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His lips pressing against mine tasted like copper, but it stopped my questions until he pulled back. Jayce pressed his forehead to mine with a soft exhalation of breath. “Marcus Holden took me off the streets because he knew he could use me. The people in this house stood by while he hurt me, while he hurt other people. They stood by while he was going to hurt you.” His blue eyes were blazing as he searched my face. “I don’t want to know them. I want to know you.”
Chapter 20
Jayce
“Rhys, what the fuck are you still doing here?”
I wanted to get away from the house as soon as possible, and I half led, half dragged Clay out the back door. It wasn’t for the reason it should have been — Clay had been quiet since I’d killed Marcus Holden in front of him. I couldn’t imagine the violence had bothered him. I’d seen him do worse to someone with the butt of a pistol.
But there was still so much unspoken between us — I couldn’t really say I didn’t have questions. And… well, even though nothing had actually happened to him, the threat of it had been there, and it had been there because I let Nick walk out of the room with him.
Let was a strong word, since Clay had done it of his own free will, but still.
I would have loved you.
It would have been enough.
Why did I feel like every moment of my life had led me to this point, and no matter what I’d done, no matter who I’d been in the past, it was always going to be this? It was always going to be him.
It was always going to be Clay.
Things were dangerous. Things had been set into motion that I couldn’t undo.
We needed to get somewhere safe. I needed to do more than just wrap his wounds with what I found lying around Marcus’ house.
And we needed to talk.
Rhys’ voice pulled me out of my swirling thoughts, his green eyes sharp and just a little paranoid as he glanced behind us. “Something told me you were going to set the world on fire. I thought you might enjoy a getaway car when you were through.”
Clay’s eyes flicked between the smaller man and myself, and he frowned. “He was outside the bed and breakfast.”
“Yeah, he’s the one who brought me here.” It was weird, seeing Clay glancing down at Rhys — he wasn’t small, but he only hit 5’10” because his boots had a slight heel, and his green eyes and freckles always did make him look friendly.
You wouldn’t guess that he was an expert at gutting someone while keeping them alive at a glance — I only knew because I’d seen him do it.
“We can worry about how you think you know me later. For now,” he got back into the car, and I followed him without question. Clay hesitated for less than a second before catching my wrist and pulling me into the back seat with him.
I didn’t miss Rhys’ smirk from the rearview mirror, but he didn’t say anything as I wrapped my arm around Clay, either.
“Do you have a medical kit?”
“Not in these pants,” Rhys frowned. “Do we need to stop somewhere? Did you get hurt, Jayce?”
“I’m fine, it’s just —”
“Take me back to my apartment. I have stuff there. If we're running for real this time, I need some things.” Clay’s words weren’t a question, they were a demand.
I could have told him it wasn’t safe, but there was a steely look in his eyes. That, and I had a feeling he probably did have a few things that would be useful. If he had more of that medication that made my wounds heal overnight, I wasn’t going to say no to him using it on himself.
“You know they know where he lives, right? Marcus might…” Rhys trailed off at the sharp cut of my eyes, and his lips parted slightly. “You really did it, didn’t you?”
“He didn’t leave me much of a choice.”
He laughed, a warm sound that poured through the car and made me feel, for just a second, like everyone I’d grown up with wasn’t completely out of reach. “Fuck, good for you. Guess I’m going to have to find a new job.” He didn’t sound upset about it — in fact, I could see the gratitude pouring off him in waves. I’d always wondered what a man like Rhys was doing working for a man like Marcus Holden, but I’d never asked. I wasn’t going to start now, not when Clay’s head dropped over on my shoulder and I felt the small tremble that pulsed through his body.
“Are you okay?”
“Just… tired.” He muttered the words softly, and then glanced up at me through his curls. “There’s a lot we have to figure out.”
