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“We stand with them,” Sydney continues. “And in return, he will join me in taking down the fucking Talons. This time next year, this city will be run by The Kukris and The Daos alone.”
“So soon?” Lance asks, lowering his brows.
“No reason to wait. O’Reilly’s daughter hasn’t stepped up, the area is up for grabs. If she knows what’s good for her, she’llstay the fuck away.” Sydney watches Brent as he speaks, a cruel smile playing on his lips as he sees his thread fraying.
I’ve never met Brent’s other cousin, Ruby, but I’ve heard bits about her. She and Brent are tight, and Brent is all about his family. I have never been privy to Brent’s backstory, how he ended up between two rival gangs. I know that he loves the O’Reillys but resents the man he somehow ended up pledging his allegiance to.
“I’ll sign the paperwork,” Lance says confidently. “I’ll go tonight and sign the paperwork.”
“Good.” Sydney goes back to what is on his desk. “Get Keith in here to clearthatup.” He gestures to Julian’s body still slumped on the chair effectively dismissing us.
I’m sat on our sofa beer in hand, shirtless and barefoot with my favourite black sweats on. There’s something on the TV but I’m not watching. We have an hour before Lance and I leave for the club. He said he’d go alone but I wanted to catch a glimpse of Elle.
“If I buy that club, Elle becomes entangled with The Daos.” Lance stands in the kitchen leaning against the island with his head hanging between his hunched shoulders. “And everything would have been for nothing. All the fucking heartache.”
I honestly don’t know what to say to that, so I set my beer on the coffee table and go to him, bracing my arms on either side of his on the island and resting my forehead against his back. “We’ll figure this out,” I kiss his back over his t-shirt.
“You always say that.”
“And we always do.” My hands trail up his arms and down the sides of his ribs, coming to rest on his waist. Lance always smells of expensive cologne, citrussy with a hint of fennel and I let my nose trail down his spine and up again.
“Hayden…” he croaks.
“I know what you need.”
“You always do,” he groans, arching his back slightly so the firm roundness of his arse rubs against my dick.
I chuckle into his ear and run my tongue along the shell. “We should probably go and get ready.”
“Why did you start something you can’t finish, Pullman?”
I press against him harder, my cock thickening with the friction. “How exactly did you see this finishing?” I slide my hand down is abdomen to toy with the waistband of his sweats. “Have me pump your cock with my fist or get on my knees for you so you can leave me needy and unsatisfied?”
He tenses against me.Fuck. Why did I say that? “Hayden, I…”
“Forget it,” I kiss his neck. “We should get ready.”
I step away and head for my room, feeling Lance’s eyes on my back until I disappear. Scrubbing my hand over my face, I lean against my closed door and take a moment to collect myself. That is not how I saw that going, but seeing Elle has thrown us all though a loop. I don’t want to continue living my life with meaningless hook ups, never truly being able to have the man I want, and never seeing the woman I love. I need to find a way back to a place where the future held all three of us, together and happy.
22
BRENT
After our morning meeting with Sydney, Lance is planning to spend the day at home, which means I am free to get the fuck out of there. I’ve spent most of the day at Mum’s doing all the odd jobs she’s been asking me to help with for weeks, but I’ve been too busy. Always too busy. She fed me and tried with all her tricks to get me to talk but I can’t tell her what’s playing on my mind. She wouldn’t understand.
Now, I’m in the gym smashing the fuck out of this punching bag. I’ve forgone gloves and I made a feeble attempt to wrap my knuckles, but I can still feel the skin splitting with each hit. I need it.She’sback.
Three months. That’s how long it took Lance to talk to me again after he caught me in Elle’s room with her legs around my waist. Then, when he did speak to me, he attempted to fire me, said that we just weren’t working anymore. Honestly, that broke my heart more than it had already been in the aftermath of Elle leaving. Luckily, Hayden had been there and intervened, took Lance off to cool down. A couple hours later and Lance was in a far more forgiving mood. We were still pretty awkward for a few more weeks but we got back into the swing of things as scars healed.
Now, I can feel those scars cracking open. I got barely a glimpse of her last night, trying not to let Lance see how desperate I was to see her. But fuck, she looked good. Her hair is no longer the cocoa brown it had been the last time; it’s a deep plum colour, I like it. She wore a tight little black dress that really only covered the necessary areas, her legs on full display. If I wasn’t mistaken, she’s been working out, something she’d never done before, but the definition in her arms and legs had stood out to me. Her face was heavily made up and the way her jaw dropped at seeing me, made my stomach tighten. Did she likewhat she saw? Was she horrified to see me again after all this time?
Jesus. Get a grip, O’Reilly. I can feel the sweat dripping down my back, cooling under the AC but doing nothing to settle the fever running through my veins. It wasn’t meant to go this way. She was gone and we were surviving just fine. Elle was never meant to come back into our lives. She was meant to be gone and we were meant to forget about her. I don’t know about Lance or Hayden, it’s not like we talk about her; kind of a sore subject. But I have most definitely failed at forgetting Elle Maxwell.
I had an hour before I had to be back at our apartment to slip back into aloof bodyguard mode. We were going back to the club tonight and after yesterday, I actually checked the place’s website last night. Sure enough, Elle’s picture was plastered all over it. If Sydney had actually cared about the club as a business, we probably would have checked before and seen the trouble brewing before the storm hit. Checking the website also told me Elle should be working tonight too. I wonder if Lance knew that when he said we’d be back again tonight. He could have met with Amiri any time.
It’s been three years, but tonight I have to put that mask of indifference on once again. Pretend that Elle means nothing to me. Pretend that Lance is my only concern. Pretend that my heart doesn’t break each time those silver eyes meet mine. I always knew she was trouble and now she’s come back a second time round, just to prove it. I am so fucked.
23
