35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The Hound
She fucking loves me.
I grasp her chin and tip it up to meet her gaze. The vulnerability, the blood, the pure pleasure contorting her face is the most stunning, serene scene I’ve ever witnessed. “I love you, too.”
Her lips curl into a smile. “Good, now fuck me like you hate me.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I groan, slamming into her. Blood and sweat mix between us as she cries out, already having come once. I groan, my cock throbbing inside of her. I devour her mouth as I fuck her, adrenaline pumping and upping the high. I’ve never laid a murderous hand on someone until today.
And it feels addictive—almost as addictive as being balls deep in the Black Widow, herself.
“ Jude, ” she moans out as I pin her to wall, one hand gripping her waist and the other slipping up her breasts to her neck. I wrap my fingers around her throat, exhilaration pulsing through my body.
“Squeeze,” she dares me. “Make me come again.”
“You evil fucking woman,” I rasp.
“Only for you,” she bites back. “Master me, Jude.”
I tighten my grip around her throat, and her lips part, a long moan slipping through. “Come all over my cock, Cher.”
She tips her head back against the wall, her body covered in a light wash of crimson. “I love you, Jude.”
My heart explodes at the same time my cock does. “ Fuck, fuck, fuck, ” I growl into her as I fall forward, bracing against the wall. I nearly punch a hole through the drywall.
She comes a second time, her pussy like a vice on my dick. She screams my name into the silence, her nails breaking the skin on the back of my neck. We cling to each other as we both pant for air.
“I love you, too,” I breathe out, before pulling away from her. “And we have to tell your brother about this.”
“I know.” She sucks in a breath as I let her down to the floor after our post-murder quickie. Her dark hair sticks to her forehead, and I brush it away.
And then I hear Cash barking.
Oh shit.
We exchange a glance as I hear a door opening downstairs. We both jump into action, and I toss Cher her clothes before buttoning myself back up. She hops into her underwear and shorts, giggling like a kid.
“This is not funny,” I chide her. “That could be the police.”
“ Cher! ” Henry’s voice echoes through the house.
“Or worse,” I grunt as the footsteps grow heavier.
Cher’s just fitted her bra in place when the bedroom door swings open.
And we’re caught red-fucking-handed. Literally.
I stand shirtless, a couple feet from Cher, who’s clutching her blood-stained T-shirt in her hand. We look like we’ve been rolling in the puddle of liquid soaking the carpet... together. Cher’s got blood streaked all over her, and to be honest, I don’t even know how it happened. But I’m sure I don’t look much better.
And the shock on Henry’s face tells the same story. “What the flying fuck is this?”
Cher takes a step forward. “It’s—”
“Put your fucking shirt on,” Henry growls to her.
“Easy,” I bite back, stepping in between them.
Henry glares at me, a murderous glean in his eye. “You’ve been doing a lot more than searching for some dead guys.”
“Yeah, I’ve been fucking your sister, actually.” The anger explodes in my chest as I shove at his chest. “And I’m sick of you being a goddamn bully.”
“ Stop it, ” Cher shouts as Henry lunges for me. The impact of him hitting my chest knocks me off my feet, and we crash to the floor—right in the puddle of blood.
“You’re so fucking worried about your sister’s virginity, you’re not even asking about the perv on the floor,” I yell at him, using all the force I can to push Henry off me.
“God knows you didn’t kill him,” Henry snaps.
“Henry,” Cher pleads. “ Stop . He saved me, and I love him.”
“What?” My best friend freezes, and I take the moment to jump to my feet, putting distance between us. I’m riled up enough I might do something stupid and violent, my pulse still pumping in my temple.
I catch Cher’s gaze filling with tears and grab her attention. “You don’t have to tell him right now. You don’t have to tell him shit.”
She shakes her head. “I do. I need to tell him and put this all to rest.”
“Tell me what? You’re sleeping with my best friend behind my back?” Henry spits at her. However, his face instantly softens as he sees the tears spill down her cheeks, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God he’s secretly mush on the inside. “What is it that you need to tell me?”
“Something happened to me in high school...” Cher’s voice comes out at a near whisper.
Henry’s eyes drift to the man on the floor, and recognition flashes across his face. “No... No, that’s not...Is that?” Henry is fucking coming undone. I can feel him about to explode.
“He hurt me,” Cher says quickly. “And I didn’t want you to know, because I didn’t want you to think that you’d failed.”
“Holy shit, Cher.” Henry jumps to feet and rushes to his sister, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so fucking sorry.” She trembles in his arms, and then breaks into a sob, years of secrets pouring out the same way they did that night with me.
I stand quietly, knowing it’s not my place to intervene. They need their moment. They need their own reckoning as a family unit. I grab up the blade from the floor, and do what I do best, start cleaning up. This one is going to be a mess. An innocent life was lost along with Nile’s.
But I can handle it.
“And that’s not it,” Cher says as she reaches the end of her explanation. “I’m a very bad person.”
Henry releases her, his brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”
She hesitates, and I glance over at her as I put the knife back in its sheath. “Just tell him the truth, Cher. He can handle it.”
“I kill people. Well, I killed people,” Cher says quietly. “Until Jude. He made the voices stop, and I don’t feel sick and broken anymore.” Her words play my heart like a fucking guitar, but I keep it inside.
Henry’s jaw sets. “You killed men?”
“A lot of them.” She gives him a sheepish smile. “It was the only thing that made me feel better—and I gained a bit of a reputation here.”
“The Black Widow,” Henry breathes out, and then looks over to me. “How much of this did you know?”
“Um,” I mull it over. “I know it all, but... It took a while. I had to connect the dots to the Black Widow theory. Then, I found her taser, drugs, and gun in her purse. I knew then she was who I thought she was—and it’s cool with me.”
Henry rolls his eyes. “Of course, you would think so.”
“I had an in with a detective here, but he hasn’t been very helpful lately,” Cher says. “I just tried to stage it as party accidents, and it was working.”
“This is not going to fly as that,” I say, frowning. “I’ll clean it up though.”
“Yeah, you will.” Henry glares at me. However, after a few beats, it dissipates, emotion filling his expression. “But thank you.”
I nod. “No problem.” I pick up my shirt from the floor and slide it over my head. “What a fucking mess, we made.”
Cher bursts into a fit of giggles. “It was kind of fun though.”
Henry groans. “No making a habit of this.”
I exchange a glance with Cher. “No promises.”
***
Twelve hours later, bags are packed and we’re climbing onto a jet, saying goodbye to Vegas for hopefully a very long time. Henry is quiet, Lydia has haphazardly been told the truth, and I’m left trailing Cher as the last one to load up.
Lydia is settling in with Duke, and Cher guides Cash to the couch, patting the cushion. But Henry? Henry is waiting for me at the entrance. My stomach lurches with anticipation. We haven’t spoken much since the cleanup and packing, our focus on the task at hand rather than the reality simmering between us.
“Can we chat?” Henry asks flatly, his voice slightly cold.
“Don’t kill him,” Cher says, looking our direction. “Please. I’d like to keep him.”
“No promises,” Henry quips, though there’s a hint of a smile on his face.
“Let’s go.” I gesture for him to lead the way as the door begins to close. Henry leads me to one of the back bedrooms, shutting us in. I rake my fingers through my hair. “I don’t want to get into another fist fight, Henry.”
“As much as I’d like to, it’s not going to happen.” Henry folds his arms across his chest. “But I do want to know what the fuck your intentions are with her. I feel like that’s my job to ask. I always knew that I’d have to deal with this—but I never thought it’d be you.”
“Ouch, but...” I look Henry dead in the eye. “I love your sister.”
He nods. “Yeah, I kind of thought that much. How’d it feel to kill someone for the first time?” He lets out a chuckle. “I know you’re the one who did the mutilation. I’m as shocked as I am proud. I never knew you had it in you. Well, not to this extent.”
“I’ve always known it was there.” I slap Henry’s shoulder and give it a squeeze. “Some people just have really fucking great self-control.”
“I’ll remember that. I told Luca what happened, and he convinced me you shouldn’t die for loving my sister.”
“Great,” I shoot back at him. “We good then?”
Henry nods. “Yeah, just one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Hurt my sister, and I have no problem doing the same as you did to that bastard.”
Chuckling, I grin. “The only tears I’ll make your sister cry is when I’m—”
Henry cuts me off with a disgusted face. “Get out.”
I wink at him. “Gladly.”