“I’ve been keeping her from you ever since.”
“Gabriel,” Winter whispers. Probably wishing I would let her handle this, but I just can’t. She’s mine to protect, and right now, I see how the Blackmoors have her lined up in their crosshairs. They’re beyond pissed and ready to take her down, no matter what she says.
“You’re a member of the Devil’s Sons,” Athena observes, her eyes glancing toward Jaxon for confirmation.
He gives a curt nod.
“You were one of the men responsible for executing the men who kidnapped and raped me.”
Grinding my teeth until the tendon in my jaw pops, I nod again. I don’t like the reminder, let alone bringing that to the forefront of Winter’s mind.
“You know, I was a virgin at the start of this year,” Athena says, glancing down at her nails as if this fact is insignificant, though her tone would say otherwise. “Before I became the Blackmoor pet, I’d never been with anyone.” She glances at each of her Blackmoor boys, and intense emotion crackles between them, a deep connection I can tell they’ve developed since that day.
“While the boys… broke me in,” she says, her lip curving with amusement at her own choice of words, “I was nowhere near prepared for what your club members did to me.” Her tone is bitter, and her eyes blaze as she looks at Winter. “Do you remember that night, Winter? It took place at that house party where Dean and Cayde fucked me in front of the whole room. You told me that night that you planned to keep Dean for your own and torture me when you were his wife, and I was his pet.”
“It might not have been you who gave the order to have those men drug me, beat me, rape me again and again and again.” She pauses, swallowing hard. “And leaving me for dead. But it was your father, along with Cayde’s, and you can’t deny that you reveled in my pain. You taunted me about it.”
I don’t know this side of their rivalry, and for once, I’m stunned to hear it in more graphic detail. Winter shifts uncomfortably beside me, and I glance sideways to see her cheeks flaming, her eyes on the floor. I want to pull her close, to show her it’s okay, I still love her, no matter her past, but I don’t dare make her look more vulnerable than she already does now.
“Because of you and your family, I was stalked by a crazy girl named Pixie who attacked me one night while I was alone.”
Cage’s sister. She was always a little unhinged, in my opinion. I’m not surprised she would get involved.
“Your brother destroyed Cayde’s knee. For fuck’s sake, Pixie tried to kill me in the boxing ring on your orders! You had my mother burned alive inside her house.” There’s no mistaking the pain of those last words as Athena breathes them.
Winter’s quick intake of breath makes me tense.
Athena strengthens her resolve once more, her face growing stony. “You spent months trying to tear me down, to pit the guys against each other, to manipulate the situation to better suit your needs, all because you wanted to marry Dean, and I was in your way. We had to fight for our lives in that basement on Halloween night. We were tied up and tortured. Hell, they even took Mia prisoner as a fucking human sacrifice, we can only assume! All so Dean, Cayde, and Jaxon’s fathers could have their way. All so you could marry Dean. You made my life a livinghell,” Athena says bitterly. “And then you tried to kill Dean when the ritual didn’t go your way.”
My mind is reeling from the thought of the older Blackmoors trying to perform a human sacrifice, and I wonder if Winter knew about that part of the deal. Regardless, I can’t judge her for any of the pain she caused. I would easily have done almost any of it at Mark’s command. Not rape–but the rest, very possibly. I’d done far worse with my own bare hands.
“I can only assume it’s been you causing trouble for us since then. All the fires, the slashed tires, the scare tactics, and the intimidation techniques. Like a fucked up way of trying to get revenge. You’ve been haunting us, haven’t you?”
Don’t say anything. Don’t admit to it,I plead silently. But Winter only nods, her eyes remaining on the floor so as not to see what emotional damage her revenge schemes have caused.
“You could have killed someone. You very nearly did with that fire at the university house. The damage is still being repaired. You’ve done nothing but make our lives miserable from the start. You’ve caused so much trouble. So, what could you possibly expect today except for us to finish what we started in the basement of the Blackmoor estate and kill you here and now?” Athena’s cold stare and icy tone tell me her mind is already made. She wants Winter dead, and nothing we say or do will change her mind.
“You were supposed to die that night when we burned the Blackmoor manor down to the ground. Maybe you should now.”
The silence that fills the space makes my heart stop. I knew it was coming, but I’d hoped against hope that Athena might be less ruthless than the Blackmoors who grew up with that kind of power. I thought she might somehow sympathize with us, seeing as she came from a similar background as me.
“Or maybe, you should just leave,” Athena says after an eternity.
“That’s fine,” I say, jumping in before Athena’s barely even finished her sentence. “We’ll both leave. Tonight if that’s what you want.”
“Gabriel,” Mark barks from behind me. “Stay out of it.”
I bristle at the command of my president. And though I fall silent out of the habit of following his orders, I know I would take Winter and leave without his permission if that’s what would keep her alive and safe.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Winter?” Athena demands, leveling a deadly gaze on my girl.
I step forward instinctually to protect her from the violent promise in those blue eyes, but Winter places a hand on my shoulder.
“I can handle this,” she whispers, stepping forward and meeting Athena’s unwavering gaze.
27
Winter