“Drink.” He grabbed a toothpick off the counter and twisted it around with his tongue as the bartender set down our orders. “Not drinks.”
I sighed. “Scoot over. I’m gonna hit the shower, dress nicely and come back to have as many drinks as I want.” Not that I was planning on having more than one.
He blocked my way and tapped the gin glass hard on the counter, almost shattering it. “Have the fucking thing and go to sleep. Aren’t you starting your super esteemed job tomorrow?”
“I’m teaching tomorrow, yes, and I need to excel at it so I’d get the super esteemed job. But to do that, I have to blow off some steam and relax. Today has been hell, so back off a little.”
“Hell? Because some fucking ex crossed you? You don’t know what hell is, Reindeer.”
I turned my knees back toward the counter and sipped the gin. “You’re right. Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you on the last tour?”
His eyes hardened as I held my breath, praying he’d open up. “Are you going to tell me how you broke out of my room?”
“Easy. The window.”
He smirked. “There was someone guarding that. So unless you were invisible…”
I took another sip. “I snuck out before he came.”
He grunted. “So he’s lying? That means…” His hand reached behind his back and brought out a gun.
I snorted gin off my nose. Damn, this thing burned. “What the hell? Put that back.”
A mocking laugh seeped out of his mouth quietly. “Liars don’t get to live another day in my world, Reindeer. Wait here.”
He slid off the stool, and I flew after him, my jacket and heart on the floor. “Malcolm. Malcolm!”
He twisted, raising a brow. “What?”
“You can’t simply kill a person because they lied.”
“I can, and I will. HOUND!”
The named echoed in the air, several people repeating it. Then the bald guy at the gate showed up. “Yes, Dasher?”
Malcolm pointed the gun at the poor man’s sweaty forehead. “My sister says you weren’t standing guard when she jumped out of the window. Say goodbye to your brothers.”
“What the fuck? Are you crazy?” I squeaked, the room falling into silence.
“Stay out of it,” my brother barked.
Hound went on his knees and bent his head in total surrender, and my dick of a brother unlocked the safety and pointed the gun down.
I threw my hands in the air, jumping in front of the man, shielding him from Malcolm’s insanity. “Oh my God. Stop it. What the hell is wrong with you? He didn’t do anything. He didn’t lie.”
“You said—”
“Fine. I lied,” I interrupted Malcolm, my chest tight, my heart palpitating. “Happy?”
He gave me a knowing grin and put the gun back in his jeans. Then he waved a dismissive hand at Hound. The prospect got to his feet and walked away as if he wasn’t about to die a second ago.
My breaths caught. “Did you just play me?”
“If he’d been lying, he would have been dead. But I knew all along it was you who was. The next time you think about pulling a stunt like that one or lie to me about it, think about what harm you would cause other people.”
Without hesitation, my knee shot up his groin. “Fuck you.”
He doubled back, a groan stuck in his throat. I grabbed the back of his neck and bent his head to my mouth level. “The next time you think about pulling a stunt like that one, think about what harm could be done to you if I told everyone how I really snuck out.” I stalked to his bedroom, pushing off whoever was in my way.
