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“Hundred.”
I don’t give a damn how angry I am, I’ll never tire of making Malice pay for not signing around me. It brings me a level of joy that is indescribable.
When he scowls, I smirk.
Malice lifts his hands dramatically. “You’re enjoying this,” he accuses.
Nodding, I reply. “Three hours in the Confessional torturing and purging a child molester, followed by fining you for being an idiot? Yeah, I’m fucking enjoying it.”
Turning on my heel, I continue toward the elevator. Despite the adrenaline rush of the last few hours, bone-deep exhaustion starts to creep in, and I’m too slow to push the button before Soul and Malice join me.
“Love the enthusiasm, bro,” Soul begins, his eyes hard, cold. “But tone it down a notch before we reach the main level. It’s Harper’s nap time, and Cece will skin you alive if you wake her up.”
At the mention of Soul’s daughter, my entire body relaxes. When that little girl was born, I thought for sure life around the clubhouse would change. And I suppose it has, to a degree, but not so much that it bothers me.
“I thought Cece was working today and Harper was supposed to be with Jez?” Malice asks.
Soul’s shoulders sag with a sigh. “It seems my twin was too busy to watch her niece, so Cece has Trista and Laura covering Naughty/Nice.”
The elevator doors slide open, and we step into the main room, which is practically empty except for Mark, Malice’s brother and a club prospect, and Rogue, our treasurer and my cousin.
“Damn, man,” Rogue signs with an arched brow. His lips purse, and I imagine he’s whistling. “You’re a bloody mess.”
I shrug off his words and stride toward the bar. A good, stiff drink sounds good right about now.
As I’m pouring myself a glass of scotch, Malice focuses his attention on his brother.
“Mark, there’s a mess to clean up downstairs,” he says, his movements choppy. “I wanna be able to eat off that floor.”
“On it,” Mark replies before rushing to the elevator, and Malice watches him with a dopey grin on his face.
“You really like having him around, don’t you?” I ask after setting my glass down.
“What?” Malice shakes his head. “No.”
He can deny it all he wants, but I see things. Being deaf has made me perceptive in a way I don’t think most people could comprehend, and even though he’s a gruff asshole to Mark, Malice is more than happy to have his brother back.
Between Mark and Apple, Malice’s old lady, my friend is complete in a way I don’t think he’s ever been.
“Keep telling yourself that.” I down the rest of my liquor and put the glass in the sink. “I’m gonna go wash the filth off.”
Without waiting for anyone to reply, I make my way to my room, and press my thumb into the scanner on the wall next to the door. When it opens, I move inside and begin stripping off my clothes, leaving a trail into the bathroom.
Once under the hot spray, I force my brain to shut down. People tend to think that being deaf means I live a quiet existence, but it’s anything but.
My mind never stops, my thoughts forever racing, and my life is loud as fuck.
CHAPTER3
VIOLET
SIX MONTHS LATER…
“Violet, will you marry me?”
It’s the six-month anniversary of our first date, and Brad brought me back to where our relationship started. He’s currently kneeling in front of me, holding an open blue Tiffany box that cradles one of the biggest diamond solitaire rings I’ve ever seen. When we finished our dinner, the waiter brought out tiramisu for dessert, and the box had been resting atop the deliciousness.
A gasp escapes before I can stop it.
