Keeping Their Dark Rose by Jessica & Jane

Chapter 9

Ethan, annoyed with Drake’s screaming, slaps him. Blood spurts from his lips and sprays across my face. Deep, cavernous claw marks now mar his face.

“Ethan, wait, you don’t know who his dad is.”

“I don’t give a f uck who his dad is.” Ethan snarls.

“Will you stop your itch as s f ucking crying before I choose to kill you?” Ethan spits at him. However, his eyes are now dangerously trained on me. I can’t read the expression on his face, but I know he isn’t excited to see me after all these years.

My ears are still ringing, but Ethan speaks after a few long minutes that feel like they stretch into eternity.

“Da mn it, Rose. It’s a big f ucking mess you’ve left me with again.” Ethan sighs under his breath before he moves behind Drake’s seat.

“Wait!” Drake blurts out. “You two know each other?” Drake asks, his shock written all over the features on his face despite the blood loss. Drake looks over at me, his eyes widening slightly before they narrow accusingly, as if I had planned this all along. “You cu nt, you did this.” He snarls.

“Well, Rose? Are you gonna answer your little lover boy?” Ethan sneers, his gaze threatening to cut through me. I swallow nervously, glancing at Drake, who stares at me, waiting for my answer.

“H, he’s my stepbrother,” I stammer, and Drake’s brows raise in confusion.

“Stepbrother? You told me you have no family.” Drake states, and my gaze goes to the floor. If we get out of this, I know Drake will make my da mn life miserable. But that is a pretty big IF and with the way Drake is glaring, I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon.

“No family that wants her,” Ethan corrects him, lifting the gun and pointing it at Drake’s head. I hold my breath, waiting for the gunshot I am sure will ring out. The clang of metal on metal is loud as he co cks the gun.

“Wait, you don’t have to kill me. We can make a deal. If you kill me, you’ll have every

Chapter 9

cop in the city hunting you down!” Drake blurts out in a panic.

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Ethan laughs sinisterly. “You think I fear the police? I own them!” Ethan snickers like this is the funniest thing Drake could have said.

“I could easily kill, and I wouldn’t even lose sleep over it, and I doubt your father would either. I’d be doing him a favor. You have nothing to offer me that’s worth allowing you to live,” Ethan snaps coldly.

“You can have Rose! Keep her!” I stare at Drake in shock at how easily Drake is willing to throw me under the bus to save his own skin. It was one thing when he said it earlier, but now I can see how serious he is about the offer.

“Drake, you can’t-”

“Shut up, Rose. She’s yours.” He growls at me and Ethan lifts the gun, pointing it back at Drake, when suddenly his phone rings. Ethan pulls it from his pocket and answers it, placing it on speakerphone. The muscles in his jaw flex as he grits his teeth together.

“What?” he snaps angrily into the speaker, and I hear another voice I haven’t heard in years. It’s deep and sends a shiver up my spine. It’s Colt’s deep baritone voice. Before I left, he was best friends with Ethan and his brother Max.

“Can you grab milk on your way home?” Ethan’s eyes go to me briefly. A cruel smile tugs at his lips. He tucks his tongue behind his teeth.

“I’m kinda busy right now. Can you ring Max and get him to pick it up?”

Ethan is met with a brief silence for a second. “I thought you were in town. Where are you?”

Ethan chuckles softly. “You won’t believe who I am staring at right now?” Ethan

states.

“Who?” Colt asks curiously.

“Our black Rose,” Ethan answers, and his eyes flash wickedly back at me.

“Rose? Our Rose?” Colt asks. His words confuse me and, but they have a different effect on Ethan, who looks angry.

“Yes, and she has a little friend. So ring Max, if he can’t grab milk I will once I clean up this mess. You may have to organize a cleanup,” Ethan tells him, and Drake

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Chapter 9

whimpers.

“Just don’t call Officer McNair to deal with it,” Ethan adds.

“What’s this got to do with McNair?” Colt asks.

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“Rose’s boyfriend is his son, it turns out. Such a small world. Ring Callister to clean up unless you want to do it. I know you love cutting up meat,” Ethan laughs. My stomach drops, wondering what he means by that.

“Are you sure you want to do that? We have enough going on currently. Cut him loose. I don’t feel like having to explain why we killed a cop’s son. You know, those things are a bigger pain in the a ss than you. I will speak with McNair and tell him to handle his son, or we will next time,” Colt tells him. Ethan drops the gun to his side and glares at Drake. I can tell he wants to kill him.

“What about her?” Ethan asks him, and I wait to hear the verdict on my life.

“You can have her,” Drake blurts. However, Ethan ignores his words, waiting to hear what Colt says.

“Bring our dark Rose home, maybe we can strip her of her petals,” Colt says coldly, and my stomach plummets somewhere deep inside me. Ethan ends the call, tucking his phone away before tucking his gun into the waistband of his slacks.

Slowly, he walks around Drake, letting out a soft growl. “I was looking forward to killing you, but Colt’s right. I’m bringing Rose home.”

“I’m sure we can come up with a payment for her.”

“Do you want to live?” Ethan snaps, undoing the cuffs and letting them fall to the floor. “I could still kill you and take her, anyway. It would be easy to hide your body where no one would find it.”

“I understand. Take her, she’s yours.”