Ruthless Angel (Gods of Ravencrest University #5)

CHAPTER SIX

CLOVER

That night I stayed in Cash’s room. I would have been happy to sleep in Blaze’s bed alone. Daire would have none of it. He insisted that I needed to be with one of them at all times.

Maybe he wanted to protect me, or maybe he only wanted to make sure I didn’t try to run. I’d have liked to think it was the former, but I knew better. Daire didn’t care about me. I was only an object to be possessed and owned. He proved that daily.

Wearing a long t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts, I climbed into Cash’s bed. Even though I’d expected it to feel weird, he had a welcoming nature and smelled really damn good. His earthy citrus scent got inside my head, surrounding me with his essence. He was much calmer than Daire who still paced the house downstairs. I needed calm right now.

“Do you want the left side or the right?” Cash asked, motioning to the bed.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s your bed. Which side do you prefer?” I found myself smiling at his kindness.

“I sleep in the middle when I’m alone so it’s lady’s choice.” Cash pulled off his t-shirt and stripped down to his boxers.

I stayed put on the left side, content where I was. “I’m fine here.”

He got in next to me, sliding in close. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m a cuddler.”

Being cuddled up in Cash’s large arms against his warm body sounded pretty good right then. “No problem. I could use a cuddle.”

Cash settled in next to me, pulling me into his embrace. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

I shrugged. “If you want. I’m okay with quiet too. It’s been a hard couple of days.”

Only a small bedside lamp lit the room, bathing it in a warm glow. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep. Even though I was exhausted, my mind continued to race with thoughts of Blaze. What were we going to do?

“Yeah, I’m worried about Daire,” Cash admitted. “He’s so tightly wound. I’m not sure he’s thinking straight.”

“Seems like he’s the type to always be tightly wound. That must be exhausting.” I didn’t care if Cash repeated what I said. I was done tiptoeing around Daire.

Cash nodded. “He’s a bit high-strung. Situations like this really set him off. He can be pretty unpredictable. I’m afraid he’ll do something reckless to make matters worse.”

“How could things possibly get worse?” I asked, fidgeting with a loose string on the edge of the blanket. “Never mind. That was probably a stupid question.”

“I don’t think he’s slept since Blaze was taken. Daire doesn’t handle crisis situations so well. Maybe it was how he grew up. He always feels like he has to fix everything. He’s pretty hard on himself that way.” Cash ran a finger up and down my arm.

His touch felt nice and inviting. It was a lie. He’d been all too happy to tie me up in the basement and use my body. Just like the others.

I didn’t want to let myself get too comfortable with any of them. Deep down I harbored thoughts of getting away from them eventually. At some point this ridiculous arrangement had to come to an end. Didn’t it?

“What about you? How did you grow up? I know you mentioned a sister.” I cringed on the inside. I shouldn’t care about any of this.

“Trying to figure me out?” Cash tickled me until I squealed and squirmed. “My dad died in a car accident when I was still pretty young. My mom remarried quickly. At least it felt that way. I hated my stepdad. Still do. We’ve never gotten along. I felt like he was a replacement for my dad. My mom should have waited until we’d had proper time to grieve. I guess I had some anger issues after that. I got into trouble at school a lot for getting into fights. I was usually the one that started them.”

I suddenly wished I’d never asked. “Oh, I’m sorry, Cash. That’s terrible.”

He shrugged it off in an effort to keep any emotion hidden beneath the surface. “It’s all good. That was a long time ago.”

My heart squeezed with a sympathetic warmth that I didn’t want to feel. Getting to know these guys should be the last thing on my to do list. Forming any kind of bond would make it so much harder to cut ties when this was all over. Once we got Blaze back, I had to find a way out.

I managed to steer the conversation in a safer direction, asking him about his studies at school. Listening to him talk about his marketing classes wasn’t all that exciting but it was a solid way to fill the space between us. Eventually, fatigue took over and I began to drift off.

The sudden chime of the doorbell alert coming through Cash’s phone startled us both awake. I sat straight up, my eyes wide as I checked my own phone for the time. It was getting late, past midnight now.

Cash leapt out of bed first. I was quick to scramble out after him.

He fumbled his phone, almost dropping it as he tried to open the camera app. “Nobody should be here this time of night. A late night visitor is never good news.”

Downstairs, I heard Daire pounding towards the door in his haste to open it. Was that a good idea?

“Daire, don’t,” Cash called, rushing ahead while staring at his phone screen. “Don’t open it.”

Too late. By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, Daire had already pulled the door open. There was nobody on the front step. Only a small box.

Daire strode outside, searching the night for the person who’d left the box behind. Spotting someone in the distance, he broke into a run. Cash went after him, chasing him down in his boxer shorts. He caught Daire quickly, grabbing him around the waist, hauling him back to the house.

“Get off me, Cash,” Daire shouted, jabbing an elbow into Cash’s ribs. “We can’t let that fucker get away.”

“We can and we will. It could be a setup to lure us out. Don’t be an idiot, man.” Holding tight to Daire, Cash dragged him back into the house.

I closed and locked the door, holding the small box in one hand. I narrowly avoided being knocked down when Daire shoved Cash into the closed door.

“Fuck you. We could’ve grabbed that guy and tortured him until he told us where to find Blaze. You screwed this up.” Daire didn’t stop there. He swung a fist that caught Cash on the chin.

Cash wasn’t content to take Daire’s abuse. He pushed away from the door, punching Daire square in the nose. His large fist hit hard, bringing a flood of blood from Daire’s nose. That only riled Daire up more.

He flung himself at Cash, tackling him to the floor. I leapt out of the way, darting partway up the stairs.

“Stop it, you guys. This is insane.” My cries went ignored.

Down below, the guys rolled around on the floor in the entryway, hitting one another and snarling angry insults. There was nothing I could do to break them up. Instead, I turned my attention to the box in my hand.

Wary of what I might find within, I pried it open and held my breath as I looked inside. A panicked yelp escaped me as I peered into the box at a severed finger. Blaze’s severed finger.

“They sent us Blaze’s fucking finger,” I screamed, my voice rising above the noise of the fight.

That was enough to make them both freeze. Daire let go of Cash and got to his feet. He swiped the box from my hand and looked inside. Then he sat heavily on the step below me. Dropping the box, he let his head fall into his hands.

Cash picked up the box, confirming what I’d said with a glance. “Fuck. Goddamn cock sucking motherfuckers. Those pieces of shit will pay for this. I’ll fucking kill every last one of them.”

While Cash continued to rant and rave, Daire merely sat in silence. He didn’t look up or speak. Not knowing what to do, I sat on the step beside him.

My body shook from the shock of seeing Blaze’s bloodied finger lying there on a bed of cotton gauze. This was their last warning. I felt it in my bones. It was only a matter of time until Blaze was dead.