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“Right, so the bitch who gave birth to you.” He gives me that smirk and reaches up to stroke my cheek. “What happened with her?”
“That’s a third question. You said I only had to answer two.”
“Yeah, but you answered them far too quickly for my liking.”
“Well, too bad. I answered your questions. Now I’m going to sleep,” I quip and pull away, turning on my side away from him. There’s no way I’m going to answer what happened to my mom. It’s nearly worse than my experience in foster care.
Brass makes a noise behind me and a moment later the room goes black. He shifts, curls around me, and the next thing I hear is a clink of a pair of cuffs.
I open my mouth to ask him what he’s doing, but I feel the cuff snap around one wrist and immediately know what he’s doing. Just as he said he would.
“Told you, I’m not about to let you get away from me,” he whispers next to my ear, sending a chill down my spine.
With the way he has the cuff on my wrist, his arms wrapped around me, and the other cuff on his, we’re full touching. My back to his front. Completely plastered.
CHAPTER9
ATHENA
Warm and safe are the first thoughts that come to mind upon waking. There’re no windows in the room, so I don’t know what time it is, but I’m sure it’s early still. I’ve never been one to be able to sleep late. It’s something I’ve never been able to. Not when I was a kid. Not when I ran away. Not when I became an adult. My life depended on me being awake to make sure I could stop anything from happening to me.
And not once in all these years have I ever woken warm and safe. This thought scares me more than anything else ever has.
I try to scoot away, for a moment forgetting the cuffs attaching me to Brass.
His arm tightens and pulls me back in place. “Where do you think you’re going?” The sleepy gruffness of his voice goes straight between my legs. God I can only imagine what it would be like if this were real. But there’s no way I can let this happen.
Nope. No way. No how.
This can’t happen. Not one bit.
“Uncuff me,” I whisper. I don’t know why I keep my voice quiet, but I do.
“No,” he states firmly and strokes fingers along my side. “I like having you right where you are.”
“You need to uncuff me, Jesse,” I snap, using his real name rather than his road name. “I’m not playing. You need to let me go. I have to pee, and then I need to get out of here.”
“I’ll let you go to the bathroom, Thea, but I’m not letting you out of this room, let alone this clubhouse. Not until we get some things straight.”
We’ll see about that. There’s no way I’m sticking around here.
No way in hell. Not after my secret was revealed thanks to Reap being a pain in my ass. I swear I’m going to kill the asshole for throwing me to the wolves the way he did. I love my brother and I know he’s looking out for me, but at the same time he shouldn’t have opened his big, fat mouth. Why, oh, why did he have to go and do that?
If I was a snitch, I’d call Lucifer right this very minute and tell on Reap, but Lark raised me better than that. It’s unbecoming of a person to bring others into their problems. Thinking of the man who took me in, I need to call him and check in. Make sure everything is okay with Jesse.
Damnit. I never go a day without checking in with Jesse, making sure he’s okay when he’s out of town with Lark.
The loosening of the cuff on my wrist pulls me from my thoughts.
I jerk away the instant the cuff is clear and rush from the bed and the temptation that is all Brass. I don’t look back and dart to the bathroom to get a moment to get my bearings in order. I slam the door behind me and lean against it to take a deep breath. Normally, I’m calm and collected, but when it comes to this man it’s like everything I’ve push down for years comes boiling to the surface. Something about Brass has always gotten to me.
When I was no more than a child, I crushed on him, big time. Then he was gone, and I wanted to hate him for leaving me behind. Closing my eyes, I do my best to block out the past, but it’s too close, and I can’t stop the memories.
* * *
“You’re all mine now, Athena.” Mario snickers, gripping my throat, hand tight enough to block my airway. He leans in and inhales, “I’ve thought of popping that sweet cherry so many times, and now I’m getting my chance.”
“Please,” I croak when he loosens his grip.
