Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,49

them under lock and key? That whole thing is so fucked up and you know it."

Tatum's jaw set angrily and she leaned back even more, her hands slipping from my chest as she folded her arms and scowled at me.

"Saint almost died trying to protect me. The least I can do is make sure he doesn't end up with permanent injuries," she growled forcefully, leaving no room for argument. But that was bullshit and she knew it. I might have been able to accept her having something with Blake and Kyan, but Saint was cut from the devil's cloth.

"So, what? He takes a bullet for you and now you've lost interest in all of our plans?" I demanded, my heart galloping in my chest at a fierce pace as I considered that. I didn't want to admit to how relieved I'd been to finally have help in my vendetta against the Memphis family, but the idea of her backing out on me felt like having a dagger plunged right into my back and twisted.

"That's not what I said," Tatum growled, shoving to her feet like she wanted to put distance between us and I got up too, glaring as I stood over her and waited to hear what the fuck she had to say on this. "But you do realise that blaming Saint for what his father did is exactly the same as the way the Night Keepers blamed me for the Hades Virus. They believed my dad was responsible and so they made me pay. How is you going after Saint any different than that?"

"You can hardly compare yourself to Saint Memphis," I snarled. "He's a fucking monster. He practically enslaved you, he half drowned you, locked you in a coffin, made you believe he destroyed those letters-"

"I know," she all but shouted at me. "I know exactly what he fucking did to me! But I'm also starting to think I know him. And I don't think we understand the half of what he's been through in his life. The shit he survived to make him the way he is-"

"I don't give a damn!" I roared, totally losing my cool. "Poor little rich boy had a daddy who didn’t love him. Big fucking deal. I bet he cries himself to sleep on his mountain of hundred dollar bills every night. But I had a family who did love me. I had a mom who worked herself to the bone to provide for us and a brother with his whole fucking life laid out ahead of him and Troy Memphis just took all of that away from me like it meant nothing at all. He killed them. And unlike you, I haven't had the chance to take my revenge on the man who killed my parent yet, so maybe you just don't have a fucking clue about what I've lived through, or maybe you just don't care."

"Fuck you, Nash," Tatum snarled, her eyes flashing with rage as she stormed towards the door, but there was no fucking way I was letting her walk out on me.

She turned the lock and ripped the door open, but my hand slammed into it above her head as I forced it closed again.

Tatum whirled around as I caged her in, her chin rising as she glared up at me. "You know, I actually thought you were better than them, but you're not, are you? You might have treated me better but you're just as ruthless, just as cruel. You don't even care who you hurt in the process of getting your revenge, just so long as you get it."

"You think I'm as bad as the Night Keepers?" I blanched, staring at her as the fury in her eyes burned right into my soul.

"No, Nash, I don't think you're as bad as the Night Keepers. I think you are a Night Keeper. You're just as much of a monster as any of them, maybe even worse. Because their actions were based on grief and shock. Once they realised that I wasn't really the one they should be blaming, they backed off, apologised, even proved they care about me. But you? You've had years to figure out where to aim your grief and how to get your revenge and yet you still chose to aim it at the son of the man responsible as part of your plans."

"I'm nothing like them," I growled, moving so close to her that our chests brushed and she was forced