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Dare is alwaysfull of surprises.
One of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to her is because of the way she’s still able to surprise me.
But damn.
This just might take the cake. I never thought I would see the day where she’s asking me for more information about what we do. She’s always had a knowing glint in her eyes but has danced on the line of knowing too much. She’s kept her hands clean and only been involved in the legal side of things.
Plausible deniability has basically been her life motto since I met her.
“You want to know more about why we are really shutting down and just what we’ve gotten ourselves into?” I ask to clarify because I’m a little stunned speechless. That is something that does not happen often.
She huffs dramatically, as if she hasn’t spent years avoiding this exact conversation. “I know that I’ve never wanted to know about who you all are, but it’s impossible not to hear the whispers on the streets now about the feared Bleeding Roses.”
“Okay, first off. We didn’t choose the name,” I justify, but she just ignores me and continues to talk.
“I’ve always known your hands weren’t clean, but I stayed out of it. Never asked questions, never let my mind wander too far into everything you guys are into. But it’s impossible to miss it now. Not after the messages you’ve been sending.”
She gives me a look, silently asking me if I really had to be that dramatic, but we both know she secretly loves it. Part of me has always believed that she had a reason buried in her past for why she kept her distance. There was too much knowledge in her eyes every time she saw even a hint of our other activities.
All of my girls know I’m not clean, know that Luca and Kade aren’t, but Dare has always seemed to understand more than just the superficial level of it all.
“Jade was shaking like a leaf earlier,” she starts to explain, chewing on her bottom lip. I didn’t miss the subtle way she kept checking on Jade every time she approached our table. I know better than to read too much into it. There may be something going on between them right now, but it’ll never go past what it is right now.
The way she looks at Jade is the same way she looks at me. Except with a bit more protectiveness in her gaze. Then again, she has no reason to feel protective over me. She’s under my protection after all.
“I can take a guess at what she’s been through. What you saved her from. I’m not an idiot, Scar. I’ve seen the signs. The scars.”
I sigh and shake my head. "You’ve always been too smart for your own good. But you’ve kept your curiosity in check all this time. Why now, Dare? You’ve known the kinds of things we clean up for a long time. So why now?”
She shuffles on her feet and huffs again. “Because you didn’t need me.”
Okay, not the answer I was expecting. I cross my arms and wait for her to continue.
“I know a thing or two,” she admits. “I can defend myself, hold my own. But,” she hesitates. “Do you even realize how I see you? See your men? Your friends?”
I shake my head. I honestly have no idea where she’s going with this.
“You all are like a pack of predators,” she sighs, putting her face in her hands. Her long blonde hair shields her face from my view, but it’s only a moment before she throws her head back and looks me in the eyes.
“You all come in here and act like you don’t have a care in the world. You drink and dance and laugh louder than anyone else here. But the whole time, all of your eyes are trained on the room. Constantly looking out for threats, aware of everything happening around you at all times. The way all of you move, how aware you guys are. It belies your casual attitude. It gives away your training.”
She gives a surprised little laugh, and I can tell it’s hard for her to put it into words, but I know exactly what she means. It’s something we’ve all been trained to pick up on. The fact that she has noticed us doing it can only mean one of two things, she’s been trained herself, or she’s just incredibly observant. Somehow, I doubt it’s the second option.
“Not to mention your presence alone. I mean fuck, Scar. I know what you taste like and still, there are times the hair on my arms raises when you’re in a mood. You all exude a threatening aura. One of danger. One that promises you can follow through on any threat you come up with.”
I preen a bit under her words. It isn’t every day someone tells you how scary you are. I happen to take great pride in that.
“There’s nothing I could do for you that you couldn’t do for yourself. And better.” She circles back to the main point of my question. “It wasn’t worth the risk then. Not when I couldn’t really do anything to help you. But I think I can now.”
“Dare,” I whisper. “I can’t ask you to take risks. I just can’t. Not after all this time I’ve watched you avoid this very thing.”
“You aren’t asking,” she argues. “I’m volunteering. I have an idea, but I just need to know more details.”
I sit down on the couch, leaning back into the cushions and gesture for her to follow suit.
“I’ll tell you, but in no way does this mean you’re obligated to help. You can still walk away. We already have a suitable job for you until we need your help with Poison and the renovations for here.”
“Scar, I promise I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”
