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He would realize it soon enough. See all the ugliest parts of me I didn’t bother to hide. He’d see them and that’s when he’d go running. And I wouldn’t stop him. Though there was something inside me that hoped I was wrong.
58
She was somewhere else, even when she was in the same bed with me. In a much different way than when she was suffering from one of her episodes. This was much more intentional.
Dani was distancing herself, closing off her emotions while doing her best to keep me at arm’s length. I’d always been good at reading people. It came with the job, with working in a nightclub where you were surrounded by hundreds of drunk idiots at any given time. You had to know how to feel out the room, tell who was on the verge of going nuclear, who was one shot away from throwing a fist, who was too far gone to go home alone—or with one of the predators just waiting to pounce as soon as someone tried.
But when it came to reading Dani, I wasn’t just good. I was close to expert level. More acquainted with her mood swings than I was with the birthmark on the left side of my dick. And I’d been staring at that fucker since I was old enough to piss standing up.
It had to be that way. I didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t like the woman was gonna tell me what she was thinking. Nope, thatwas the last thing my girl wanted to do. And I didn’t mind the challenge. If anything, some deranged part of me liked it. Liked her fight. Her resistance. The chase. How her mouth could insist she didn’t want me at the same time her body was begging for it. For me.
Yeah, I could live with her hate. Because that shit was so close to love it was borderline amusing. Because it meant she felt something. But this… coldness? Indifference? Itfucking hurt. Worse than the jab to my balls she offered me when I tried to tug her back over to my side of the bed.
We were fighting. One of us was fighting? Though I couldn’t tell you what the fuck it was about. Just that my girlfriend was veryunimpressedwith me at the moment.
I finally willed myself to sleep, only to wake to the sound of harsh murmuring, the words inaudible but the intent clear. I didn’t have to look next to me to know that Dani wouldn’t be there. The near-shouting disguised as whispers coming from outside the motel room door clued me in as to where I’d find her.
I rubbed a palm against my eye, trying to alleviate some of the pressure building in my head before forcing my feet to the ground. So that I could cross the room and peer out the window to see what the fuck was going on. Sure enough, baby girl was throwing her arms around wildly—which was better than throwing fists—as she argued with someone in front of her. Someone very familiar.
I tapped on the glass, my quirked brow asking what my mouth didn’t. Dani and Zeke blew back into the room, bringing a shitstorm of tension with 'em. Instead of telling me what the fuck was going on between my best friend and my girl, Zeke shoved his phone into my face, a picture of his baby sister hogging up most of the screen.
“They got to her,” he hissed. And it took a minute for the words to sink in and their meaning to land like a punch to myalready tender gut. “That’s why she hasn’t been answering our calls. They have her, Mac. They’ve been shootin’ her up with God knows what and they’re refusin’ to let her go unless we give 'em something in return.”
“We don’t have nothin’. What the fuck more could they possibly want?” If my brain were working on anything more than three hours of sleep and half the number of brain cells, I wouldn’t have asked such a stupid question. But that shit was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“What the fuck do you think they want?” he ground out between clenched teeth, one arm flailing out towards Dani while the other snatched his phone outta my hands. “They want a fucking one-for-one exchange. Your girl for my sister.”
“Ain’t happening.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my glare more pointed than I’d normally aim it at my best friend. “There has to be another way.”
“Another way? Are you listening to yourself right now? This is Annie I’m talkin’ about. For fuck’s sake, you’re the one always claiming she’s like a sister to you.Family.And you’re willing to put her life in jeopardy for some girl ya hardly know? Is the pussy really that good it knocked the sense outta ya?”
Wish I could say I thought about it. But I didn’t. My arm was reaching out and slamming Zeke against the closest wall, one palm pressed up under his chin and squeezing while my free hand was pulled back and ready to strike. Long before any thought crossed my mind.
“Watch your fuckin’ mouth. Ya don’t wanna go there,brother.” I could feel Dani on my shoulder, but I refused to loosen my grip until I was sure Zeke got his head on straight. “All I’m sayin’ is that we take a minute to sit the fuck down and talk this out. Come up with a plan that doesn’t involve using someone as bait for a sick bastard like Benny fucking Mulligan.”
The fucker shoved at my chest, and I let him, before he positioned himself on the other side of the room. “Yeah, I think we’ve done enough talkin’ already. And I’ve heard everything you’ve said loud and fuckin’ clear. You stay here and get your cock wet. I got this one. Don’t you worry 'bout me,brother.” Zeke didn’t wait for a response as he shoved his way past Dani, one hand yanking the door open then quickly slamming it shut behind him.
59
“You can’t go in there all half-cocked, MacCullagh,” I grunted as a slow grin curled his lips. This plan was shot to hell and back if I didn’t get the smug son of a bitch under control.
“Fully cocked. Got it. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
At the same time, trying to control Connor could be like trying to rein in the sun with a piece of rope and a whole lotta patience. And right now, I didn’t have either.
“I’m being fuckin’ serious.” I returned my glare to the mess of metal pipes and wires in front of me, piecing together my last bomb for the night. “One wrong move, one fuckin’ slip of a finger and your ass will be blowing us all to bits. And I don’t know about you, but I like my bits still attached to my body and not spread out all over the sidewalk.” I could feel Connor’s hands coming up behind me to grab my waist. I quickly shucked them off.
“And what about Annie?” he asked with way more optimism than was good for a person to possess at any given time.
“Not my problem. Your friend was more than fucking happy to shove an apple in my mouth and hand me over on a silverplatter, like he was serving Benny Easter fuckin’ roast.” All the yapping was getting on my last nerve. I needed to focus, to keep the migraine at bay and to stay in the present. Or we were all more fucked than a hooker standing out on MLK Blvd.
“She’s his fuckin’ sister?—”
“Yup, and not fuckin’ mine. The girl’s nothin’ to me.”
“But she’s somethin’ to me. Which I hoped was enough to make her somethin’ to you too.”
“Well, hope is a son of a bitch, ain’t he?” I ground out between clenched teeth as I turned the last bolt clockwise and accidentally stripped the nut, cursing under my breath before I tossed the driver to the other side of the room. And watched it embed in the thin layer of drywall. “Get out!”
