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“You were just waiting to use this as ammo?”
“Ammo for what, Maddoc?”
Royce flips open the top and starts rummaging, brows furrowed.
“Everything is in here, Maddoc. Birth certificates, hospital records, staffing reports.” He looks to me, but the anger is gone and something I can’t read covers his eyes instead.
Captain and Royce rush from the room with the binder, but Maddoc only stares.
When I start to walk away, he darts to the side to block me.
His eyes burn with an intensity I’ve never seen. I take a few steps back.
“You have had that this entire time and didn’t say anything.”
“I wasn’t sure I should.”
“No.” He creeps closer, shaking his head. “You’ve had that, all our fucked-up secrets, our fucked-up pasts and problems in your hands and you didn’t say anything.”
I can’t argue, it’s true. I should have given it to them the day I got it, yet here we are.
“You didn’t blackmail. You didn’t expose.” His chest is touching mine now. He tilts my head back with a knuckle under my chin. “You held on to it. Why?”
“Nothing in there is anyone else’s business.” My eyes shift between his when he pulls his lips between his teeth. “It’s your lives.”
He tilts his head, his thumb lifting to brush across my bottom lip. His voice is so low I almost don’t hear it.
“Why you always protecting us?” he breathes.
I inhale a choppy breath, shaking my head lightly. I whisper back, “I don’t know.”
He drops his hand and steps back. “I believe you.”
With that, he goes to meet his brothers.
And I stand there, wondering what the hell I’m doing here.
I head for my room.
Pulling the blanket from the bed, I grab my stash from the drawer and drop in the recliner in front of the window. I unlock it and push it open.
I put the joint to my lips and light the tip, puffing lightly as I spin it in my fingers to get a good burn going.
I run over to my door and flip off the light, the moon giving me more than enough light to be comfortable. I plop into the chair again and close my eyes, letting the early December breeze wash over my face as I take a hit.
The joint’s half gone when my door swings open and Royce steps inside.
“Told you no drugs in the house.”
“It’s an herb. And technically it’s legal so, not necessarily a drug.”
He scoffs and moves to sit across from me.
He stares at me a moment too long so I pass the goods and after a second of hesitation, he grabs it and takes a hit.
We sit like that, in the semi-dark, smoking weed, without saying another word.
When it’s too small to grip with our fingers, he puts it out in the soda can we’ve been ashing in.
He steps in front of me and I offer a small smile.
He nods his head, drops down to kiss my hair and walks out.
I watch him go and the second his feet pass the door frame, Captain steps into the doorway. He looks the way Royce disappeared and back to me.
He stares just the same.
“Night, Cap,” I call out, giving him the okay to not say a word. It’s not necessary.
When Cap looks behind him, I know who is coming next.
Captain steps into his room but leaves his door open and Maddoc steps toward mine. He stops to lean on the frame.
He glares at the soda can.
“Come here,” I tell him, and his eyes snap up. “Shut the door.”
He’s slow to move but does as he was told, even doing one better when he bends to scoop me from the chair and deposits me on the bed.
He climbs up, nudging my legs apart so he can rest his between mine, his hands planted near my head to hold him above me.
His eyes are more forest green than jade as he stares down at me.
“Talk,” he demands softly.
“I don’t want to talk, big man.” I run my hands up his biceps, over his shoulders, and into his hair. “I want your mouth on mine. Now.”
A deep rumble makes its way up his throat and his hips lower to meet mine.
When I take a deep breath, the corner of his eyes tighten, and his elbows bend, bringing him closer. He runs his lips across my jaw until he reaches my ear.
“Ask nicely, Raven.”
A chuckle escapes me.
I yank his hair making him growl, bringing his scowl to me. “You’ve got a lot to learn.” I plant my feet flat on the mattress and grind my hips up into him, loving the way his eyes darken by the second. “There’s nothing nice and sweet about me. If you won’t give it...” I whisper, forcing my eyes not to roll back when I swirl my hips against him. I lift my chin. “I’ll just take it.”
