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I can’t afford to let my rage at everything he’s so intent on taking from me get the best of me—not right now, and not here on this neutral ground—so I block those thoughts out and focus on The Six, trying to get more of a feel for this group that the Reapers are being so carefully respectful of.
As soon as we find my sister, I’ll find a way to get us both out of Halston and away from this fucked-up world The Six seem to rule, so it’s not like figuring them out should matter to me… but I can’t squash my curiosity. Especially when I realize that the vibe between Ayla and the three men I’d initially thought she might be playing off each other isn’t that at all.
If I’m reading their body language right, it’s more like she’s actuallywiththem. With all three of them.
I’ve never seen a relationship like that.
A heated frisson of excitement goes through me, and I try to tell myself it’s because the men at that table are all hot as fuck in different ways so it’s easy to see why Ayla would want to scratch an itch with any one of them. It’s not really that, though. Reading body language is something I had to get good at when I was stripping, and what I see between the four of them makes it seem like there’s more than just scratching an itch going on. A lot more.
I swallow hard, suddenly far too aware of the three Reapers and the protective stances they’ve all taken around me. The three men that there’s no point denying I’m attracted to. That I have… feelings for.
Not that this is the time and place to dwell on that shit, obviously. Hell, there may never be a time or place. Admitting that my feelings are real—complicated and messy, but definitely real—doesn’t change the fact that the three of them betrayed me. Or that they still want Chloe. Or that one of them plans onmarryingher.
A sound escapes me, just a puff of pained breath since the thought hurts on a level I’m not at all prepared to deal with right now, but it really isn’t the time or place, so when Dante flicks his gaze at me, a faint frown on his face, and Logan sways a little closer, I flinch away from the both of them and refocus on the reason we actually came.
“If you’re not gonna interfere with how we carry out our business,” Austin is saying to The Six in a belligerent tone, his goons bristling all around him like they really are more muscle than brain, “then why the fuck did you even want us to come here?”
“They already told us,” Maddoc says without bothering to look over at him. “We attracted attention.”
Ayla nods. “And if it happens again, we won’t interfere.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “If your shit gets too out of control, we’ll shut it down.”
I can tell Austin wants to say something else stupid, but Maddoc speaks before he gets the chance. “Thank you for the warning.”
Marcus gives him a hard look, like he’s trying to figure out if Maddoc’s being sarcastic or not, but whatever he sees on Maddoc’s face must satisfy him, because after a moment he relaxes back in his seat.
“Take it to heart,” he says in a clear dismissal.
The same elegantly clad hostess who escorted us through the club when we arrived shows up to lead us back out. Except this time, it’s notjustus. Austin, with Maddoc’s ex hanging off his arm and all his goons trailing after him, leaves the building at the same time as we do, and if I thought the air back in that room with The Six felt dangerous, it’s nothing compared to the tension and anger seething between our group and his. Everyone’s blood is running high after all the violence that’s burst out between the two gangs lately.
“Neutral ground,” Logan murmurs almost inaudibly.
“It ain’t neutral once we pass through the doors,” Dante says just as we do that, pushing me behind him with a hard look on his normally easy-going face.
The three Reapers turn to face off with West Point on the sidewalk in front of Saraven and Austin McKenna signals to his men to spread out, blocking the way to our Escalade. Then he spits on the ground in front of Maddoc.
“You heard them,” Maddoc says, his voice like sharpened steel. “We’ve got freedom to handle our shit however we need to. But not where it’s gonna get attention.”
Austin smiles like he mistakenly thinks bringing twice as many men as the Reapers gives him an edge. “Scared?”
“Biding my time,” Maddoc corrects him with a dangerous smile of his own. Then the smile drops. “Now get the fuck out of our way.”
Rage sweeps across Austin’s face, and I’m sure the only reason they haven’t already come to blows with the Reapers or started shooting at each other yet is that both gangs respect The Six’s authority here. Even if we’re not technically on neutral ground anymore, if they get in a fight right here on the sidewalk everyone will be in trouble… and from the sound of things back inside, it will be the kind of trouble that could seriously change the layout of that map on Maddoc’s wall.
Austin’s hand twitches toward the ill-concealed weapon under his jacket, his face darkening. “You don’t fucking come intomyterritory and expect to walk back out, Gray. Oh, but you didn’t, did you? You sent that girl in to try to handle shit for you.”
He spits again.
It’s disgusting.
Then he looks up with a sly smile. “You got a thing for relying on girls to handle your business? Isn’t that why you’re after this Chloe bitch?”
I stiffen at the mention of my sister’s name, terror icing my veins.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maddoc growls. “But if you want to find out how I handle my business, I’ll be happy to take this conversation away from Saraven.”
Austin glares. “I’m not fucking stupid. You’ve been on the hunt. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the one you were hunting for was actually mine?”
“Chloe’s not yours,” I snap, all that ice inside me transforming into a burning rage.
