Grave scoots in next to me, remaining silent. Guilt churns in my stomach. I hate that he’s helping me after I accused him of sending those goons to the shop. I’ll owe him big for this. But what am I supposed to do? Ethan’s debt is way too much for me to pay. I don’t have that kind of money or resources, and I’m maxed out.
The house Ethan and I live in isn’t even paid off. Business has been slow, and I didn’t want to close, so I made the selfish decision to take out a loan to keep the shop open. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I realize that I waswrong. Is that why Ethan didn’t come to me? Because he knew I couldn’t afford to help him?
He has to know I would have done anything to save him, even if that meant selling the shop. He is the most important person in my life. He’s all I have left.
“April?” Derek comes up to our table with a big smile on his face, but it drops the moment he sees me. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I’m fine.” I wave him off, not in the mood to talk about it. I washed off the dried blood and streaked makeup, but I have a bruised face and cuts on my hands.
“April—”
“Bourbon,” I interrupt him, knowing a Corona will not cut it tonight.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” Grave says.
Derek’s dark eyes narrow on him, and his gaze tracks over Grave’s tatted arm and neck, then the piercings in his face. He is not impressed. “I thought I knew all of April’s friends.” He arches a dark brow.
“You do,” I announce.
My words don’t offend Grave in the least. He leans back in the booth, places his arms out wide on the leather, and grins up at Derek.
Derek’s eyes widen as he realizes who the guy is next to me. “April, this is Grave,” he growls. “He owns a quarter of Kingdom?—”
“I know,” I snap. Derek opens his mouth, but I continue speaking. “I came for a drink. Not a lecture.”
He turns without saying another word.
“Ex?” Grave muses.
“Something like that.” I rest my elbows on the table and bow my head, trying hard not to think about what happened tonightbut failing. Anger builds in my chest and tears threaten my eyes. I sniff.
“Hey.” Grave’s hand caresses my back, and I pull away from him.
“Don’t,” I say, irritated with him. But I’m not sure why. It’s not his fault. I hate asking for help, and I hate even more that he’s the one who offered. He knows I can’t afford to turn it down. “Don’t act like you care.”
He sighs. “Of course I do, or I wouldn’t have taken care of it.”
“I didn’t need you to do that,” I say, looking over at him.
His blue eyes roam my face before landing on mine. “How were you going to pay them off?”
“I would have thought of something.”
He leans in, bringing his face in closer to mine. I refrain from pulling away. “What would you have done if they would have demanded payment from you?” He arches a pierced brow.
My stomach knots at his words. “What exactly are you implying?”
He reaches out and grasps a few strands of my purple hair between his fingers. His eyes watch the motion before running up my neck and over my face. “You’re very beautiful, April.” His eyes meet mine, and my breath picks up, remembering the weekend we just spent together. It feels like it was a lifetime ago. “Men like the Mason brothers take whatever they want. So my question is, what would you have done if they wanted you?”
SEVENTEEN
GRAVE
THE MASON BROTHERS don’t rape women, but that doesn’t mean their thugs wouldn’t. I have no doubt that if one of them wanted her, they would have done it. The only thing that kept her from being sexually assaulted was that they wanted money from her. If they would have forced themselves onto her, they would have killed her afterward. Then the Mason brothers would have killed them.
She looks away from me, dismissing the direction this conversation was going just as the punk returns with our drinks.
“Here you go.” He hands April her glass and slams mine down on the table. Then he turns and stalks toward the bar.
