Page 17 of Break Me

Usually, this is the part of the night I enjoy. Tonight, every laugh feels too loud. Every conversation drifts past without sticking. My attention keeps snagging on the same thing.

Raven.

The way she smiled at dinner.

The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she caught me looking.

After ten minutes of pretending I'm paying attention, I've had enough.

Beer still half full, I set it on the nearest table and head for the hallway behind the main room. The narrow stretch where the sleeping quarters sit.

There’s a line of battered doors on either side, some open, some cracked, some bolted shut. My room’s at the end. It’s the same one Jon assigned to me when I was a new prospect. Four walls. A bed. A dresser older than I am, and a tiny bathroom with a door that sticks.

It’s bare bones. Functional. It’s all I need or all I’m supposed to need. Tonight it feels a hell of a lot smaller than usual.

Shutting the door behind me, I lean my head against it as I breathe out slowly. Raven's smile flashes behind my eyes. The way she slipped out of the clubhouse without anyone noticing. The way she tasted when I kissed her against the wall. The way she whispered my name and made me forget every reason this was a bad idea.

But Knox’s voice cuts in. “She’s my baby sister, Wolf. I trust you with her life.”

I scrub a hand over my face and pace the room. I shouldn’t be doing this. I know better. I’ve always known better.

But the truth is ugly and simple. When I’m with Raven, none of that shit matters.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, and stare at the cracked concrete floor. My knuckles throb, and my ribs burn from last night. The bruises run deep. But the pain isn’t what gets me.

It's her.

Her fingers tracing my tattoos like she's reading a map only she understands.

Her laugh.

Her stubborn streak.

The way she looks at me like I hung the damn moon.

She's nineteen.

I'm twenty-four.

And I've already ruined myself for anyone else.

A knock hits my door. I straighten instantly. “Yeah?”

Mouse sticks his head in. “Knox wants us in the office in ten.”

My spine goes rigid. “Did something happen?”

He nods, jaw tight. “Yeah. Last night’s mess didn’t end where we thought.”

Before I can say more, he’s already backing out and closing the door. I sit there a moment before I grab my cut off the chair and shrug it on.

My phone’s still in my hand. A message from earlier glows on the screen.

Raven: Are you sure you’re okay?

The corner of my mouth lifts, despite everything.

Before I talk myself into replying, I lock the screen and shove my phone into my pocket. Club business. That’s where my head needs to be right now.