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Ruthless tackled me to the ground. The fluffy green grass helped break my fall, but not by much. I grunted as he came down on top of me. Miraculously, I managed to fling my hands out in time to keep my face from plowing into the earth. Ruthless roughly flipped me over, his hand snaking around my throat.
“Did you seriously just try to run five minutes after I warned you not to?” He pinned me with his body, using his weight to keep me down. “Same old Maven, huh? Always seeking a challenge. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to test me.”
“I’m not the same though,” I said, ceasing my struggle. His grip on my throat was just tight enough to cause a frightful amount of pressure without closing off my airway. “I’ve changed too.”
I held Ruthless’s dark gaze, admiring the golden swirls in his eyes brought out by the glow of the setting sun. He and I had been hurt by the same people. It felt like that should unite us, but it divided us instead. We were alone in what that experience had done to us.
For just a moment I thought I saw him soften. His hard mask broke, and a shred of emotion bled through. Ruthless studied my lips as if remembering what it felt like to kiss me. When he dragged a thumb over my bottom lip, I knew for sure where his thoughts had strayed.
“What the fuck? Goddammit, Maven.” Maddox’s angry shout interrupted the moment.
Ruthless’s mask slid back into place, and he got up, jerking me to my feet. He dragged me toward Maddox who angrily strode across the yard. I held up both hands in surrender.
“What did you expect?” I asked, wondering if I could take on the two of them. I was a solid fighter, but so were they, and I didn’t really want to fight either man. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
“I expected you to care about your safety and the safety of your sister,” Maddox snapped, grabbing hold of my other arm. Tugging my phone from a pocket, he slapped it into my hand. “Here. Call her. See what she has to say.”
The two of them brought me back into the house, Maddox hanging back to give his security guys hell for letting me get the jump on them. Knowing that I was defeated for now, I plopped down on the couch and called Rumer.
“Can you fucking believe that Maddox is forcing me to stay with him? For my safety, or so he says. I’ll need you to feed Akasha until I get out of here.” I didn’t care that Ruthless stood over me, listening to my conversation.
“Yeah, I heard. Maddox called me earlier.” Rumer paused and took a deep breath. “Don’t hate me, okay? But I think maybe he’s right. You’re safer there with him.”
My mouth dropped open. “You little traitor. How can you do this to me? Is it because you think I’m going to get you killed? I’d never let anything happen to you, Rumer. You know that.”
“Of course I know that you’d never intentionally bring danger to my door, but there are people after you, Mave. I think it’s better this way, just until everything settles down. Please don’t be mad.” Rumer’s voice hitched up a notch or two. She sounded worried, knowing that taking Maddox’s side over mine was treading into deadly territory. After a long strained minute of silence she added, “I can bring some of your things over. Akasha too if you want.”
I swallowed hard, eyeing Maddox as he entered the house with furious strides. He swore beneath his breath, hands clenched into fists. My gaze drifted to Ruthless who watched me like a predator ready to pounce. His tattooed arms were folded over his chest as he silently dared me to test him further.
“Yeah, sure. Fine. I’ll talk to you later.” I ended the call before Rumer could reply. Anger filled me with a scorching heat. Pointing a finger at Maddox, I hissed, “Thanks a lot, asshole. You conned Rumer into agreeing with you, and now I’m fucking homeless.”
My parents were not an option. My father thought the Hale brothers hung the damn sun, moon, and stars. He’d side with Maddox over me in a heartbeat. My mother wouldn’t say shit about it either.
“I didn’t have to con her,” Maddox replied, sitting on the arm of the couch. “She doesn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with a Crimson Thorn sneaking into her bedroom. Can you blame her? And she cares about you. She wants you to stay safe.”
“Maybe that’s true, but what about you, Mads? Do you really care about my safety? Or is this your way of making sure I don’t leave town again?” I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. I should’ve stayed in a hotel until I found my own place.
“Both,” Maddox answered honestly. “We’ll take care of the Thorns, and Archer’s days in this city are numbered. I don’t want to be the bad guy, Vixen, but you belong here.”
I wanted to blow my top and shout at him, unleashing several years’ worth of emotion. Instead I got to my feet and left the room. Ruthless started to follow me, slowing down when I ascended the stairs. I entered Maddox’s old bedroom and slammed the door behind me before launching my phone across the room.
Collapsing on the bed, I buried my face in a pillow and screamed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MAVEN
Since Maddox’s teenage bedroom had an attached bathroom, I didn’t have to leave for quite some time. That didn’t stop him from coming to the door a few hours after I stormed upstairs. Still fuming, I refused to speak with him. I wanted to be alone.
Eventually, he gave up and left. I turned the TV on low and stared at my phone. Maddox hadn’t tried to take it. Once Rumer threw me out, he had no reason to. Where else would I go?
I could always call Wolfe and Ace, but that may lead to a confrontation between the two brothers. I didn’t want to be the cause of more strife between them. Instead I paced the bedroom until well past midnight. With great reluctance I finally crawled into the bed to sleep. I flashed back to Maddox bending me over it while he knelt behind me. Fuck me. I should have known that coming back to River City would send us right back to each other. History had already proven how dangerous that was.
For what felt like hours I laid awake, staring at the starry sky through the balcony door. No doubt I’d missed all four men like crazy. Leaving them had gutted me. I’d never known such pain. Unfortunately, I hadn’t anticipated that coming back would hurt just as much.
I woke up to the sound of a heavy knock on the door. Arguing with Maddox first thing in the morning didn’t feel like a great way to start the day. When I didn’t answer, the door swung open, and Ruthless entered.
“What do you want?” I grumbled, pulling the blanket up over my head.
