I swallow hard.
He’s my brother. My twin. I trust him, but do I really know everything about him? A question I don’t get to ask. Because right now, we have bigger problems. And whatever Oliver is hiding from me will have to wait.
I nod. It’s game time.
They want to threaten my woman? They have no fucking idea what I’m capable of.
No one has seen the crazy in me come out, but the Starr brothers are about to get an up-close-and-personal look at her.
Chapter fourteen
Rachel
Wearesittinginthe 4Runner; the speaker is cranked up loud so we don’t miss a single word that Oliver or Olivia says.
”…use her as payment,” I hear Samuel say; I think it's him. I’ve only met the other Starr brothers once, and their voices blur together in my memory. If I were looking at them, I’d know for sure, but right now, all I have is their cold, detached words.
“Oliver. I can’t lose her.” My breath caught in my throat at the raw desperation in Olivia’s voice. It’s almost a whisper, a plea, something fragile breaking beneath all her fire.
“You won’t. We’re just here for intel, nothing more. We don’t act on anything until we have a solid plan.” Oliver’s commanding voice takes over, firm and rational.
When I glance at Alex, I see his jaw clenched and his expression dark. He doesn’t like sitting back and just listening. “They won’t get me. I promise.” I grab Alex by the face, turn him towards me, and kiss him quickly, grounding him and myself for just a second before turning my attention back to the speaker.
So, the Starr brothers want me. That much is clear. And if it gets them to crawl out from whatever dark hole they slithered into, I’d gladly be bait. I’d walk right into the fire as long as my family doesn’t burn with me.
“Let’s leave.” Oliver’s voice cuts through my thoughts, interrupting my vengeful plans before I can even fully form them.
I need Olivia. Right now!
Before I even realize I’m moving, I throw the door open and bolt from the 4Runner, my pulse hammering in my ears. I need to see her, hold her, let her know I’m okay, and make sure she doesn’t do something reckless. I know her, and I know what’s brewing inside her beautiful head right now, the same thing boiling inside me.
RAGE!
When I reach Olivia, I see it—the pure, seething hatred in her eyes.
My stomach clenches. She’s not just mad; she’s beyond that. This is a storm, a hurricane of wrath swirling inside her, and I don’t know if anyone can stop it.
When she reaches me, she doesn’t say a word, just wraps me in her arms, crushing me against her chest. I bury my face into her chest, breathing her in, smelling her floral scent that I have missed so much, and feeling her rapid breathing. I can tell she’s barely holding herself together.
“They won’t get you, Rachel. The Starr brothers will die before any of them lays a finger on you,” her voice strained and determined.
I know she means it. She’d burn the whole fucking world down for me without a second thought. That should terrify me, but all it does is make me love her even more.
I tilt my head up, searching her face, and for just a second, I see the rage in her eyes soften. Love and something darker flicker in her eyes, like obsession, or maybe possession?
“I know, babe. I know you won’t let anything happen to me.” I press a soft kiss to her lips, a silent promise just between us.
“I love you.” And even as I say it, I wonder if love is what’s keeping Olivia tethered to me, or is it the very thing pushing her closer to the edge?
Olivia cups my cheek, her thumb brushing over my skin with a tenderness that contradicts the storm raging in her eyes. Then she pulls me in, her lips crashing against mine in a kiss far more demanding than my own.
Her hands find my waist, gripping me tight, pulling me flush against her as she deepens the kiss even further. Heat floods through me as my body molds to hers. Her tongue glides along the seam of my lips, asking for entrance that I give eagerly. Our tongues collide in a battle for dominance, both unwilling to yield completely and desperate to claim the other.
She tastes like adrenaline and fire, like something untamed and all-consuming. Something that feels like home and yet scares me in the best way.
I don’t want to lose her. Not again.
A throat clears behind us, yanking us back to reality.
