Twenty-two

Pov

Benett

I rub, knowing I want her to smell like sex for the rest of the day.

I let her lie on my chest with her hair partially covering my face as I stroke her back, feeling our combined fluids start to dry between us.

"That. Why can't we just stay in a bubble, away from all the other shit in our lives and just be? I could just live in this cabin. Well, maybe not this cabin, unless we clean it up a bit. Could do with decorating it a bit," she murmurs the words into my chest.

I stay silent for a few minutes, just letting her be with her thoughts before responding, "We could. Just choose me and I'll give you everything you want. Don't you see how good we are together? We can be us all the time. All you need to do is choose."

"Damn it, Bennett," she pushes herself off of me before throwing herself out of bed.

She's pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to herself low enough that I can't hear.

"Why do you keep pushing this? Was that the agenda all along? I should have known it was too good to be true. I need both of you. I wish you'd listen to me when I say I won't choose. In this world, neither of you really listens to us. Hardly see. Definitely never hear. And you wonder why we try to leave. The Ravens of Hollow Hill are suffocating us. They say a group of ravens is an unkindness, and all of you prove that over and over again. From my uncle to my cousin, to the rest of you, fucking idiots. I HATE YOU!" She's boiling, and I'm pissed as hell too.

"You know who I am. Who we all are. Don't act like you're better than us. You lean on us and what we are. You use the Ravens as a shield. All of you do. You can't pick and choose the things you like in this life as if you're an innocent bystander," I'm getting dressed because if I stay here with her for one more moment, I might strangle her.

"Great. Just leave then. I'll finally have some peace," she retorts.

"I'd rather be out there than in here with you right now. I'll call Mason and ask him to bring some clothes for you, and then you can go back home and won't be my damn problem anymore," I'm walking out the door when I hear something shatter against the wall of the room. The only thing it could be is the lamp, and I smile, knowing Mason put it there years ago after getting tired of stubbing his toe in the dark.

I grab my phone, shoot him a message, and tell him he's involved in dealing with Tessa Clarke's bullshit.

Pov

Mason

I wipe the sweat from my forehead after hauling the damn dead weight up to Peak. I'm all for offing a dumbass as much as the next guy, but I swear Remington picks the most inconvenient times to choose murder.

The bastard deserved it for laying a hand on Mia. No doubt about it, but I should still be back at the cabin. Who knows what Bennett is up to with Tessa and what kind of mind games he's playing.

Asshole Brother: Bring clothes for Tess. Also, I screwed her and I'm pretty sure she tried to chuck your stupid lamp at my head. We need to talk. Call me when you're heading back. Left the shrew locked in there and I'm enjoying the sounds of nature.

Of course, he screwed her. If he didn't take advantage of that situation, then I'd think something had scrambled his brains.

"Hey! Are we done here or is Remy planning more killings in the next few hours? I've got shit to do." I roll my eyes, annoyed at how Remington scoffs and shrugs.

As if wasting my time isn't a big deal to him.

I'll take him out next time we spar.

"You're dismissed," Gray says, and that asshole means it.

"Well, thanks, Your Highness."

He narrows his eyes at me before waving me off, turning back to the pretty boy, a new fucker. I take this little situation in stride, but who the hell knows. These two act more like brothers than Bennett and I sometimes.

Opening Gray's truck door, I climb in, leaving those two screwed-up dudes to find their own way home. Knowing Grey, he probably has business here anyway. Peak isn't a frequent dump site for us, but I didn't bother questioning why we came here. It's not my concern.

I pull up to the house and rush inside, grabbing clothes from my room for Tessa, knowing my brother will be pissed to see her in them. It would be as easy as going next door and asking one of the girls to bring something over, but where's the fun in that?

He can consider it payback.