He rubbed his arm, the arm the Kings had broken. “Peace wouldn’t be a bad thing. If you think that’s possible. Have you considered what might happen if things go badly between you and Dom?”
“Nope.” I vigorously shook my head. “That’s not an option. Not for me. There’s something about him, Damon. I can’t explain it. We have this connection. It’s powerful. I refuse to believe this will end badly. I refuse to believe it will end at all.”
Damon let out a whoosh of breath. “That’s pretty heavy. I hope for your sake that you get what you want. If he makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“What about you?” I asked, dodging a girl who was too busy staring at her phone to notice she almost walked into me. “What would make you happy?”
Damon ran a hand through his black hair, giving his head a shake. “Hell if I know, dude. If I figure it out, I’ll fill you in.”
Since Damon’s former girlfriend had cheated on him with multiple men two years ago, he had yet to date seriously. He’d been bitter for a long time. Understandably. He seemed to take it out on other women. Using them for a good time before tossing them aside. A real fuck boy mentality. I figured he just had to meet the woman who could put him in his place and bring him to his knees.
We turned the corner, almost colliding with Storm and Athena. Their chatter cut off as Athena jerked back to avoid crashing into Damon. She fumbled her phone, swearing as it fell from her hands.
Damon managed to catch it before it smashed onto the hard floor. He shoved it into her hand, snarling, “Watch where you’re going next time.”
He continued on without a glance back. Refusing to take his attitude, Athena called after us, “Maybeyoushould watch where you’re going, dick.”
No wonder Damon had such a bad rep with the women around here. He went out of his way to be a supreme asshole.
“That was nobody’s fault,” I said. “Maybe you should tone down the attitude a little.”
He scoffed, giving me a look that said I didn’t get it. I held up both hands in surrender. Whatever. It wasn’t my problem.
My phone went off then with a message from Dom.Can you meet now? Outside by the picnic tables. Rebel is calling an emergency meeting.
“Something must be up,” I said to Damon. “Everyone is gathering outside. We should go too.”
The rest of the Kings had already gathered when Damon and I walked up. I couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. There were five of them and two of us. They’d proven themselves to be the greater threat over the years. Dom and I having a connection didn’t change that.
The five of them stood in a circle. They opened up enough space for the two of us to join. I stepped in next to Dom, feeling a weight lift inside me at the sight of him.
“We have serious trouble,” Rebel said, getting right to the point. “Project X just burned down our church.”
“What the fuck?” Auryn gaped at him in surprise.
“How do you know?” Damon asked.
Rebel pulled out a small cylindrical container of joints and lit one up. “I saw it on the cameras we have hidden around the graveyard’s perimeter. It happened fast. We never would’ve got there in time.”
“Obviously, they’re trying to send a message,” Casper signed. “Now we have to send one back.”
I found myself leaning into Dom’s warmth, enjoying the way he felt next to me. He surprised me by taking my hand. Rubbing his thumb over the back of mine. I saw the way Casper’s gaze fell to our hands, his brow furrowing.
“We can operate just fine without the church,” Dom said, his shoulder brushing against mine. “I’m not sure what they were hoping to achieve, but whatever it is, it isn’t going to work.”
“It feels like a power-play. Like they want us to wonder where they’ll hit next. We can’t give them the opportunity to come after us on the streets or in our own homes.” Rebel passed the joint around the circle. His jaw was hard set, his eyes filled with anger.
“So we need a plan.” I glanced at Damon to make sure he was on board with this. “We need to hit them before they hit us.”
There was a moment of quiet as we all glanced around the circle at each other. Finally, Auryn said, “So that means this is us now? The seven of us?”
Rebel looked straight at me. “You two are together.”
It wasn’t a question. Knowing that he directed the statement at me instead of Dom for a reason, I nodded. “We are. I hope that’s cool with the rest of you, but if it isn’t, I really don’t give a fuck. I’m here to help take care of Project X regardless. You can trust Damon and me.”
“But can we trust you with Dom?” Casper signed, taking a menacing step forward. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that if you hurt him, I hurt you.”
Dom held up a hand, gently pushing Casper back. “Easy there, big guy. Let’s not go there right now. I appreciate you looking out for me. Really. I know there’s a lot of bad history here. All we can do now is move forward. Start a new chapter.To do that we have to give Noah and Damon a chance to prove themselves”
