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“And if they find out Maven is back?” I asked, calm despite my own growing desire to smack the arrogance off Maddox’s face. “What’s to stop them from finishing what they started with her?”
A sinister laugh spilled from Maddox. It didn’t contain a single drop of humor. “They’ll have to kill me first, and I promise you, that’s not going to happen.”
“You better fucking hope they don’t touch her. If anything happens to Maven because of you, I’ll fucking kill you, Maddox. I swear it.” Wolfe’s promise was delivered with a shove that sent his brother stumbling back a few paces.
That’s all it took for Ruthless to be on his feet, ready for action. I drew closer as well, prepared to make a grab for Wolfe. Too bad Maddox’s fist was already flying. He plowed Wolfe in the jaw hard enough to daze him. He stood there stunned while Maddox raised both hands, inviting him to take a shot.
“You want a piece of me, Wolfe?” he snarled. “About fucking time you admitted it. You’ve been dying to pound my face in since Maven left. Admit it.”
“Stay the fuck away from her, Mads. You’ve done enough to that woman for one lifetime.” Not to be outdone, Wolfe took his shot, nailing Maddox in the nose, adding to the cuts and bruises he already bore.
Blood gushed forth, falling to stain the carpet. Ruthless and I moved simultaneously to split them up. They each got in a hit. That was good enough. Any more than that and they’d kill one another, making Archer’s day.
“All right, boys. That’s enough sibling rivalry for one night.” Ruthless pushed in front of Maddox, easily forcing him back toward the piano. “If you want to take this all the way, let’s set up a bare knuckle boxing match and place some bets.”
Leaning around him to look at Wolfe, Maddox shouted, “Maven can’t just walk back into our lives after seven years and not pay the price. I would have served her their heads on a platter, anything to make it right. But she ran without having the guts to tell me that she was leaving. She deserves to suffer a little.”
“I think she’s suffered enough, Mads,” I offered, holding a straining Wolfe with both arms behind his back. “Leave her alone.”
Maddox allowed Ruthless to keep pushing him further away from his brother. His angry gaze landed on me. “You’re so far up Wolfe’s ass I can’t tell where he ends and you begin. Don’t try to play the hero, Ace. I didn’t see either of you trying all that hard to stop me from leaving the funeral that day. This isn’t all on me.”
“Yes, it fucking is,” Wolfe hissed, testing my hold. “You’re the head of the Hale Syndicate, remember? Funny how you weren’t too eager to share the power that came with that but you’re happy to share the repercussions.”
A deadly silence fell. Both brothers shot each other looks that would have killed anyone else. They were both too damn stubborn to back down. I jerked hard on Wolfe’s arm, dragging him with me toward the door. We weren’t going to get any farther with Maddox.
Wolfe relented, allowing me to steer him along while shooting vicious glares back at his sibling. Fuck I missed the days when they were so close that nothing could come between them. Nothing except Maven.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MAVEN
“Don’t eat the last Oreo. I haven’t had a single one. You’ve hoovered all of them.” I snatched the almost empty cookie package from Rumer and stretched out on my half of the couch.
She stuffed a piece of licorice in her mouth and shrugged. “I bought them three days ago. More than enough time for you to grab a handful. Now be quiet. You’re talking through the best part.”
Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, Rumer turned up the volume on the show we watched. Some romantic drama with steamy scenes that appealed to my sister’s sense of taste. I’d have preferred something with more action and violence. Maybe a murder mystery.
Stuffing the last cookie into my mouth, I watched the couple on the screen have typical boring TV sex. Despite the lack of drama or excitement, it still reminded me that it had been several months since I’d had any action of my own. The occasional hookup helped ease the tension when I hungered for a real dick.
I still had no interest in the person attached to said dick. One failed dating attempt after my move to Castle Grove was enough to make me certain that I didn’t want just any man in my life. My world had included four of them before I left. Not a single one of them was replaceable.
“Geez, no foreplay?” I muttered, waving a hand in the direction of the TV. “This dude is a bit of an eager beaver.”
Rumer scoffed. “Oh please. You’re telling me that you’ve never wanted it so bad that you skipped right past the foreplay just to get that dick? I call bullshit.”
A memory threatened to surface. Try as I might to stuff it back down, I couldn’t help but go back there. Maddox and I had just survived a close call. We’d narrowly escaped being trapped in an Archer warehouse before it blew. Upon safely reaching our vehicle Maddox had jerked my pants down and taken me up against the driver door. I’d been more than ready for him.
“All right, all right. I’ll give you that one.” I pushed off the couch, empty cookie pack in hand. Fuck cookies. I needed something stronger.
In the kitchen I tossed the empty cookie package out and pulled a glass from the cupboard. My hand had barely closed around the vodka bottle on the counter when a loud knock at the door startled me. Forgetting the drink, I returned to the living room with a brow raised.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked, knowing damn well that I wasn’t.
Rumer’s eyes were wide. “No. What if it’s another Castle Grove guy here to finish you off?”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t completely write off that idea. Pulling a blade from the sheath on my thigh, I said, “I’ll check the peephole. Be ready to grab that baseball bat from your room.”
“You can’t even relax at home without having a knife within reach, can you?” With a shake of her head, Rumer got up and silently went to her bedroom.
