AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine.” I shrug, sliding my hands down to her ass. “I was really hoping you would fight me,” I tease, gripping her ass.
“Pervert, of course you were,” she scoffs but smiles just as Asher stumbles into the room in search of coffee.
“Grab Blair one,” I tell him, and he waves and grunts but grabs two mugs.
He wanders over a minute later and puts one on the table. Blair slides from my lap to another seat, draping her legs over the corner of the table so her toes rest on my thigh. I grip them as I lean back and watch Asher slowly wake up.
Several minutes pass before Bray comes in, staggering like a zombie before sitting and almost falling from the chair. He steals Blair’s coffee, so I make her another and then end up doing an easy breakfast for them all. Once they have eaten, Blair shoots me a look before diving into what she wants to say. I won’t stop her. They need to know, and I’ve already agreed.
“I already discussed this with Cyrus, but you guys should know as well.” That gets their attention, distracting Bray from trying to steal the last of Asher’s bacon. “I’m going to work today. I’m not hiding anymore. I won’t go alone or be stupid, but I refuse to stop my life for this psychopath. He’s ruined it once; he won’t do it again. We can keep me safe there as well as anywhere else. Plus, it might even bring him out of hiding.”
“So we are using you as bait?” Bray snaps, pissed, getting to his feet.
“A bit, but I’m volunteering—”
“I don’t give a fuck. It’s too dangerous!”
“Yet it’s not for you?” she screams back, and he sits, wide-eyed. He’s never seen her like this. “This is my life, my choice. I’m dealing with my own problems and refusing to hide. I’m letting you help, but do not think that means I’ll let you walk all over me. I refuse to hide, to sit and wait, to be scared all the time, and no one—I mean nobody, not even you—can tell me what the fuck to do, okay? Just because I let you in my pussy and sleep in your arms doesn’t mean you own or control me.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Bray mutters.
“I know,” she replies, sighing. “But I’m tired of being controlled, okay? I was letting you know, not asking for permission, because I care for you and know you would worry. Wherever I am, I’m going to be in danger, so why not just keep on living my life?”
“I don’t like it,” Asher grumbles, “but I understand.”
“Ash!” Bray protests before looking at me. “You can’t agree to this.”
“It’s her life.” I shrug. “She’s right. We can protect her there, and we’ve already agreed on some terms to make it safer for her. But she can’t hide forever, it’s not who she is, you know that.”
“You wouldn’t hide.” She reaches for Bray’s hand. “Don’t ask me to.”
He frowns deeply, staring at the table. His concern for her wars against his love for her, and he wants her to be happy. It’s a new thing for him, to actually care for someone else’s feelings, and he’s clearly struggling with the idea of losing her or her getting hurt. But loving someone means that you love every part of them, even when it scares you. To ask her not to do this would be like asking her to change who she is, and I refuse to do that.
We fell for Blair with her reckless heart, and I won’t alter that to please my own emotions. Just because it was exciting at the beginning doesn’t mean it’s a burden now. She is who she is, and I will love her entirely.
“We can do this; we are Crew,” I remind them. “Blood in, blood out. Family isn’t always blood, but who you are willing to spill blood for.”
Blair smiles and reaches for my hand before taking Bray’s. He sighs as I look around. “We do this like we do everything—together. That’s when we are the strongest. We will stop him because we have to, and then we can carry on with our lives.”
“Together,” Blair echoes.
“Together,” we agree.
“I’m worried,” Bray mutters quietly.
“We all are, but Blair is right, he’ll show eventually, and when he does? We’ll be ready.” I end the argument with that sentence, and I hope I’m fucking right, because for once in my life, I’m worried for someone other than myself.
