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“Pretty sure Grim is going to have already told everyone that you called her your woman.” He chuckles as he bumps his shoulder into mine. “Not sure how you’re gonna come back from that.”
“Grim needs to mind his own business.”
“I hate to break it to you, brother, but you opened this can of worms when you outranked your way into the Confessional. He and I coulda handled those idiots, and you know it.”
“Soul stayed too,” I remind him.
“Soul’s the prez, and those jackoffs tried to break into his sister’s house.” He rolls his eyes. “Of course, he…”
The doors slide open, and his words are drowned out by the caterwauling coming from the common room. I swing my head from side to side, trying to identify the source, and spot Jez, Cece, and Apple singingYou Oughta Knowas obnoxiously as possible.
“I didn’t think it was possible for Apple to sound bad,” Thorn remarks, raising his voice to be heard.
I chuckle as Apple and Jez dance to the beat and almost fall over. “I’m guessing liquor has something to do with it.”
Thankfully, the song ends, and the girls hover over Jez’s cell phone, likely picking their next tune to botch.
“How much alcohol does it tak—”
“Oh my God, Cece, look at that blood.”
The flow is perfect, but those aren’t the words toBaby Got Backas I remember them. Apple glares at me as she continues to change the lyrics, not missing one single beat.
“Uh, I can’t believe it’s all so red, it’s like disgusting.”
I throw my head back and laugh, and she raps.
“It’s just so… brutal.”
Turning away from me, Apple faces the karaoke machine that someone had to have lugged out of storage. She squints as she tries to read the words, and I make a snap decision.
She might be drunk as fuck, and I’m covered in blood, but I need a shower, and I need her with me. After listening to Travis and Jason detail what they did to her in Indiana, and then as they voiced their very specific plan to have Stella break down just outside of town where they were lying in wait, my desire to wash their filth off of me is strong, as is the inclination to keep her in my sights. It’s a miracle she pulled to the side of the road two miles before where her death was waiting, and the thought makes me crazy.
I march toward the girls, intent on picking Apple up and throwing her over my shoulder, but Cece steps in front of me.
“What are you doing?” she shouts.
“I’m taking her to my room.”
Cece stares at me for a long moment, almost as if she’s sizing me up, and I tense. When she gives me a single nod and steps aside, my shoulders sag in relief, which is annoying as fuck because I’ve never felt the need to have another person’s approval as much as I did in those few seconds of obvious judgment.
Before stepping around her, I kiss Cece’s cheek. “Thanks.”
She grabs my arm and gives it a squeeze. “She’s been through enough for one day. Be gentle with her… Uncle Malice.”
Her words register, and my brows shoot to my hairline. “What?”
She grins. “Cat’s outta the bag with all the other yahoos, so no need to keep it from you.” Cece flattens her hand over her stomach. “I’m pregnant.”
I let out a whoop and lift her into my arms to spin her around.
“Put her down.”
I know that tone. I obey that tone.
After setting Cece down, I turn to face Soul, who’s striding toward us, his hair still wet from his shower, and he’s staring at me so hard, I’d wither if I were a lesser man.
“Congrats, brother,” I tell him.
