Deceit (Gallows Hill #1)

23. Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

Ronan

T hings are not fine. Not fucking fine in the least. It’s a good thing that Liam’s dorm is all the way on the other side of campus from Skyla’s, because two steps from the door I was ready to strangle the little fucker to death. Now, I’ll just settle for beating him to a bloody pulp.

My fist beats against his door, practically rattling it off its hinges before I decide fuck it and use my master key. The door whirs open and I find Liam on his bed, cock in his hand and what I already know are Skyla’s panties lifted up to his nose.

I. See. Red.

“Ronan? Get the fuck out. I—”

He can’t even finish his sentence before I’m flying across the room and my fist is driving into his face. I get two good hits into him before his nose explodes, blood instantly gushing down his face as he shouts.

“What the fuck!”

Liam quickly stuffs his worthless cock back into his pants, like he’s afraid I’m gonna rip it off.

Tempting.

He throws a few hits at me, but they don’t deter me. I continue laying into him, attempting to land any shot I can but now that he's no longer thinking with his dick, he’s hard to get a hold of. He wiggles out of my grasp and somehow manages to get my neck in a chokehold. My lungs are starved for air, but my anger fuels me as I fight and struggle against him.

“Ronan, man. Calm the fuck down! Calm down!” he snarls.

I want to seethe. I shouldn’t have to calm the fuck down, but my vision is beginning to spot and the room is starting to spin. I feel my body give up long before my mind is willing to. Unfortunately, I have no choice. I go limp in his hold, and he drops me instantly, allowing me to crash to the floor as I greedily take in breath after breath.

“What the fuck was that about?” he snaps, lifting his shirt up and over his head, before using it as a makeshift rag to stop his nose from bleeding.

“Heard you touched my girl. Finger fucked her did you?”

He doesn’t smirk like I expect him to, doesn’t laugh or rub it in like he normally would. Instead, he almost seems pissed off, and not just because I interrupted his play time and blew up his nose.

“Your girl? Don’t you mean your nephew’s?” he scoffs.

“Or your best friend’s. However you want to call it,” I throw back.

Liam raises his eyebrows, like he can’t argue with that, but he doesn’t respond.

“Stay away from her, Liam. This is your only fucking warning,” I say, as I push myself to my feet. I’m impressed I don’t stumble a step as I head for the door.

“No,” he says from behind me.

I stop on a dime, spinning to face him as I cock my head to the side.

“Excuse me? This wasn’t a yes or no option. You either stay the fuck away from her, or I kill you. Simple as that.”

The little shit just shakes his head, his own pissed off expression splashed across his face.

“I’m not going to stay away from her, not unless she asks me to. She’s special. I like her.”

Rage ignites inside me once more, as I close the distance between us, coming up until our foreheads are practically smashed together.

“Of course she’s special. She’s my fucking girlfriend.”

“And Asher’s fiancée,” Liam challenges.

I narrow my eyes at him.

“What the fuck are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying, in this world, our world, labels don’t mean shit. You don’t give a fuck about sneaking around with your nephew’s fianceé behind his back, so why the fuck should I care about openly pursuing your girlfriend,” he says, air quoting girlfriend in a way that personally fucking offends me.

“And by openly you mean, for one hour before you’ll be buried in the Gallows Hill cemetery?”

“That’s the one,” he agrees easily, as if we weren’t casually speaking about his impending murder.

“What the fuck are you playing at? She isn’t one of your whores that you can play with and toss to the side.”

“I know.”

“Then what the fuck do you want with her?” I ask, fisting his shirt in my hands as I shake him.

“The same thing you do,” he says simply. “This life we were born into is hard, all innocence, kindness and compassion was practically beaten out of us from birth. Not her though. She’s like a goddamn unicorn in our world, and everywhere around us there are people ready to slaughter her. I won’t let that happen.”

My breathing is ragged and uneven, but I don’t speak as I mull over his words.

“So, what? You’re telling me you don’t want her for yourself? You just want her wellbeing?” I ask.

“Oh fuck no. I want her all to myself. If I thought I could get away with it, she’d already be in my car, and we’d be hundreds of miles away by morning. Unfortunately, that isn’t the reality we exist in. So, I’ll settle for stealing kisses when no one is looking and protecting her every time she turns her back.”

“You won’t be stealing shit from her!” I seethe.

He nods. “You’re right, because she would willingly give them to me.”

That signature goading smirk is back, and fuck I want to beat his ass. Again. Dumb motherfucker. It’s like he wants to get the shit kicked out of him.

Before I can tear into him anymore, the door is thrown open, and a stumbling Asher barrels his way inside. He snickers to himself, before crashing onto Liam’s king sized bed and rolling onto his back. Bright red lipstick is smeared across his lips and down his neck. It’s an orangey red that looks like it should only belong to strippers or prostitutes, not a daughter of the Brethren, whichever one Asher was with tonight.

“Dids youz have fun with my virgin cunt?” Asher cackles, slurring so heavily we can barely understand him.

Liam doesn’t respond as Asher continues.

“Fuckk you, man. That’s was my cunt, my only reward for this shits life iz given,” he grumbles as his head moves to the side.

“I didn’t fuck her,” Liam says evenly, while I watch my nephew in disappointment and a little bit of sadness.

Those bloodshot brown eyes come to Liam, surprise is about the only emotion he’s probably able to display right now.

“No shits? Youz never don’t fuck bitches when you go outs.”

“It’s not like that, man. She was just trying to piss you off and you know how I like to rile you up,” Liam downplays, lamely.

“Pfttt, tell her I don’t gives a fuck. You coulda fucked her for alls I care.”

Liam and I share a yeah fucking right look, before we both move over to him. We wrap Asher’s arms around either of our shoulders before lifting him to stand, steadily walking him out of Liam’s room and across the hall to his own.

Asher continues to mutter some incoherent shit as we get him into his room, rolling him onto his stomach so he doesn’t fucking choke on his own vomit. When he’s as good as a blacked out drunk person can be, we both make our way out of his room pausing in the hallway as we look at each other.

“You lied,” I say simply.

I don’t need to specify what he lied about, he knows and there are too many prying ears. Too many bugs in the halls, feral for any amount of information they could get on any of us. It’s hard enough keeping up on the sweeps around Skyla’s dorm and my own place. Hopefully Liam and Asher do their bug checks regularly like I taught them, otherwise we both won’t live to spend another day with her.

“He doesn’t need to know,” he shrugs.

“Why not?” I challenge.

Liam gives a disappointed smile as he shakes his head.

“Because no matter what happens, the outcome will remain the same.”

His words are like a punch to the gut. I don’t want to believe him, but fuck, he’s got a point. No matter what I feel for Skyla, or her for me, the likelihood that I will have to sit back and watch her marry Asher is strong. Now, the chance of her having to watch me marry Annie could be just as likely, and somehow that’s worse. I can bury my feelings, be brave for the both of us, but if I have to marry another woman while she sits in the front row, her heart hurting on full display for me? Nah, that will fuck me up.

“Just…keep her safe when I can’t. Okay?” I ask, sharing a look with him as I dare not to look around the hall and raise suspicion.

Liam nods and I turn on my heel heading for the door. The only good thing that came out of this night is that Skyla is talking to me again. That we are together again, and this time, I’m not letting her go. Not until she’s pried from my cold severed fingers.