Page 9 of Desecrated Saints
I struggle to stand, wrestling with my urge to punch her indignant face. Violence has become my default, so turning it off is harder than anticipated. Grimacing, I let her see the fury beneath my human mask.
“Hurting is the only thing we understand.”
She flinches, holding her brother tight, but I’m not done.
“Augustus starved us, beat us, broke us into pathetic pieces, and sent us to fight a war against our will. If we didn’t kill in his name, he sent guards with whips and fists.”
“Brooke…”
“I’m not done. Seven—fucking Jude, if you insist—was electrocuted at least once a day, usually when they caught him talking to me. That was before they took his hand too.”
Hudson tries to put his arm around me again. I shove him hard, ignoring the pain that lances across his face when he collides with the kitchen cupboards. I’m far too angry to be touched, even by him.
“Blackbird, please—”
“Stay back!”
I want to hurt them all. My fucking family, but the sight of them is just another reminder of the person I’ve become. I want to beat them, bruise them. Drench us all in innocent blood. It used to be us against the world. Now, I’m locked in my own hellish purgatory and not even they can reach me.
“Augustus wanted to take our humanity, and he succeeded.”
“We need to talk ab—”
“Fuck off, Sadie. You have no clue. None.”
I storm back outside and let the front door slam behind me. I can’t look at any of them right now, not while Augustus’s ghost is breathing down my neck. He lives on in my head, reminding me that no matter how far I run… my mind will always belong to him.
CHAPTER 3
KADE
GIVE - YOU AND ME AT SIX
Standing on the wrap-around porch that surrounds our rural retreat, I finish smoking my cigarette and pull the burner phone from my pocket.
Mum called last night, reassuring me she had packed her things, ready to move to a safe location with Cece. She’s filed for divorce from my father. Once she realised his involvement in Blackwood’s operation, it was a done deal. Even though we both had to play along for months, plastering on fake smiles to give us the faintest hope of escape.
The door clicks open behind me, disturbing the early morning. Brooklyn is shoving her ash-white hair up in a ponytail. Dressed in one of Hudson’s t-shirts, she looks too fucking perfect. I want to say something, anything, but she takes off to begin her jog.
I watch her go, struggling with the exercise. Her legs are like pins, dangerously thin and weak. There’s no ignoring all she’s been through. It’s a constant reminder of my failure. I may have gotten us out, but by then, it was too late. The damage had been done.
Now, I don’t know how to fix it.
When Brooklyn returns, she leans against the porch, gasping for breath. I study her silently for several seconds, hating the way she seems too afraid to meet my eyes. Her secrets are suffocating us.
“What do you want, Kade?”
“You should be asleep. It’s six o’clock.”
“I can’t fucking sleep. Get off my case,” she snaps.
“You want something useful to do?”
I’m rewarded by a flicker of the person I used to know, her grey eyes dragging over my body. Uncrossing my arms, I inch closer, itching with the need to touch her. Even if she screams bloody murder.
“What did you have in mind?”
“We need supplies. I’m going to drive into town.” I drag a single fingertip along her bare arm. “I could use a hand with making a list and shopping for everything we need.”