If I thought the man was pale before, it’s nothing compared to now. “I, I...”
“Yes, we acknowledge you were only thinking about yourself,” Reid drawls before applying more pressure, snapping a couple of fingers to go along with the broken wrist. “And for some reason, you thought it’d be a smart idea to make snide comments about the lovely lady minding her own business while surrounded by men that could eviscerate you before you made it to the door.”
“Reid.” Slade’s warning falls on deaf ears, my twin merely tightening his grip.
“So tell me.” Twisting in his chair, Reid pulls the sniveling man in close to whisper, “Would you care to repeat yourself? A little louder this time, to make sure everyone hears you admit that you couldn’t get a woman to spend time with you unless you paid her?”
“N- No,” the man whimpers, the stench of sweat and fear making my nose wrinkle.
After a lengthy pause, my twin releases him with a scoff. “Get the fuck out of here.”
When he’s managed to stumble a few steps away, every table openly staring our way now, Sabrina sighs. “We should leave before he calls the cops.”
“No.” We all turn to look at Reid with varying looks of concern, unprepared for how to deal with this side of him. “Order yourself some dessert or another drink. I’ll deal with it, so no need to stress.”
Sabrina doesn’t peel her gaze away from him as he rises to his feet, but settles a hand on top of mine on her thigh under the table. So much goes unsaid with that small gesture, and with Slade sacrificing his claim as our alpha, I’m left turning to fucking Damian for direction, instinct driving the impulse. He scans the faces around the table once, twice, before flagging down our waiter to ask for the check.
“We should get back on the road if we want to get to our next stop before dark,” he declares with authority, confident despite his current status as everyone’s least favorite person. “We can discuss things more in depth at the hotel and decide as a group if we’re doing this or not.” Withdrawing his wallet and rising to his feet, he tosses a stack of twenties on the table, ignoring the disdain lobbed his way from multiple directions.
Having enough of all of the posturing, Sabrina, snorts. “Screw the hotel. We’re going to have to camp tonight so you guys can go for a run before we start killing each other.”
Chapter 6
Boden
––––––––
“What’s this?” Takingthe paper Slade passes me, I lean against the nearest tree to scan it over.
“A list, I know how you love them.” Though his tone is flippant, there’s an undercurrent of irritation that I pick up on instantly.
Lowering the page, I level him with an unamused stare. “A list of every way I’ve fucked up?”
He flicks the back of the paper. “Of every waywefucked up, and proposed solutions to rectifying the situation.”
Looking it over in depth, my annoyance fades away in favor of genuine discomfort that makes my stomach flip. He’s... not wrong. Half of the things on here I was already well-aware of, and most stem from uswantingto spoil and take care of her, but Sabrina not letting us. The real kick to the teeth is at the bottom of the page, the elegant scrawl of his handwriting somehow making the words more condescending, and I know damn well he saved the worst for last on purpose.
