himself. As he looked up at her, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, but he wasn't crying. Maybe she'd been mistaken about the sobbing.
"Please... leave me," he said.
"I wish - "
"Go. Now. No wishing, no hoping. No nothing. Just leave. And don't ever come near me again. Swear it. Swear it."
"I... I promise."
Bella hurried out through his bedroom. When she was down the hall far enough, she paused and finger-combed her hair, trying to smooth it down. She could feel the thong up around her waist and left it there. She had no place to put the thing if she took it off.
Downstairs the party was still in full swing, and she felt out of place, drained. She went over to Mary, said her goodbyes, and looked around for a doggen to take her home.
But then Zsadist came into the room. He'd changed into white nylon workout clothes and had a black bag in his hand. Without looking at her at all, he walked up behind Phury, who was a couple feet away.
When Phury turned around and saw the bag, he recoiled.
"No, Z. I don't want - "
"Either you do it, brother, or I'll find someone else who will."
Zsadist held out the bag.
Phury stared at it. When he took the thing, his hand shook.
The two of them left together.
Chapter Forty-one
Mary put the empty platter down next to the sink and handed Rhage a tray so they could gather empties together. Now that the party was over, everyone was helping clean up.
As they went out into the foyer, she said, "I'm so glad Wellsie and Tohr have taken John in. And I would have loved to see him tonight, but I'm happy to know he's in good hands."
"Tohr told me the poor kid can't get out of bed, he's so exhausted. All he's been doing is sleeping and eating. Hey, by the way, I think you're right. Phury kind of digs Bella. He spent a lot of time looking her over. I've never seen him do that before."
"But after what you said about - "
As they passed the grand staircase, a hidden door underneath it opened.
Zsadist came out. His face was battered, his workout shirt shredded. There was blood on him.
"Oh, shit," Rhage muttered.
The brother passed them, glassy black eyes not tracking. His small smile of satisfaction seemed totally out of context, like he'd had a good meal or maybe some sex instead of getting the holy hell beaten out of him. He went upstairs slowly, one leg not bending right.
"I had better go clean up Phury." Rhage gave the tray to Mary and kissed her lightly. "I might be a while."
"Why would Phury... Oh... God."
"Only because he was forced to. That's the only reason, Mary."
"Well... take as long as you need."
But before he reached the passageway, Phury came out wearing exercise gear. He looked as spent as Zsadist was, except he didn't have a mark on him. No, that wasn't right. His knuckles were bruised and cracked. And there were smudges of blood on his chest.
"Hey, man," Rhage said.
Phury looked around and seemed startled to find himself where he was.
Rhage stepped in front of him. "My brother?"
Shell-shocked eyes focused. "Hey."
"You want to go upstairs? Hang out a little?"
"Oh, yeah, no. I'm fine." His eyes skipped to Mary. Glanced away. "I, ah, I'm fine. Yeah. Really. Party's ended, I guess?"
Rhage took the bag. Phury's pale pink shirt was sticking out of it, caught in the zipper.
"Come on, let's go up together."
"You should stay with your female."
"She understands. We go together, my brother."
Phury's shoulders sank into his torso. "Yeah, okay. Yeah, I don't... I'd rather not be by myself right now."
When Rhage finally got back to his and Mary's room he knew she'd be asleep, so he closed the door silently.
There was a candle burning on the nightstand, and in the glow he saw that the bed was a mess. Mary had pushed the comforter off and scattered the pillows around. She was lying on her back, a lovely cream nightgown twisted around her waist, riding up on her thighs.
He'd never seen the silk before, knew that she'd worn it because she'd wanted tonight to be special. The sight of her cranked him up, and even though the vibration made him burn, he knelt by her side of the bed. He needed to be close to her.
He didn't know how Phury kept going, especially on nights like this. The brother's one and only love had wanted to bleed, had demanded pain