Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,235

only sounds to have broken the silence while the rest of us sat here seething with anger.

It had been almost two hours since we’d taken up this position on the couch and as much as I wanted to stay here, holding her in my arms all night, my limbs were cramping up and a pure and hateful rage was burning through my flesh, aching for an outlet.

“We can’t let this stand,” Kyan growled, his thumb twisting Tatum’s wedding ring back and forth on her finger as he kept hold of her hand and it was as if he’d spoke my own thoughts aloud.

“I have made a full and detailed report of every incident up to date and will add tonight’s attack to the list at the earliest opportunity,” Saint said in a low voice. “I have contacts in the police who are just waiting for our word on who the culprit is and they will cart them away and make sure they rot in prison for the rest of their miserable lives.”

“What if it’s an underage student?” I asked.

“What if I want to gut them instead?” Kyan growled.

“We all want to see blood spill,” Saint replied, his jaw ticking. “And I’m sure I can buy us more than a little leeway for a healthy dose of corporal punishment. But I can only assume that it is one of the students here as it seems highly unlikely that it would be a member of staff. That being the case, we must assume they are the child of one of the richest and most influential families in the country. I can’t see a way for us to easily get away with murder without at least a little suspicion colouring our reputations after the fact. A miserable existence in some cell is the wise choice for them. A few years down the line, if we’re still feeling this level of hatred and anger towards them then maybe something can be arranged. As for their age, if they’re not eighteen yet, we can lock them up ourselves until they are. This motherfucker isn’t getting away with juvie.”

“That all depends on us actually finding them though,” I ground out.

“Then let’s go find them,” Saint announced, getting to his feet and carefully placing Tatum’s hand back down to rest on her stomach.

“Fuck yes. I won’t sleep tonight until I’ve spilled some blood anyway,” Kyan announced and he stood, lifting Tatum in his arms and releasing me from the couch. She hardly even stirred, the effects of whatever she’d been dosed with clearly keeping her out of it. Bile rose in my throat at the idea of how vulnerable she was right now, of how vulnerable she would have been in that monster’s arms if she hadn’t managed to run from them.

I got up and Saint moved to clip Blake around the ear to wake him.

“Wassgoinon?” he slurred, blinking up at us sleepily and I had to remind myself that he’d been forced to swim half way across the lake tonight before carrying Tatum all the way back to The Temple from the beach. He must have been feeling near dead from exhaustion.

“We’re going hunting,” Saint announced. “And we’re trusting you with our girl while we’re gone.”

Blake nodded seriously, rearranging himself to lay back on the couch more comfortably before gesturing to Kyan to place Tatum down with him. He did so, laying her head down on Blake’s chest as he wrapped his arm around her to hold her close and she murmured something sleepily.

All of us froze to hear her words and my heart leapt as she spoke them without so much as opening an eye. “I love you.”

All four of us looked between each other uncomfortably for a moment as we wondered who she was aiming that at or if it had even been intended for us at all. She could have just been dreaming about her family for all we knew. Though Kyan had been boasting about her saying it to him when he was dying at every opportunity he got too.

“I love you too, baby,” he purred, leaning close and kissing her cheek as he tucked a blanket over her and Blake.

“Asshole,” I muttered as he gave us a smug grin, but I refused to let it bother me. I’d come to the decision that if I wanted this thing with Tatum to keep going the way it was then I was only going to let myself focus on what she had with