I let the knowledge sit quietly in the forefront of my mind and don’t give her the satisfaction of knowing I have it.
She looks between the three men before bringing her attention back to me. “You don’t know what you’re stepping into.”
I roll my eyes and sigh at the dramatics. I hate that typical, basic bitch genre of women… But some of them just can’t help themselves. It’s the way they were raised.
Or all the pumpkin spice is melting their brain cells.
I can’t decide.
“Let me make something clear,” I announce gently, letting the mask slide to test the boundaries of everyone present. “You are not important to me. At all. I don’t care about your past with him. Or them. Or any version of this story you think you’re still part of.”
She opens her mouth, and I invade her personal space, pressing my index finger to her lips. Jace touches my arm, but I jerk away, undeterred by his silent warning.
“What’s wild…” I continue, “...is how much you clearly care about me. You know my name. You’ve done your homework. You’ve followed the rumors, sniffed out the secrets, and still… you can’t stop circling a door that won’t open.”
Her composure cracks, a hairline fracture that causes her cheeks to pink and her eyes to narrow. The corner of my lip curls into a smirk, and I risk letting the malevolence show on my face since the guys have a slightly different angle, only seeing my profile.
“It must drive you crazy,” I whisper, leaning in just enough for only her to hear me. “Knowing you can’t have what you want. And it’s me, of all people, standing in your way. Scum from the Bay with a gold-plated pussy and blood on my hands. Keep teasing me, and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”
She steps back as if I’ve slapped her, expression torn between outrage and fear.
Jace shifts then, just enough to place himself between us. He’s not aggressive toward either of us, but he gives me this apologetic look that makes me want to roll my eyes a second time.
I’m not mad at him. Her actions are her own.
Though I also get her obsession with them…
It’s a weird place to be… because if she doesn’t get over her obsession real fucking fast, I am most definitely going to kill her.
“Leave,” he says without looking at her. “We’re done. There is nothing left to talk about. Please leave before you piss me off.”
He turns with me, hand warm at my back, guiding me toward the door. Kieran reaches it first, pulling it open and grabbing my bags. Silas waits until I cross the threshold before glancing over his shoulder.
“You’re trespassing,” he informs her coldly. “Get the fuck out.”
Behind us, she screeches indignantly, the garage feeling too small for such delusional emotions.
As soon as she walks beyond the imaginary line Silas has memorized, the door shuts with a finality that echoes through the garage.
Silas grins at me, and it’s such an uncharacteristic look for him, I wonder if he has super hearing or some shit.
He taps the screen on a security panel, making the lock slide into place, keeping us away from the outside world. As the sound settles into the bones of the building, something settles deep in me too.
I’m not irritated or even rattled, really…
But I am indulging in the fantasy… Aware enough to know nothing stays simple for long. Patient enough to wait for the other shoe to drop.
“I should thank God I don’t have Roo’s temper,” I mutter as I slip my shoes off, kicking them toward the door. “Because if she’d been in the garage with us? That bitch would be in a trash bag by now. And not a fancy one.”
Kieran glances at me, one brow lifting. “You’re joking.”
Jace leans back against the kitchen counter, fidgeting with his phone. “Are you?”
I look between them, then at Silas, who’s watching me like he’s finally seeing the shape of the puzzle instead of just the pieces.
“You don’t know Roo,” I explain simply. “Not really.”
A beat passes before Silas says, “We know enough.”
