. She really typed that.
Garron barks a laugh. “So she’s letting other men in the room with her now?”
Evander’s voice is quieter, but sharper. “She wouldn’t warn us unless it mattered.”
I type back, knuckles aching.
Me: No promises.
The dots appear, vanish. Appear again. Then her message slams through:
Little Horror: LISTEN TO ME YOU DAMN PSYCHOPATHS. HE IS LORNA’S PARTNER. HE IS OFF LIMITS. SHE IS MY BOSS. THEY ARE HAPPY AND IN LOVE. SHE SENT HIM IN SO IT WOULDN’T BE ANYONE ELSE.
Another bubble.
Little Horror: IF YOU TOUCH HIM YOU’LL FUCK EVERYTHING UP. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? SHE IS MY FRIEND. HE IS ONE OF THREE OF HER MEN. HE WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. JUST A FAVOR.
All caps. Like she’s screaming through the phone, voice shaking, mask slipping.
I grin, bitter. “She thinks yelling will change us.”
But my chest is burning hotter now, not from the words but from what they mean. She’s protecting him. Warning us for him. Putting him first.
And that makes me want to tear the world apart.
Garron whistles. “Ooooh, she’s scared. Worried enough to shout at us through text. Cute.” He climbs over the back of the couch and sits down smirking. “I like when she gets bossy. Makes me want to put her on her knees faster.”
“Shut up,” I snap.
Evander finally looks up from the lighter he’s been flicking open and closed. His eyes are heavy-lidded, cold. “She’s serious. Her boss’ partner is dangerous ground.”
“Dangerous ground?” I laugh. “She’s ours. Ours. And now she’s telling us who we can and can’t touch? Fuck that.”
“She’s warning us because she knows exactly what you’re like,” Evander says.
It makes me want to throw him through the wall.
Garron tilts his head, grin widening. “Corwin’s jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” I snarl, pacing. “I just don’t want her thinking of another man before us. I don’t want her begging for him to be safe when she should be begging for us to claim her.”
“You hear yourself?” Evander’s voice cuts through, low and sharp. “You’ll burn everything down over a man she barely touched. You kill him, you kill us with him.”
Garron laughs again, eyes glittering. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Little fire never hurt anyone.”
I whip around, chest heaving, fists aching. “She’s ours. She doesn’t get to put rules on us. She doesn’t get to tell us what to do.”
“She already did,” Evander says flatly. “And you’re losing your mind over it. Which means she’s winning.”
The words slam into me like a punch. I want to deny it, but the truth crawls under my skin.
The phone buzzes again in my hand. Another message.
Little Whore: I SWEAR TO GOD IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM, I’M DONE WITH YOU. ALL OF YOU.
My pulse spikes. My jaw cracks from how hard I’m clenching it.
Garron leans forward, chuckling low. “Looks like the princess just drew her line.”
Evander exhales, voice soft but full of warning. “Cross it, and we lose her.”
I can’t stand the thought. Losing her.
But the rage doesn’t fade. It crawls up my throat.
And then an idea sparks.
I type fast.
Me: If we can’t touch him, then give us someone else.
Her reply is swift.
Little Horror: No.
Garron snorts from the couch, sprawled out as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. “That’s not a real answer. We need to push her.”
Garron: Yes.
Little Horror: Why?
I grin at the screen.
Me: Because I want to hurt him just for being in the room with you. You want him safe? Then give us another name.
The dots linger. Then nothing. They appear and disappear for a few minutes, as if she is writing a name and erasing it, then writing it again.
Little Horror: Why? Why can’t you just leave Kylo alone? He didn’t do anything. He just helped me.
Evander: Name. Now Little Horror. Don’t make me choose . . .
Little Horror: Urgh! You infuriate me. Fine!
Again the little dots bounce, then stop. Then bounce again.
Little Horror: Michael Templeton.
My chest seizes. My thumbs still.
Evander leans forward, finally giving a shit. His eyes cut to me. “Is that—”
Evander: Is that…
Little Horror: Yes.
Me: You have to go with—
Little Horror: Absolutely not.
My teeth grind so loud Garron chuckles. “She’s already dancing in the trap, brother.”
Me: Then Kylo it is…
Little Horror: Goddammit, Corwin…
I lean back, laughing low, feeling the dark thrill spark in my chest.
Me: Come with us and get your vengeance. Show them what you’ve become. That instead of creating a timid mouse, they created a fucking monster.
Little Horror: Promise you won’t leave me with them.
The air shifts. Garron’s grin fades just a little. Evander’s eyes sharpen.
I feel my lips pull into a smile, sharp and mean.
Evander: Swear it.
Garron: Promise.
Me: I’ll kill them all before they get to keep you from me.
Garron laughs again, low and wild. “That’ll get her wet, brother.”
Little Horror: Okay…
Me: Pick you up Friday. Take the next week off.
Her bubble pops fast.
Little Horror: We already have it off. It’s fall break. Don’t you know this because of your nephew?
Evander: No. We don’t follow his schedule like that. Our sister lets us know when she needs us. Otherwise, we volunteer when we need to see you.
I set the phone down, pulse steady for the first time all night. Garron’s still grinning, Evander still cold. But me? I’m already planning.
“She’s actually in,” I say. My voice feels different in my throat.
Garron’s grin spreads wide. “Knew she would be. Little Horror likes to pretend she’s got rules, but the second you press? She folds.”
Evander sighs. “She didn’t fold. She compromised. Which is worse. Means she’s ready to burn with us.”
The thought makes my blood race.
“We need a place to stay, somewhere close, private. A week minimum. That gives us time to plan, to scout. To kill.”
Garron's thumbs move quickly over his phone screen. “Airbnb. Found one ten minutes out. Big house, no neighbors.” He looks up at me, grinning. “It’s perfect.”
Evander leans forward. “Michael Templeton dies. She can watch or participate, but one of us is with her at all times. We made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
I cut in, a smile curling. “Not just him. You think I’m going to stop at one?”
Garron chuckles, eyes flashing. “Knew you wouldn’t.”
“She doesn’t know it yet, but we’re not stopping at Michael. Her mother deserves to pay too. And everyone else in that church who touched her, broke her, or sat there silent while she bled.”
Evander doesn’t flinch. “Then we’ll take our time. One name at a time. We’ll make her see what vengeance looks like when it’s not just a fantasy.”
The room feels electric, charged. Garron laughs under his breath, scrolling through pictures of the rental. “Fucked-up little family vacation,” he says. “Week in the country. A body count to match.”
I close my eyes and see her. She thinks she’s safe because we swore.
But promises don’t mean mercy.
Not for Michael.
Not for her mother.
Not for anyone who ever stood by while they carved her into something broken.
We’ll show her what monsters really look like.
And we’ll make her love us for it.