“You’re a fucking dumbass,” Ravage said.
“Hey!”
“I won’t claim to know anything about women; Maureen chewed my ass out because I told her to sit and rest and I’d make my own lunch.”
I laughed at that. “Yeah, don’t ever hint to that woman she isn’t capable of doing something.”
Ravage glared at me for laughing at him. “But even I know where you fucked up.”
“Care to enlighten me?”
“Big brother, you told the woman you supposedly love that she isn’t good enough to break the rules for. That her father’s position is more important than she is.”
“Well, fuck me,” I groaned as Ravage laughed at my expense.
Chapter Twelve
Grace
I heard King shout at Jackson, calling him his little brother, and I didn’t take my eyes off him. He hadn’t told me that. He didn’t share that little piece of himself with me.
And it hurt.
He sought me out and when his eyes caught mine, he looked... broken. I hadn’t been there for him. I wasn’t available when he needed me. I nodded slightly, letting him know I was here. That he could come to me. I could practically hear my mother rolling over in her grave.
I couldn’t hear what he said to Ravage, but he said something to the woman—Karlyn, Jingles had called her—and they both looked back at me. A moment later, she came and sat at the bar with Nav, and the two men she came in with joined them.
“Hi. I’m Grace. What can I get you?”
“Water.”
“You sure? You look like you need something stronger.” She looked scared, but there was something else in her eyes. Something dark but innocent. I’d seen something similar, but different, in my mother.
She smirked. “I don’t drink. Well, I’ve never had any kind of alcohol, so I wouldn’t know what I liked or didn’t.”
“Never?”
Karlyn shook her head. She was quiet as she looked at the hall Jackson disappeared down.
“Hey,” I whispered, reaching across the bar to touch her hand. When she turned around, I smiled. “It’s going to be okay. King won’t hurt his little brother.”
Nav chuckled and then said, “I’m more worried about King,” as Eros and Indigo both nodded silently. “I mean, you don’t know Ravage like we do.”
I narrowed my eyes at Nav, thinking about what he said, and then I smiled brightly. “Good. I wish Ravage would knock some sense into that asshole’s thick, stubborn, infuriating head.”
“Uh.” Eros stiffened. “You may not want to wish for that.”
“Oh, I wish for that and a lot more.” I placed beers in front of the men, then slid a pink drink toward Karlyn. Leaning against the bar, I winked. “It’s a strawberry daiquiri. It’s sweet, with very little rum in it. You will want to sip it as you’ve never had alcohol before. If you like that one, there are others. I can make them with any fruit you like.”
“Thank you.” She eyed the glass, swirling the pink liquid with the straw.
The four of us watched as she took a sip, waiting to see her reaction.
“Not bad,” she said, setting the glass down.
When she grinned, the three men surrounding her relaxed, and I laughed inside. They all acted as though she would fall apart at a moment’s notice. They didn’t see what I saw.
Karlyn was stronger than they knew. She might look fragile, she might seem as though she was scared of her surroundings, but what I saw was a woman who had been hurt.
