Page 147 of Allegiant

My words lack conviction, but I don’t think he notices. There’s no way I’m taking money from Rowan, but it’s sweet that he thinks I will.

He gives me enough just by being at my side.

“Jackson, you’re the youngest, so you’re up,” Wylder says, handing him the dice. Jackson grins slyly, shaking those dice in his fist, slowly, almost sensually. I see the way Dalton watches before glancing away and taking a long sip of his drink.

Then the dice roll, and the game begins.

It’s chaotic as always, money thrown into the pot and that little fucker Harley eyeing my iron like he wants to fuck it.

I want to fuck him up.

Doesn’t help that Cade is whistling nineties tunes and Matthias and Wyatt are looking at one another like they’re plotting something.

I don’t trust any of them.

Rowan, however, keeps me grounded, his cheeks flushed prettily, his ass wiggling in the chair with excitement. He’s getting off on the thrill of it all. It keeps me seated and not lunging across the table at my younger brother.

But the peace is short-lived. There’s a shrill squawk and a chair being thrust back, the room falling silent as we all glance toward the noise.

“You cheated!” Neo gasps, pointing at Matthias, who just stares blankly back at him.

“I never cheat. I’m a lawyer.”

“You’re the worst cheat of them all! And you might have saved my ass once, but still, game night is off the table. That’s the rules.”

“I didn’t fucking cheat,” Matthias bites out, leaving Wylder to sigh loudly. “And if you think I did, prove it. In a court of law. Wyatt will be my lawyer, and you will definitely lose.”

Neo starts to stand up, but Wylder pulls him right back down.

“I don’t want to have to duel. Please. I’m too old and tired,” Wylder says softly.

“But—but—you have to defend my honor,” Neo says with a gasp. “You always do. Your bedtime shouldn’t matter. I’ve been…slandered!”

“If anyone’s been slandered, it’s me.” Matthias adjusts the collar of his shirt. “I never have to stoop to your level.”

“I saw you, you motherfucker. You cheated.”

The two of them start to bicker back and forth, Rowan leaning into me and whispering, “Would there really be a duel?”

“Yes. There are guns and everything. Though I’d prefer a knife fight over those old things.”

He claps his hands in excitement. “Do they need a second? I could totally be a second in a knife fight.”

“No one is dueling,” I grunt and then place my hand on the back of his neck, feeling the excited thrum of his pulse under my thumb.

I bet he could win, too. The thought of him showing off for my brothers makes me fucking excited, my cock perking up beneath the table.

But I don’t have time to envision this in my mind.

Because, amid the chaos, Harley lunges forward, the entire table inching toward me as he falls onto it. My hand leaves Rowan as I try to reach for my iron, money scattering this way and that, floating through the air. But Harley’s too fast, too focused. He scoops the piece up with a thunderous roar.

“You fucker,” I shout. “You’ll die!”

I jump onto the table, my knife drawn as Harley pushes the small metal piece into his mouth with a wide grin.

I see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows, and that’s when my control totally snaps.

I dive toward him, the table screeching under my weight. Jackson jumps and lands on Dalton’s lap with a laugh.