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“What the hell happened to you? You’re bleeding, Mave. Are you okay? Let me get the First Aid Kit.” Without giving me a chance to respond, she rushed down the short hall to the bathroom.
I followed along, nodding when I saw my reflection in the mirror. The punch in the face had left me with a bloody lip and a bruised, swollen cheek.
“I don’t need a First Aid Kit for this,” I said absently. “Just some ice and a painkiller. Maybe a stiff drink.”
I left the bathroom, going to the kitchen where I wrapped several chunks of ice in a dish towel. Rumer rushed after me, her face fixed into a grim mask of warning and worry.
“Tell me what happened, Maven. Does it have something to do with the trouble you ran into back in Castle Grove?” Arms crossed, Rumer stood over me as I sat at the small round table. “No lies. No withholding. I want to hear everything.”
Too tired to argue, I shrugged and said, “Fine. But pour me a drink, would you?”
While Rumer made me a vodka cranberry, I told her everything about the run in with the Thorns and how they’d followed me home. Her expression changed several times as I spoke, morphing from shock to outrage to annoyance.
“Maven, you can’t keep this to yourself. You have to tell the guys. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to bring Maddox into this, but at least tell Wolfe.” Rumer patted my hand, a pleading glint in her eyes.
This was exactly why I didn’t want to tell her, or anyone else for that matter. I shook my head, tangled locks falling in my face. “I can’t do that. If they know about this then I’ll have them breathing down my neck every hour of the day. I don’t need them to protect me, Rumer.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Her voice rose several octaves. “You just stabbed another one of the Thorn men and ran him down with your car. They will only come after you harder now. They won’t stop until you’re dead. After what happened with the Archer Syndicate all those years ago, I need you to not end up as another gang statistic. If you don’t tell them, I will.”
I sucked in a deep breath, releasing it slowly in an effort to calm my rising temper. “Rumer, I need you to promise me right now that you will not say a word to any of them. I mean it. It’s my business, and I’ll tell them when I’m damn well good and ready.”
Which would be never if I had it my way. Rumer’s younger sibling energy was surging strong. Her frown deepened, and she sighed, as if I were being ridiculous.
“Look, Mave, I understand why it’s hard for you to allow those guys back into your life, especially Maddox. But I also know that they would kill for you. Theyhavekilled for you, and they’d do it again. Bringing them into this will bring the whole thing to an end. You’ll be safer with them than without them.” Offering me a tiny smile, Rumer nodded toward my phone where I’d placed it on the table.
I stared at the phone for a long, hard minute. Emotions stormed me, leaving me shaken and spent. I wanted to go to bed.
“That’s not exactly true though, is it?” I challenged. “If I were safer with them, Archer’s guys never would have grabbed me to use against them. I’m not going back to those days. I won’t be their weakness again.”
Because Rumer couldn’t argue that, she shrugged and said, “Just think about telling them. I know you’re a fighter who can fuck a guy up, but an entire syndicate? Come on, Mave. They’ll send more people.”
I stood up, ready for a shower and some sleep. “I need to hear you say that you won’t tell them. Any of them. All four men are off limits. Promise me, Rumer.”
Her expression turned sour. “Fine. I promise. I won’t say anything. But I want you to promise that you’ll at least consider reaching out to them. To Wolfe if no one else.”
Knowing I had no intention of changing my mind, I said, “Yeah, sure. I’ll consider it.”
It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized I hadn’t sworn her to full secrecy. I foolishly focused so hard on the guys that I forgot to make her promise not to tell our parents. My stupid mistake.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ACE
“Think he’ll let us in?” I glanced over at Wolfe, noting the tension as he tightly gripped the steering wheel.
“If he doesn’t, I’ll drive right through the fucking gate. I left a message. He knows we’re coming.” Wolfe turned onto the street of his family home, gunning the engine of his Mustang.
He’d been in a strange mood since the night of the party when we both discovered that Maven was back in town. No doubt we’d been overjoyed to see her. I’d never expected to lay eyes on her again. Not after the way she left.
There had been a time when I’d considered Maven one of my best friends, and maybe a little more. Kissing her outside in a thunderstorm remained one of my favorite memories. She hadn’t deserved what Archer had done to her. As far as I was concerned, that incident was all on Maddox and Ruthless. It had sent her running and divided the rest of us.
We’d moved on. Wolfe and I had branched out away from the Hale Syndicate, forming our own organization which we’d lovingly dubbed The Wolf Pack. Although it was smaller, it was ours, and it paid well. Despite us never making a move against Maddox and Ruthless, they were always ready for a fight. Always suspecting us of sneaking around behind their backs.
Okay, so there had been some sneaking. Nothing like what they thought though. We had no interest in violence between our two groups. Unfortunately, the way Wolfe’s jaw clenched and unclenched made me wonder if that was about to change.
We pulled up to the gate barring us entry to the Hale house. Wolfe opened the window and leaned out to punch a button on the intercom, announcing our arrival. A moment later the gate swung open.
“That’s a good sign,” I observed, trying to keep an optimistic outlook. “At least he’s willing to talk.”
