I never saw him again after that, but seeing him now, my stomach twists. He looks awful. It’s been nine years, but he seems decades older. His face is bright red. His stomach protrudes a little, and he’s balding, but he still gives me the creeps. I shift closer to Stone. His warmth draws me in. In the same way, his touch had earlier. I wanted to lean on him.
When Keith starts slurring, adjusting himself in his pants, my stomach rolls in disgust. His fly is not fully zipped, and his shirt hangs out. A wet stain stains his crotch.
“Saw a hot piece in gold,” Keith mutters, before looking around, burping. “You wouldn’t happen to know who she is? Reminds me of this one girl in high school. She was a virgin.” He grips his cock and sneers lewdly. “Mousy thing, but god, was it great popping her cherry.”
My mouth drops open, and I absently note the horrified gasps from the women near me. “Who is this douche?” Jacqueline barks, while Ben shouts, “What the fuck?”
A woman in gold? Oh god, he’s talking about Sophia. Is Keith the man who took her virginity as a bet? Is he the one who hurt her? My heart breaks. I scream when Jace starts beating Keith into the ground. I’ve never seen him so angry. The rage on his face is scary, but I want to join Jace. Beat his ass to the ground for hurting Sophia.
“You fucking bastard! Don’t you every fucking mention her again! I’m going to kill you!” Jace bellows, pummeling Keith’s face over and over.
Sloane and Silas pull him off Keith’s immobile body. I cover my mouth with my hand, wondering if he’s dead; his features are not recognizable. When Stone helps Keith to his feet, I blink at his expression. Stone’s eyes are fixed on the man. He looks like a maniac, grinning evilly. There’s something even scarier about him than Jace. I watch as he drags Keith out of the room and through the front door. I stand and follow him. When I get tothe front door, I step out to see Stone standing with his foot on Keith’s neck. The twilight casts shadows on Stone’s face, making his form look even more sinister. He bends down near Keith’s face. His hand is wrapped tightly around Keith’s neck. I can’t hear all of what he says, but the words that do filter across the cobblestone driveway send a chill down my spine.
“-kill you—I might enjoy cutting out your—My wall could use another trophy.”
What the hell? Kill you? Trophy? I must make a sound because Stone’s head whips around, and he stares at me in the doorway. His eyes are black, and he looks animalistic as he crouches over a cowering Keith. I’m transported back to the day when I was 17, and saw Sir Thomas Lawrence,Satan summoning his Legionshanging at the Royal Academy of the Arts.
“Go inside.”
“But I—,” I protest, wanting to go to him, but also run for my life, because there is something unholy about him right now.
“Now, Camryn.”
The words are like a slap. Hard and unrelenting. I back away from the look on Stone’s face. The certainty that this man is something I don’t recognize. Something that scares me. I close the door and, as if in a trance, head back to the living room. Afraid and feeling like I’m in a dream. Stopping short, I spot Jace holding a towel around his hand as Silas and Dru talk to him. All my new friends are sitting on the many chairs in Jace’s massive living room. They all look as shell-shocked as I feel. I pull Stone’s jacket closer around my body, breathing in the sweet tobacco scent, wanting his strong presence near me, but that look in his eyes is not something I know what to do with. The way he touched my face earlier, I wanted his kiss. I wanted his rough hands all over me. But seeing him that way with Keith, I’m not so sure who he is.
I sit down, lost in thought. When Stone steps back inside, I watch him stalk toward me. And he sits next to me, his body warm, and that sexy scent of his reaching my nose, all the horns and bells and whistles in my brain warning me away from him, go silent, and. Instead, my body reacts, goosebumps erupt all over my skin. A heaviness settles in my lower region, and I want to crawl into his lap.
“Where’s Keith?”
He turns to me, and I can see the stubble on his chin, the gray hairs in his temple. His dark brown eyes bore into mine and I get lost in their depths. He watches me and growls near my ear. “Why do you care? Did seeing his broken body worry you?”
The thick scar that travels from the middle of his forehead, over his eye, and down to just under his chin is jarring, but it doesn’t take away from how attractive he is.
“No. I wasn’t worried about Keith Barclay. I was worried about you.”
The moment I say it, his eyes shut down, and the heated look he gave me earlier turns cold, like ash. “That’s a mistake.”
“It is? Why?”
“Because worrying about me is a waste of time. I’m the one who causes the pain.”
He stands up and heads back outside, leaving before I can return his jacket. Now I have two things that belong to him.
Chapter 13
December
“Three guards. Heavily armed with tactical weapons. Semi automatics and some hand guns.”
“Roger that,” I mouth clearly, quietly in the mic clipped to the collar of my black shirt. I adjust the earpiece when he continues. I adjust the goggles on my face, equipped with facial recognition and voice activation. Designed by Riggs, it has proven particularly useful when I’m conducting reconnaissance. They look like a pair of thick black glasses. The man is a genius with technology, next to the other Legion members, Ansel and Linc, who are set up in Canada, helping to locate a branch of the Mestizos there. Ansel and Linc are brothers who joined right after I got out of prison. Riggs swears the brothers are undercover FBI, but in the seven years they’ve been loyal. Easton and Scout are best friends and joined together. “Three are in the front cab. Possibility of hidden guards in the sleeper cabin. Two are stationed inside the trailer.”
I memorize the information, mentally checking my ammunition in case things go sideways. Scout, Easton, andCade, three of the other Legion Lord Members still loyal to Riggs, are all in position. Ansel and Lincoln are back at the club, keeping an eye out in case this is a diversion.
Scout’s voice comes over the channel. “Ten minutes out.”
“Ready.” Cade’s deep voice echoes, followed by Easton’s, then Onyx’s.
I remove my Sauer, flicking off the safety.
