Viper shook his head. “I was not trying to ask that.”
I glared at Maddox, who only shrugged. “What? It’s a legitimate question. If she’s anything like Lola, which I’m pretty damn sure she is, nothing can beat the fucking.” He then asked a question only he would have the balls to ask me: “You get over your hang up about sharing? Trust me, bud, it’s way better once you get over that hump, right, Viper?”
My brother was not so pleased with what Maddox had said, and I recalled a time when I was laid up in a bed, practically dying, when Viper and the others had fought over Lola. If my memory served, he’d told me Maddox had nearly shot him.
Yeah, Maddox might act now like everything was fine, but it wasn’t always that way. It’d taken them years to reach this point. This thing with Laina was still new, comparatively.
When I finally spoke, all I said was, “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
Maddox groaned. “You’re no fucking fun at all. Thought maybe since you’re now getting laid on the regular, that stick up your ass wouldn’t be so big.”
I hit the end button on the treadmill and openly glared. Viper, on the other hand, only shook his head. “Just because I don’t want to discuss our sex life doesn’t mean—”
“There’s nothing wrong with talking about it, is there? Viper, tell your brother he needs to pull that stick out of his ass if he knows what’s good for him, otherwise Laina will dump him for someone better.”
I grunted. Laina would never. Or, at least, I didn’t think she would ever. If, by some chance, she did want to break things off with me, I genuinely did not know how I would survive. She filled a hole in me I didn’t know existed until recently, and that hole would only grow if she left.
No, I couldn’t let her go. Not ever. She’d become a part of me. I needed her.
Viper did not say what Maddox had instructed him to, instead he muttered, “I need something to drink. Anybody want anything?”
I took that as an opportunity to step off the treadmill and say, “I’ll go with you. Need some water.” Mostly so it would get me out of this conversation and away from Maddox’s dangerously curious mind.
We went downstairs, to the kitchen, where Viper pulled out an energy drink, and I got myself some water. We each took long swigs of our chosen drink, and after a while, my brother asked, “Seriously, though, you happy?”
Setting down the water on the counter, I didn’t have to waste too much time thinking about how to answer. The answer was right there on the tip of my tongue instantly. “I am.” Still not super thrilled with sharing her long-term, but… well, I’d proved to both myself and to her that I could.
It wasn’t so bad, sharing her with Fang, though I’d never say that out loud.
Viper patted my arm. “That’s good. I was worried about you for a while. You liked to play it silent and tough, but deep down you’re just a teddy bear that needs some love.” He could hardly get it out before he busted out laughing. “Sorry, man. Beenlistening to Lola too much. She’s happy for you, too. We all are. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Thanks.”
“Is Fang still as weird as he used to be?”
“Weirder. Laina brings it out of him. I think she enjoys it.”
My brother chuckled. “She’d have to, I imagine. What about that Kieran guy?”
I had a lot to say about that one, none of which came out immediately. I’d had a lot of time to think about what Kieran did and how, if it had been me, I would have done things differently. Laina didn’t hate him for what he did to her, but that didn’t stop me from disliking the guy for it.
He fucking kidnapped her and kept her for two whole years. How did something like that just get washed under the bridge and forgotten?
At least he was taking things slow with her. At least he hadn’t jumped right back into his old habits the moment he’d told her who he really was. Small mercies.
“Kieran is,” I spoke after a long while, “Kieran.”
“Yeah, Lola said if she ever dumps him, he’s on her list.” He did not need to elaborate what list that was; Lola only kept a single list, and that was the list of men she’d like to kill. She might’ve been this city’s Bloody Queen now, but she was still the Night Slayer, the serial killer who went after bad men.
Men who liked to prey on drunk women, one of which happened to be Richard Luciano’s youngest son. But that was ancient history where we were concerned now.
“I don’t think Laina ever will,” I said, speaking the truth I felt in my soul. I might not have liked Kieran, but Laina sure as hell did. She had no qualms about what he did to her or the lengths he’d go to in order to prove his devotion to her.
I loved Laina, but it took a certain kind of person to be able to look at someone like Kieran and say,‘Yes, I want him.’
My brother was about to say something else, but my phone rang right then, so I pulled it out of my pocket, and once I saw Laina’s name on the screen, I hit the button and brought it to my ear. “Laina. Everything okay?”
“Everything is great. Dad just got home from the doctor’s appointment. I have the doctor’s name. I want to check him out and make sure he’s on the up-and-up.”
