“Alright, my little fighter cranes, there will be no hunting of the serial killer and definitely no ending of his ass. We are on protection detail only. The Colorado Police have their very own task force and are looking into the matter as we speak. Hopefully, they will have the guy in custody in a few days. Then Gavin can go back to his old life, and Lucas can stop thinking of ways to murder people.”
“God, when did your brother become such a stiff?” Lucas asked Ace as if he wasn’t even in the room.
Shaking his head, Marcus stood.
“As far as the rest of the Vipers know, Gavin is just a witness the sheriff has asked us to protect. We don’t want people in town knowing that he’s connected to the Valentine murders, so keep that info to yourselves.”
Marcus looked at both Ace and Lucas, who both looked like they had swallowed a canary.
The little shits.
“This means not telling Blade or Caden. Got it?” Marcus growled.
“You want us to lie to our significant others?” Ace asked, acting all dramatic and shocked to his core.
“You’re not lying. You’re following a direct order from your leader.” Marcus gave him a smirk. He knew the argument was now over. He rarely played the “I’m the leader” card, but when he did, he expected absolute obedience.
Ace’s mouth dropped open. “You. Bastard.”
“Same goes for you, Lucas.”
The man nodded without making eye contact.
The weakling would fold the second he got home to Caden.
It was time for bed.
“Gavin, your bedroom is at the end of that hallway. It’s Ace’s old room. Ace, Lucas, you’re welcome to stay the night here on the couch or go home to your husbands or whatever you call them. I don’t care. I’m going to bed. Good night, Gavin.”
“Good night, Marcus. And thanks for everything today.”
That caught Marcus off guard. He’d been expecting something a little more sarcastic, like “Thank you for kidnapping me today,” or perhaps, “Eat my ass and die, asshole.” That seemed a bit more appropriate than a sincere thank-you.
“It’s no problem at all,” Marcus huffed, refusing to turn around and acknowledge the boy’s kindness. He continued on to his room.
6
GAVIN
Gavin hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. Every twenty minutes, he kept tossing and turning. It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired. Quite the opposite, he was exhausted. But every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeinghim, standing over him with that eerie smile on his face as he promised to write him a romantic Valentine’s card when he decided to end his life.
Each time he saw that face, his eyes jerked open, and his heart started pounding until he finally decided that he wasn’t going to get any more sleep tonight.
Slipping out of his bed, he stepped into the living room and stared at his two new best friends—both sleeping on the floor on a bed made of pillows.
Lucas and Ace had decided that a sleepover was warranted so they could spend more time getting to know their newest best friend.
Gavin kind of liked that thought—having two best friends.
While Gavin might have 1.8 million followers across all his social media platforms, he didn’t really have anyone he considered a “best friend” or even a close friend he could turn to for support or even help following such a traumatic experience.
Instead, he had a bunch of faceless profiles, all wanting a piece of him, all worshipping the ground he walked on. And for what? Because they liked the content he was posting and the recommendations he was making. Becoming a social media influencer was a gift and also a curse. It took a lot of hard work to constantly create content and keep producing work that people wanted to see.
Sometimes he felt like his whole life was one big performance.
Tiptoeing through the living room, he looked at the photos that hung on the walls. Most were of Marcus and Ace, smiling together, surrounded by big, beefy bikers who seemed to always be celebrating one occasion or another.
They all seemed happy, every person in those photos.
