AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s going on?” Slade’s voice calls out before he spots me standing just in front of Jagger. “I thought the whole point was to keep her away from Salem.”
I flinch at his words and turn away from him.
“I told Jagger to bring her, so you can stop being a dick now,” Zig replies.
Greg pulls a chair out for me, and so I lower myself carefully into it, keeping my eyes averted from everyone else’s. I’ve never been a social butterfly. You have to have friends for that. If this is what I’ve been missing, I think I’ll pass.
“At least tell me you’re not in any pain,” Salem asks, her voice cracking. I look up to see her glaring at Slade.
“Oh, I’m sure she blamed me, but Astrid was the one who ran. I was just doing my job,” he snarls, yanking out a chair at the end of the table.
“Actually, Astrid defended you, though God knows why.”
When Salem’s eyes come to mine, I offer her a small smile.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all,” I lie through my teeth. And everyone knows it, but they don’t call me on it.
She swallows and nods before standing and heading to the kitchen. Gregg sits on one side of me, and Jagger takes up the last remaining chair on the other. Oz jumps up to help Salem, along with one of the guys I don’t know. He glances over at me but doesn’t say anything. He’s as attractive as the rest of the guys here, but his look has more of a rocker vibe. Between them, they carry out bowls filled with vegetables and what looks like a pot roast. My stomach lets out a loud rumble, making my cheeks flush.
“The boys not feeding you?” another stranger at the end of the table asks with a grin. His smile seems genuine enough. In fact, out of all of them, this guy seems the most approachable.
I look from him to Slade and bite my tongue. And cue another uncomfortable silence. My skin crawls, and my palms sweat to the point where I know I have to get out of here before I do something stupidly embarrassing like cry.
I stand up and look at Salem. “I’m sorry, I’ll just go back—”
She frowns. “No. You need to eat. Ignore these guys. Lord knows, I’m going to.”
“Hey now,” Oz complains, but she does indeed ignore him.
I keep my eyes on her and slowly lower myself back into my chair. She grabs a plate and starts spooning vegetables onto it before moving on to the pot roast. She pauses before looking at me again. “You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”
I bite my thumbnail, glancing around nervously. Her eyes soften as she realizes I don’t want to answer and give these clearly hostile men a weapon to use against me.
“Nobody here would ever use it against you.”
I’m not sure I believe her, but I admire the faith she has in these guys. “Peanuts. I’m allergic to peanuts,” I admit, and Slade stands up abruptly, knocking his chair over, and stares at me for a second before he storms out of the house.
I drop my head and sigh, wondering why I’m the one who feels bad in this scenario.
“What the fuck is his problem now?” Greg hisses.
I don’t answer him, and neither does Jagger. I take the plate Salem offers me and thank her quietly as I wait for everyone else to get theirs. They watch me curiously, but I pretend I can’t feel their eyes on me.
Slade storms back in a few minutes later with a tray full of things. I look at him, confused until I spot the jar of peanut butter. I watch as he tosses it all in the trash before he leaves the tray on the counter and washes his hands.
He stares at me as he takes his seat, his eyes glistening with something. Oh, he’s mad at me, but there is something else there too. Guilt, maybe? Or remorse. I can tell by the way he scowls at me that he doesn’t like feeling it one little bit.
“So, Astrid, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Greg asks as they all dig into their food.
I look at him and laugh, but it’s not a happy sound. “Why? You guys already know everything, and what you don’t know, you’ll probably dig up in a day or two.” I take a deep breath to calm myself. “I think right now the best thing is for me to eat the meal Salem was kind enough to make and go back to my room. I’ll stay out of everyone’s way until you guys tell me I can leave, and then you can pretend I was never here.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jagger
Jesus, I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my own home before. But looking at Astrid right now, seeing how miserable she looks… I have to remind myself that we’re the good guys. We’re just trying to keep everyone safe.
And if I say it often enough, I might start believing it.
