I place the cups next to my laptop and slump into my chair, then stretch my legs and sigh before closing my eyes. “Golden.”
“You look pretty damn red to me,” Mave says.
I open my eyes. “Huh?”
He sighs. “Flushed, Nettie; you look kinda feverish.”
If Dorran Ledger said the exact same things to you as he did to me, you’d be just as red in the face, Mave, I wanna tell him, but don’t. For obvious reasons.
“Just a bit on edge,” I lie. “You know, with what happened earlier…”
His expression softens, and he nods. “Of course.”
I know he isn’t stupid enough to believe me entirely, but I also know that he trusts me enough to not doubt or question me unnecessarily.
I feel bad for not being honest with him, but how exactly am I supposed to tell my damnbodyguardthat I’m into someone who’s the county’s most dangerous man; that he’sliterallythe Bloody Prince of Riverside?
Hiding it from Mave is the only option. The onlysaneone, at least.
And, as I smile at him again, I realize that the longer I keep Dorran a secret from him, the harder it’ll get for me to remove myself from the labyrinth of duplicity that I’ve created around the people in my life.
Things are bound to get messy, one way or another. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see how reality unfurls itself to me, even though all I wanna do is jump through time and see if I make it.
Or if wanting Dorran turns out to be the last thing I do before I meet my end.
11.
“Motherfucker!” I double over when Jayce punches me right in the gut. The tips of my fingers brush against the harsh concrete floor when my arms come forward, and my body bends downwards. And the pain I feel? Yeah, it’s unendurable.
“Still distracted, I see,” the asshole muses, which means that he knows.
I groan as I straighten, then press a hand over my stomach as I let go of a slow breath.
“Solo told you,” I say to him.
Instead of answering me, Jayce goes in for another punch, but this time, he connects it straight to my cheekbone.
“Fuck,” I hiss as razor-sharp pain shoots from the side of my face, all the way up to my damn skull.
We’re blowing some steam after our work out at Solo’s underground gym. Now, it’s not a place people come to; it’s just anusthing. Everything in here is for me, the crew, and Solo himself, and this place also happens to be where we usually plan our kills.
The gym is also stocked with weapons we might need to execute these kills, along with files and photos of the people we have taken down so far. It’s kinda like our sacred ground, and for as long as Solo has owned it, it’s been untouchable by the cops. No one dares to come near anything that belongs to Christopher Solo and his team, after all – even the new Riverside County sheriff and his deputies.
I touch my cheek, because it stings so fucking bad, and find the skin there to be tender.
The air conditioner in here is all but dead, so there’s literally no way to avoid getting sweaty while working out or boxing.
“Solo did tell me,” Jayce admits. “But what’s fortunate is that he doesn’t know who it is you’re so pussy-whipped over. Because if hedid, Ledge, then you’d be a dead fucking man.” He pulls his right arm back and goes in for another punch, but I block it and jab him in the chin.
He grunts a curse, then wipes his mouth with the white strap that’s wrapped around his hand.
“And it’s fortunate thatyoudo?” I say to him.
Jayce grits his teeth and takes a step toward me. “You really think messing with an Adler – let aloneChasefucking Adler’s niece – is going to end well for you? Are you out of your goddamn mind or somethin’?”
“I’m sorry,what?” Varsha cuts in, then looks at me with wide, unbelieving eyes. “You’re fucking that pink-haired Barbie?”
“Ledge,” says Alex. “What the hell, bro?” He’s surprised, which is an expression that’s quite unlike him.
