Page 10 of Justice
“I’m already strong. See.” I flexed my muscles, suddenly trying to get out of going further into the cave instead of diving deeper.
“You’re barely able to harm an ant, love,” Ramsey commented. “I think you tried to do some kinky choking shit to me while hitching a ride, but it was hardly enough to even get a rise out of me.”
Sterling punched him in the bicep so forcefully that he flew backward, his body slamming into the stone behind him so hard that tiny flecks of rubble crumbled from above. Then Sterling turned to me. “What he meant to say was, you aren’t strong enough to defeat Greta.”
“But I have you three, and you are the strongest beings I’ve ever seen.” It was true. I could ask Oak to lift a box of bricks all damn day just to see his muscles flex. Who knew a back could be so sexy?
“And if we aren’t around, the threats will still come,” Oak said, and I wanted nothing more than to drop his hand just to be petty, but I also was terrified of how dark and eerie this place was. He had some nerve even thinking any of them would get away with leaving me with this bullshit.
“Then Ramsey can help,” I pointed out, even as all the heads were shaking, making their disagreement known.
“Ramsey doesn’t help anyone but himself,” Ramsey pointed out, talking about himself in the third person. “Ramsey only joined this bullshit brigade because I needed to see how this dynamic worked with my own two eyes. I need something to talk to our siblings about for the next decade.”
“I can confirm,” Sterling added, “I’ve known them all long enough to know they need something to keep them going. We weren’t the center of ridicule last decade, but it looks like our time’s up.”
Ramsey snorted. “I only hope that you three can top Diane and the horse incident.”
All three of my boys snorted, and I needed to know what happened. “What?”
“You had to be there.” Ellis’ voice held suppressed laughter.
“I hate you all,” I mumbled as I stomped forward, forgetting that one – I was still holding Oak’s hand. And two - I was in the darkest depth of earth.
Oak followed along without resistance. I didn’t think he would. He was the one who wanted this over with the most, even if he didn’t verbally say it. His fingers dug tightly into my hand, his nails almost grinding into my palm. I paused in my steps. “Oak, are you afraid of the dark.”
“No.” He sounded offended that I would even ask. He pulled me forward while mumbling, “I’m just not fond of shit we find hiding in the dark.”
I huffed out a soft laugh because I was right there with him. Over the last week or two, I learned that things lurking in the dark are absolutely not my friends. Liberty eating vampire? Check. Dream invading serpent? Check. The damn spider that crawled under my couch and was never seen again? Double-check.
I shivered at the thought of that fucking spider, causing Oak to lean in close, his mouth brushing my ear as he asked, “You okay?”
“Never been better.” An outright lie, but also a truth. My life was in danger due to no fault of my own. My world had been turned upside down and into complete chaos, yet with these three hunks around, it’d probably been the best few days of my life. I was not just saying that because of the intense orgasms they were continuously providing or because when they shared their blood with me, it’s like having the riches chocolate and best pie after coming off a diet.
The further we got into the underground structure, the harder it became to walk. There was no roped-off tourist area for us; we headed straight to the center, into the no man’s land part of the cave. Each step became slightly rockier and bumpier until we were no longer walking and instead were practically climbing as we found the best and safest path to our destination.
Around us, stacks of cement blocks creating a pilar held up the ceiling. Well, at least I hoped they supported the weight because if this cave came crumbling down on us, we would be trapped. How long could a vampire live while trapped? Would he die or just become a husk of a being until he was found a millennia later?
“How long could a vampire live without blood?” I blurted out.
“We would never die,” Ramsey supplied. “We would just lose all our humanity, become savage beasts until we’ve thoroughly fed about fifteen villagers worth, I’d say, then become conscious and feel like shit for what we’ve done.”
That seemed oddly specific, but okay. “If we got trapped, how long could we survive on each other?”
“We can’t survive on each other, love. Vampires can’t drink each other’s blood.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Ellis scratching his head. “About that. We can survive off her, and she can only drink from us.”
Ramsey was quiet for too long. Long enough for us to hurdle over two enormous boulders and get halfway up an incline that my under-worked thighs were not particularly fond of before he said, “I can’t even think about what to say to this. Like, honestly, I want to play this whole thing off as if it’s fucking nothing, but I’m just going to say it. This is all a jumbled mess. Something is happening, and I don’t fucking know if I should dive in and help or abandon ship before it gets so far fucking out of hand I’m permanently linked to this fucked up situation.”
“You’re already involved,” Sterling pointed out, and Ramsey ignored him. “I am curious, though, how does it feel like to be saddled to these fucks for all of eternity? I mean, you can’t leave them, or you will waste away into a savage, but well, look at them. You can’t very well survive hanging out with them for the rest of your life. I’ve tried it; they are definitely men to take in small dosages.”
I heard Ellis snort at that, but none of them denied that they make communication and hanging out difficult, so I answered Ramsey’s question. “Well, I had three orgasms for breakfast.”
Ramsey’s rich laugh echoed off the cave, causing tiny pieces to crumble down over our heads. He immediately went silent before whispering, “And that, my new little friend, explains nearly everything.”
The ground suddenly rumbled, and I clung to Oaks arm; the floor below our feet pitched and rolled as rocks flew every which way. Our bodies crumbled to the ground, covering our heads as we huddled together for protection. The rumbling slowed, and we suddenly rose back to our feet, looking around. A low humming sound came from deep within the cave, a sound that slowly became louder until hundreds of bats burst through a thin crack in the rock. Their bodies sailed overhead, and I opened my mouth to scream, only to have my voice silenced by a palm covering my mouth.
Ramsey’s voice was close to my ear as he whispered, “They can’t see you, love. Don’t draw them here.” I nodded my head in understanding, but that didn’t stop the panic I felt. If I still had a regular pulse, I knew with absolute certainty that it would be racing out of control.