Fangs | mlm

Chapter 40 - One last thing

They all went over to the van in the morning. They had one last thing or, in their case, two last people to take care of. William got the door open but kept his hand firmly on the handle.

"Don't get up," William ordered. His tone was firm and unyielding. "We're going to take you somewhere, so don't be surprised when the engine starts."

Ashe glanced at Houston, then at William, her eyebrow arched. "And may I ask you where to?"

"You may not." William's mouth twisted in a sneer, and he slammed the door shut, before turning to the others. "Well, Eleonora, Jackson, you'll have to ride with them, I'm afraid."

"Oh, it'll be fun." Jackson rubbed the palms of his hands together as he smiled.

"Mm-hmm, right," Eleonora said under her breath.

William put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "Make sure both Houston and Ashe come out of this in one piece and alive, will you?"

Eleonora looked away to flash a doubtful look at Jackson but nodded. "I will."

"Good."

William turned on his heel and made his way to the driver's seat. Trevor followed him. He shut the door, and Trevor did the same. They exchanged smiles, and William turned the key in the ignition.

The ride wasn't too long, and soon Trevor and William got out of the van.

"Get out," William ordered them as soon as he opened the door again.

They didn't try to argue, only got out and stayed quiet.

"You're both free to go now. Wherever you like," he said, and frowns appeared immediately on Houston's and Ashe's faces.

"What?" Ashe asked.

"You didn't do anything to harm us aside from following Miranda's orders. You didn't pay Griffin to capture us. It wasn't your idea to try chaining Trevor into a vampire. However, you, Houston, did the best you could to make it happen." Houston lowered his head and looked down at his feet. "You didn't try to initiate the shootings. You did nothing bad apart from choosing to follow Miranda and staying at her side, through thick and thin."

"She's our leader and friend. What were we supposed to do?" Houston asked with a frown.

"I don't know." William shrugged. "Find some common sense, you morons?" Trevor found the way they interacted funny, but he had to stifle the laugh that was forcing its way out. The moment was too serious. "Anyway, you're free to go. Be thankful for how merciful we are or whatever." They both seemed to be reluctant though, unable to tell if it was all right to run. "But wait. Not yet. You have silver chains around you. Don't you want us to remove them for you?"

Both Houston and Ashe nodded. Jackson already had his hands in gloves, so he gripped the chains and ripped them apart. It didn't seem like he'd put any effort at all into it.

"All right. Before you leave, remember you have enemies out there," William went on. "All your actions will have consequences from now on. All of them. If you do anything wrong, you have more than six people watching your backs and going after you. Understood? No more experiments that would put vampire genes into humans and make vampires out of them. The moment I find out about it, I will end one of you or both of you myself. Are we clear?" He crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at them. Trevor liked to see him so decisive.

It was strange to see Ashe, who most of the time looked harsh and strong, now nod like she was afraid of William. Maybe they were. Or maybe it was Jackson and his maniac smile that scared them the most. Jackson was as unpredictable as Miranda, and they both seemed to know it quite well.