Page 9 of Merciless

When I walk too close to their table to drop off an order of drinks, Katie gives me the stink eye.

“I heard she gave the janitor a blowjob,” she says with a tight smile. She looks around the table for a reaction.

I clench my jaw and duck my head as I storm across the room.

That’s a bald-faced lie, and she fucking knows it too.

I run straight into a wall and grunt. Hands catch me by the waist and steady me on my feet before I fall on my ass. My head snaps up, and I look into a pair of kind, steel-grey eyes.

“Easy there,” Rome says with a gentle smile.

“Thanks,” I mumble, and step back.

Elijah’s friends cackle like a bunch of hyenas, making me the butt of the joke.

Rome glances at the group before dropping his gaze to my flushed face. He leans down until his lips are beside my ear, and he caresses my arm in a barely there touch.

“They’re wrong, you know,” he murmurs. “About everything.”

The heat in my cheeks burns for an entirely different reason.

He’s kind for saying that, but I want nothing to do with him. Yeah, he’s good to look at. Rome is a great flirt and believable at that. But I don’t want him. I don’t want anyone.

I shove past him and head outside for fresh air. I need to clear my head, and I can’t do that when I’m surrounded by so many people. The weight of Elijah’s stare during the whole interaction with Rome didn’t help. Because he was watching, just like he had been since he ordered.

I push the door open, and it slams shut behind me as I step into the cool spring evening. The sun sits on the horizon. Dusky sunlight smears the heavens with shades of pink, purple, and baby blue. If my head wasn’t such a mess, I would have taken pictures of the sky to add to the collage in my dorm.

If Macie catches me out here, she’ll burst a blood vessel and report me to Patrick.

I roll my eyes and walk further into the back alley. Crates and a large dumpster cower nearby. It’s weird knowing that Derrick’s grandfather owns this bar. This place looks affordable for those who don’t fall into the one percent like the rest of the rich bastards.

Katie’s insults replay in my head.

“Stupid—” I choke on my words as a tall form moves in my periphery. I suck in a breath and turn to the person, my eyes widening.

Elijah’s identical twin lounges against the brick building, a sucker rolling in his mouth and his cruel eyes watching me. The corner of his lip subtly curves into a hidden smirk at my surprise.

It’s hard to tell them apart since they look so much alike, down to their tattoos and hairstyles. The only reason I know it’s Asher is because Elijah is inside with his friends.

Asher rolls the sucker to one side of his mouth, his smirk widening into a grin.

Memories flash in my mind. Ones that involve his brother looking at me just like that, the same irritating but sexy grin, and how his brother’s tongue did wicked things until I saw stars.

I shake away the memory and scowl at him.

He grins.

The back door creaks open, and Elijah steps out. “Are you joining us for the race?” He stops, his gaze swiveling to me, then to his brother. His eyebrow rises. “Am I interrupting something?”

I don’t miss how he addresses Asher and not me. He’s back to ignoring my existence, and for whatever reason, that only irritates me more. Elijah can’t drop the act, then pick up where he left off.

Asher pushes away from the wall and moves closer to me. With each step, he sucks the air out of my lungs and raises the hair on the back of my neck.

Elijah’s focus slides to me and narrows. “Stay away from my brother, birdie, or there’ll be repercussions.”

My eyebrows shoot up my forehead, and I grab my chest. “He’s the one you should warn, not me.” I glare at Asher. “I want nothing to do with either of you.”

I shove past Elijah and head toward the back door. His humorless chuckle follows, sending a chill down my spine. He says something I don’t care to catch, and I won’t ask him to repeat himself.