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“Finish the game, but could you let Gem know what happened? I can text her, but it might go better if you let her, Theresa, and Alred know.”
“Alred?”
I smiled, envisioning Clint meeting Alred for the first time. “You’ll meet him.”
“Yeah. I can do that. Okay. I’ll text when the game is done.”
When the call ended, Scout shook his head. “You’re really fucking good at lying.”
I grunted, hissing, starting to feel the pain now. “Not with Clint. He knows.”
But one problem at a time.
30
RAMSAY
“Why were you bringing up Kira?” Scout asked as he finished cleaning up my back. There’d been some burning, hissing, and curses, but it was mostly done and bandaged. I’d need to watch who saw my back. The lie I had ready was that I fell and scraped my back when I twisted my ankle. It was a stretch, but it’d have to do.
I looked up in the mirror, meeting his gaze. “Because she made a weird comment to me when we were leaving Mario’s.”
He stilled, and his eyes flashed before his face got hard again.
He clipped out, “She’s nothing.”
I stilled. “Doesn’t feel like nothing. Is there something I need to be worried about?”
He rolled his eyes, putting another bandage on my back before stepping back. “No. You’re all done.”
I reached for my shirt and pulled it on, not replying, just watching him.
Now he wasn’t making eye contact.
What she said definitely had something to do with me. “Scout,” I said quietly.
It worked. It got his attention. His eyes came back to mine.
“She said it to me. You don’t tell me, I’ll go to her. I won’t let another person have something over me, not ever again. You get me?”
We continued staring at each other in the mirror until another look flared over his face, so brief, so instant, that it was there and then gone before I could place it. But then we heard a crash downstairs, followed by, “Ramsay!”
It was Clint.
Scout helped the back of my shirt fit better. “Scout.”
He started for the door, ignoring me.
Damn it!
I heard him talking to whoever was down there, and it wasn’t just Clint. I followed at a more sedate pace, making sure to grab my sweatshirt from my room. I winced just as I stepped out from the stairs.
Clint was there with a couple of guys, along with Kira, Ciara, and Leanne.
Clint’s eyes narrowed to slits, taking me in, but before he could say anything, Scout held up his hand to my cousin. “My Good Samaritan part is done. I’m taking off.”
Clint ignored him, studying my ankle. “Thought that was twisted?”
Crap. “It was. It still hurts, but I’m of the mindset that I can will it back to normal. Must be working if you—”
Clint’s eyes flared. He so knew I was lying, but he wasn’t calling me on it, not in front of our audience. He kept studying me until he finally gave in. “You’re better now?”
“Yeah.”
Clint glanced back to Scout, who’d paused before leaving and was on his phone. “What are you doing tonight? We were thinking of grabbing drinks and going to hang out at your uncle’s gym.”
“Uh . . .” He lifted his head and raised his phone. “That was Cohen. He, Alex, and Trenton have it all figured out.”
“You cool with that plan? It’s your uncle’s place.”
“Yeah.” Scout looked past him to me. “I’m cool with that plan. Want to grab some food?”
“We can all do that together.” Kira stepped to Clint’s side, leaning into him. “Right, Clint? We were thinking of going to Louie’s and getting food to go.”
“I’m good with that.”
Scout’s eyes lingered on her hand on Clint’s arm before, “Yeah. I’m good with getting food there too.”
Clint looked to me. “Maybe while they get the food, you and I can go get the booze?” He gave me an extra-forceful stare, and it took me a moment to remember his restless energy from school. That was right. He and I were due for doing something stupid.
I mean, I’d already gotten that out of my system, but evidently, he hadn’t. “That sounds good to me.”
His grin turned wicked. “Awesome.”
Oh no.
31
RAMSAY
“I know you and Scout fucked.”
Clint dropped the ball as soon as we got in his vehicle.
“Clint!”
He leveled me with a hard look. “What are you doing, Rams?”
God. Him and his ability to just know things about me. “It’s—look, the attraction is insane. Like crazy insane, and him and me staying away from each other was making it worse. It was messing with us, but it’s just sex. There are no emotions. I can’t stand the guy. He can’t stand me. And we agreed that if either of us starts getting feelings, we’re stopping. That’ll mess everything up.”
“Yeah.” His tone was dry. “Because those agreememts always work out.”
“Just—”
“You’re going to do this. I know you, but I don’t like it. And I’m not holding this shit back from Alex.”
