Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,7

into the side of his head.

He fell still just as the fucker I was holding gave in to oblivion too and I dropped his unconscious body on top of his friend, panting with exertion and smiling like a demon.

I wanted more. Wanted to spill their blood across the ground and paint myself in it. But I forced my attention back to the door instead, ignoring Saint's demands to know what was going on as he hissed them through my earpiece and I pushed it open.

Blake slipped inside first, his features fully concealed by a ski mask too, and he had the addition of a military grade gas mask as well, but I knew my brothers by aura alone. There was something tangible about this connection between the four of us and I didn't need to ask to know which of them was close to me at any given moment.

"Shit," he murmured, looking down at the two guys I'd taken out as Monroe and finally Saint moved inside too, closing the door behind them.

"Are they dead?" Monroe asked, the lack of emotion in his voice saying he didn't much care either way.

"Not yet," I replied just as Saint threw a solid punch into my gut and got up in my face.

He really did look like a devil with nothing but his eyes on show beneath that mask, the red emergency lighting glowing in his pupils as he glared at me.

"What did I tell you about keeping a low profile?" he snarled.

"I didn't cut their throats," I pointed out. "I didn't fill them with holes like I ached to. So maybe you should stop freaking out over a few pricks getting their asses handed to them and focus on what's important."

Saint scoffed angrily then dropped down without another word, pulling a coil of fine, black rope from his pocket and quickly hog tying the two of them before slapping a piece of black tape over their mouths in case they came to.

“Where the fuck is your gas mask?” he growled at me.

“Must have forgotten it in the truck.” I shrugged, watching the way his eyes flared with rage and kinda hoping he’d punch me again. The beast in me was desperate for blood and pain tonight and that little tussle with the unconscious men at our feet hadn’t even whetted my appetite.

Saint took a moment to decide whether or not he wanted to have this argument. We’d had it every single time we’d come out hunting for our girl and he hadn’t won yet, so he had to know it was a waste of time. I’d already caught the Hades Virus and survived; it might have fucking sucked and made me as sick as a dog, but it came with the perk of me being immune now. Though Saint liked to get his panties in a twist over the possibility of my immunity not being all that great. But like I’d told him – I didn’t give a shit and I wasn’t wearing that fucking mask. It reminded me too much of the skull mask I’d had to wear at Royaume D’élite and the things I’d done there. Now that we’d had to put our vendetta against them to one side, I had no desire to live in those memories.

Saint seemed to realise there was no point arguing this with me, especially as I couldn’t exactly go and get the thing now anyway, so he dropped it with a sharp exhale of irritation.

"If you fuck up our chances of rescuing her, I'll personally put a bullet in your skull, you neanderthal," he hissed as he straightened.

"Don't worry your little cotton socks about that, sweetheart," I said, stepping forward and putting out the cigarette that was still burning on the ground with my heel. "If we fail to rescue her, I'll be doing that myself."

Saint looked deep into my eyes, reading the truth of that statement for himself and grunting his approval. There was no me without Tatum anymore. Shit, I didn’t think any of us wanted to consider an existence without her in it. So it hadn't been hard to realise that I'd rather eat a bullet than linger on in this life without her.

It wasn't suicidal. Just practical.

Besides, I had no intention of following through on that promise because we were going to get her the fuck back. Tonight.

"Your hot-headed behaviour could fuck this whole thing up," Saint warned. "You need to remember that the entire world doesn't revolve around you