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That’s what the fire is. That’s what Riley brims over with. And that’s what I’m drawn to, like a moth to a flame.
It’s probably also why my brothers… well, let’s just say they’re reacting to her too.
My grin turns into a smirk. Maddoc isstillreacting, judging by the look on his face. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him so affected.
His hard stare turns into a glower as Logan comes down the stairs a minute later—alone this time and clearly pissed the fuck off, no surprise there.
“You got something to get off your chest?” Maddoc asks, blocking his way when it looks like Logan’s gonna try to keep it all bottled up inside like he usually does and storm straight out the door now that he’s done his duty.
Logan gives Madd a chilling look that lesser men have literally shit themselves over. Usually right before Logan ended them.
But Maddoc doesn’t even blink.
They have a tense, silent standoff, and Logan breaks first. Not because he’s weak, but because sometimes he needs Madd to break him. Something I’ll never say out loud, obviously. But I mean, shit, if Logan didn’t have the two of us in his life—people who know him well enough that we understand when to leave him the fuck alone so he can stew in his ever-present rage, versus when he’s better off getting shit off his chest—he’d probably snap and go nuclear at some point.
And sure enough…
“I can’t fucking believe you agreed to this,” Logan spits out after about two seconds of stewing.
Maddoc doesn’t respond other than with a raised brow, and Logan’s body goes so still he’s practically vibrating as he stares Madd down.
I try really fucking hard not to laugh.
Okay, I don’t try that hard.
Or at all.
Neither one of them breaks their stare-off to give me shit about it, so I gather Riley’s clothes against my chest and lean against the door jamb to watch the rest of the showdown.
Maddoc is as immovable as a mountain, and Logan’s still vibrating. Where some guys rage out, Logan always ragesin. Seeing it in action always makes me think it’s a goddamn miracle his bones don’t crack from the constant tension. It’s entertaining as fuck, though, especially when he goes head to head with Maddoc.
“That it?” Maddoc asks him, calmly enough to spark the tinder.
“Why is she even here?” Logan demands, his hands curling into tight fists. “What the fuck is in it for us by taking that risk?”
Maddoc wouldn’t take being questioned like that from anyone else, and Logan would sooner suck broken glass than disrespect him in public like that. But here? In this house, Maddoc is still our leader, but he’s also our best friend. Our brother.
“You know why she’s here,” Maddoc finally answers, before Logan’s head can explode from the pressure he never seems to have a good relief valve for. “Whatever actually happened with her sister, West Point was involved. And that means—”
“It means what?” Logan interrupts in a low voice. “That we get to fuck with them a little?” He scoffs. “At best, it’s a waste of fucking time. At worst, we’re playing right into their hands. What we should be dealing with is the way they’ve been invading our territory and undercutting our business. We’re going to let them get away with that while we spin our wheels over some useless girl?”
Maddoc’s eyes go hard. “You know we’re not.”
“But that’s my fucking point,” Logan shoots back. “We’ve got serious issues to deal with. Reaper issues. What the fuck do we care about what happens to the sister? She doesn’t fucking matter.”
“She does to Riley,” I throw in, not quite sure why I’m speaking up.
Logan turns those icy blue death rays of his on me. “So?Rileydoesn’t matter either,” he says coldly.
I’ve got no comeback, because he’s right. He’s also really fucking predictable since, from what I’ve seen, he’s never gonna consider anything female worthy of mattering.
And he’s sure as shit not gonna trust one.
Of course, none of us actually trust Riley—or anyone besides each other—but for some reason, it still makes me bristle to hear Logan say that shit about her not mattering. The reason, no doubt, being that my dick still remembers how perfect it felt to be balls deep inside her… which is no good reason at all.
I push away from the wall. Enough entertainment. It’s time I got busy doing what Maddoc told me to and making sure Riley’s clothes are clean.
But Logan doesn’t get out of my way, so I guess the fun’s not over yet.
