“You demented?—”
“Hayes.”
Maeve cuts off my tirade and I growl down at her, “What, Maeve?”
Her pupils go wide, worry and fear fighting her rising anger. It’s a cold look, one that feels like the touch of death and a promise to cut me for the disrespect.
“We had anagreement.”
“Youhad an agreement.” I glare at the reaper. “I didn’t.”
“Goddammit, Hayes,” she curses, shoving me against the wall and my head connects with the wood.Ow. “You know the rules. They didn’t come for us when you joined because of the agreement I made. Foryou.”
The agreement that gave me my freedom—and cut my ties to the Bruno family. I was no longer their property, so long as I stayed off their territory.
I’m not sure what Maeve did to barter such a thing, but it saved my life.
And I just fucked it up.
“I never asked you to do that,” I argue, checking my knuckles. “I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
“I did it for both of us, you asshole.” She glares, stepping away from me. Going to the bar cart, she pours three fingers of scotch into a glass tumbler. “You think Pops would have let one of Bruno’s kids be a runner?No. He would have found out and left you to bleed out on the street. I had to keep them away in order toprotectyou.”
“I don’t need your fucking protection!” I shout, earning a reproachful glare from Killian.
Roman was the worst—but he was right. I’ve let Maeve fight all my battles. How long would I let her? When would I handle my shit, on my own?
Maeve’s face falls, hurt flashing through her green eyes.Shit.
“He would havekilledyou the minute he found out.” Her words are barely audible. “If I didn’t protect you, who would have?” She takes a large gulp, almost draining her glass.
My heart cracks. Maeve is just like me—we were never protected as kids, so now we protect everyone else.
It doesn’t temper the fire in my gut. Or chill the guilt in my bones. Or the need to act brewing inside my veins. There’s too much—too many things I can’t fix.
“I’m not one of your fucked up siblings, or someone you have to constantly watch.” Once upon a time, she was my savior. But not anymore.
“Careful,” Killian growls, soulless eyes glinting under the spare lights. “Don’t think for one minute if you say something to hurt her, I won’t fuckingendyou. She riskedeverythingto give you a chance. Completely going against everything I said just to keep youalive.”
Maeve winces as my words cut deep, worrying her bottom lip. “You needed someone in your corner, Hayes. What else was I supposed to do?”
Guilt rages as I watch her pull back, hiding beneath her emotionless mask she shows the world. The mask that kept her safe during her years of torture and abuse, and it kills me that I made her retreat to that place.
“Dammit, Maeve?—”
“It’s fine.” She shrugs, clearing her throat, eyes blinking. “Just know you’ve put us in deep shit. Roman is within his right to attack us now and if he does, I have no choice but to declare war.”
“Because ofyou,” Killian remarks, sliding over to the office chair. “Hope the family talk was worth it. You condemned us to a war we can’t fucking win.”
“You’re fucking lying,” I curse. “We have the men, the resources, and the alliance with De Luca.” With those resources, we should be fine, but it doesn’t stop the misery of snapping at my friend.
The friend who everyone sees as emotionless, yet feels the deepest. It’s my fault for Bruno getting under my skin.
“We havenothing,” Maeve hisses, hands grabbing the desk to keep from flying across the room. Pretty sure she wants to stab me. “The Board took everything from us. No money, no resources. We are on our own now.”
“So that means?—”
“You royally fucked us.” Killian slouches into his seat, head resting on the back of the chair, eyes closed. “Spectacularly, mind you.”
