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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
*Coty “Coyote” - Vice President*
Kio had one job, and no one was at the door when I came in. What pisses me off even more is seeing him come out of my goddamn bedroom with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist. “What. The. Fuck?” I chastise.
His eyes dart down to my feet for some reason, checking who knows what. “Was taking care of a few things higher on the list of priorities,” he responds, waving over his shoulder, indicating for me to follow him into the living room.
He changes the TV input to our security footage, tracks back to when Vee walked in, tosses the controller into my lap, and walks away back into my bedroom.
Just who does he think he is? I know perfectly damn well Lace is in there, and this tool has the audacity to expect me to eat goddamn popcorn or some shit while he goes in there and fucks around with my girl. Focus blackening at the edges, I toss the controller onto the coffee table, and it lands against the wood with a clank loud enough to resonate through the entire condo. I shove off the couch, but the corner video replay of Vee entering the bedroom and closing himself inside, body bowed up like an animal on the hunt, freezes me on the spot.
Only for a second, though. In the next, my angry prowl turns into a dash, directed toward a different target. Towel now swapped for shorts and wet hair twisted low at his neck, Kio meets me in the doorway and leans side to side, matching my motions to block my view. When I puff my chest and stomp forward, his hands shove me backward. “Back down. You need to see all of the recording.”
My teeth gnash together as I spin on my heels, stride back to the couch, and plonk back down. I try to watch the video, I really do, but my mind keeps painting a picture of what Vee might have done to her. He was in a really fucked up headspace when leaving the location. Bile curdles in my stomach.
Kio slaps me upside the head, and my attention jerks back to the screen. He starts fast forwarding and selectively choosing different camera angles, beginning from when Lace rushed out of the bedroom, blood streaked, to the lot when she wears herself down washing the Ape, and back inside until the moment her and Kio disappear into the room again.
“Lace is freshening up,” he explains, using the terminology she does in an attempt to calm me down. He then goes on to explain what she said about wanting Vee to wake up and at least be able to pretend for a moment that tonight played out differently than it actually had.
My head flumps against the back of the couch, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight. “This is a terrible idea. Kal needs to renege. We do what we do so innocents like her can live happy, drama-free lives. One initiate a fucking rally. The rule was legit; it worked — kept her both close enough and removed enough to protect her.”
Yeah, I get that the restrictive rule benefited me more than any of the other club members, but it benefited her even more.
His silence has me peeking an eye open. For a moment longer, he pierces me accusingly with those black, serious eyes. But then his harsh expression slackens as a morose realization comes over him: “She cares, Coyote…” He steals a glance toward the bedroom. “…and that is the most dangerous part of all,” Kio finishes under his breath.
“Yeah…” And our club? We all want to be broken, just so she will fix us. Lace is the only light in our dark existence. That imminent danger goes both ways.
“The addendum is only supposed to last until Sunday, right?” he asks, lowering his voice even more.
Kal is an excellent wordsmith. For that reason, I paid close attention to what he said when he made the announcement. “The length was indeterminable,” I answer.
“Shit,” Kio breathes out. “Vee might be waking up tomorrow to the momentary illusion that his assignment never happened, but Lace will wake up every day this rally season assuming her role ends on Sunday.”
So caught up in the bold logistics, I never once considered the potential result of that indeterminable amount of time. Lace very well may be coming back to Georgia with us. Whether she likes it or not.
The hairs on my arms stand on end and my cock tics. Maybe sharing her will have its advantages after all.
As for tonight, as commendable as her actions were, she needs to be asleep when the guys get here with Baylor. Kio and Chaz need to turn a blind eye, too.
