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“Where. Is. He? You fuckinglet him go. Don’t you understand the kind of monster he is? Fuck, he could be plotting our deaths as we speak.” He growls at me, acting like I’m unaware of the demons lurking inside of Greyson.
I’m fully aware of them, they’re what make him who he is.
“Don’t act like you’re holier than thou, Zep. Didn’t you just mention that you beat the shit out of a man in order for him to become a message? Didn’t you shoot Greyson and leave him to bleed out in a condemned house? Do you want me to go on?” I fold my arms over my chest and pop my hip.
“Don’t compare me to that asshole. I’m still waiting. Where is he?”
“Zep, take a step back. Let’s listen to her. Yelling while we’re all mad anyway is not going to get us very far.” Lya tries to push Zep back, but he’s not budging. I’m not even sure he’s really listening to her. He looks scary as fuck right now with his chest heaving up and down, but he won’t do anything to me—I know that at least.
“I know that you all have a bad history with Greyson, but please, just listen to me for once. Give me a chance before you rip my head off.” I gulp, trying to gather my confidence. They all stand in a semicircle around me with looks of disdain, anger, concern, and fury. Everything they’re feeling is being projected onto me and I’m starting to feel itchy and anxious.
I take a deep breath. “Look, Greyson isn’t a stand-up guy. I know that and you know that. He’s done the worst of the worst. He’s been the devil himself and I’m not justifying that. What I’m trying to explain to you all is what it feels like to have your heart ripped from your chest, replaced in tiny shards, and then ripped back out again over and over.” My voice is soft, and a single tear slides down my cheek.
“I ached for my sister every day I was gone. I was desperate for normalcy. I wished for the pain to go away. When you guys got me away from there, I was so relieved, but it still felt like part of me was missing. Something was wrong and I didn’t know what it was.”
They give nothing away as they stand there like statues, only blinking to let me know they’re not made of stone.
“When Greyson first showed up, I was pissed. I’d spent so many years hating his guts. Being angry that he betrayed me, that he let me go without fighting for me, that he even put me in that position in the first place. But the more time we spent together, the more the chaos in my mind began to settle. All of the noise weaving through my mind was silenced. He was the only sound I could hear, the one guiding me to find myself again.” My heart is beating rapidly as I try to explain.
“Greyson makes me feel alive. He’s allowed me to break down to my weakest points so I can build myself up again. I feel stronger, more confident, like I’m becoming the woman I want to be. I love him—and if you guys can’t accept that, then I don’t know if I can be here any longer.”
It wasn’t my plan to give them an ultimatum. I genuinely could never leave my sister again, but I want them to understand how much he means to me.
“Lainey…” Lya looks like I just stabbed her in the heart.
“No, Lya. I love you so much, but I love him too. You guys will never be able to keep us apart. We’ll always fight for each other. So no matter how hard you try, I’ll keep pushing back. But please don’t make me choose between you two. You’re the other half of my soul, but he’s the other half of my heart.”
Before Lya can reply, an angry voice grabs my attention. “Zep’s right. He’s a monster. He’ll always be a monster. No matter how in love youthinkyou are with him, you don’t truly know his demons like we do. We need to know where he is right now.”
Rian’s voice cuts me to my core. Looks like his tenderness from earlier has officially disappeared. I just poured my heart out, leaving myself vulnerable, and this is the first thing he says. He didn’t even listen to what I was saying before opening his mouth.
And I know Greyson’s demons better than they ever could. With that thought, I can’t compose myself any longer. I stalk over to Rian, balling my hand into a fist. Rearing it back, I punch him as hard as I can across the jaw. “Fuck!” Rian and I both shout at the same time. My hand is aching so hard, burning with pain. Shit, that’s going to be bruised badly, if it’s not broken.Motherfucker.
It hurt like a bitch, but a sick smile crosses my face at how good it felt to put him in his place. I hear a soft snicker coming from Thiago, making me feel like he’s proud of me for standing my ground.
“What the fuck was that for?” Rian brings his hand up, clasping his jaw with his palm. I can see a red mark, making me grin like a maniac even more.
“That’s what you get for being a sick bastard and using Greyson’s past against him. How could you do that—use knives on him like that? Do you understand what he’s been through? How would you feel if someone made you relive your worst nightmare over and over again? You deserved it, you jackass.” My breath comes out in pants as I come down from the adrenaline rush, but I puff out my chest and stand my ground in front of him.
Rian’s eyes narrow at me. “Seriously, you’re still defending him, after everything you know? You’re dumber than I thought.”
I’m getting ready to wind my fist back for a second shot at his bitch ass face, but before I can even respond, I hear footsteps coming from behind me, and I’m suddenly tugged back behind a large frame.
Greyson stands in front of me, trying to put a shield between me and Rian. If looks could kill, he’d be dead on the floor right now. He has to be hard of hearing, because this was not what we agreed on. I could wring his neck right now, but the other part of me wants to wrap my arms around him and pounce on him for wanting to protect me.
Each of Lya’s guys have now shifted closer to her, trying to shield her from Greyson. The egos in this room are suffocating. They're each in a fighting stance, looking like they’re going to war at any minute.
“Talk to her like that one more time, dickwad, and see what happens,” Greyson spits out at Rian.
Well shit, here we go.It’s two against four, and the odds aren’t looking great for us.
That’s my girl.Lainey is strong as fuck and doesn’t take any shit. Honestly, it was so satisfying watching her punch Rian in the face. Now’s not the time to be hard, but damn, that was hot. Too bad it couldn’t have been me punching him, but I’m proud of my girl for standing up for me.
I know it’s dumb, but I just can’t stand here in my hiding place and listen to him fucking raise his voice at her any longer. Enough is enough.
Stepping out, I see the guys’ eyes shift in my direction and all three of them immediately take a protective stance near Lya. Thiago positions himself in the middle of Lya and Lainey, as if he’s trying to protect both.
Interesting.
