Page 21 of Revenge & Truth

“Don’t give me the evil eye, Moonflower,” Hound scolded. “Save that for the assholes who attacked your men. They’re the ones who forced me to wake you.”

Letting out a sigh, I sat up, trying not to be obvious about checking to make sure I didn’t drool. However, the laughter in Hound’s eyes told me I didn’t get away with it. Then I realized it was only the three of us in the SUV.

“Where did everyone go?” I asked, looking around.

“Don’t worry, omae. They’re getting ready, which is why we woke you,” Liu assured me. “Let’s go. You need a bulletproof vest and to decide where you’re going to holster your gun.”

I followed them out of the vehicle and took in the warehouse we’d pulled into. I shouldn’t really be surprised that we own property out here if we had business to conduct and goods to distribute. The third SUV was where everyone gathered, checking weapons, securing vests, and chatting like they were getting ready to go to a football game or something. Why I expected them to act differently, I don’t really know, yet it hit home how I wasn’t living in the shadows anymore.

Ryker spotted me and grabbed something before walking over. “Here, I had this special ordered for you.”

I took the thing and found it was a vest but looked more like a tank top. It had zippers running down both sides, keeping it snug to my body, and was clearly made in mind for a woman with room to accommodate breasts.

“That will stop anything up to a thirty-caliber bullet, so don’t get in the way of someone with an elephant gun, okay?” Ryker shared as he helped me get my red leather jacket while Liu held the vest.

Glancing around, I noticed no one was really paying attention to us, so I started to yank off my basic black T-shirt.

“Whoa, what do you think you’re doing?” Ryker hissed, grabbing the cloth to keep me from taking it off.

“How else do you expect me to put that on? It won’t fit over the shirt,” I pointed out. “The sooner you let go, the sooner I get dressed, plus I made sure to wear a bra I don’t mind throwing away after this. You can never get blood out of them, no matter how hard you try.”

Ryker grabbed Liu and pulled him to stand shoulder to shoulder, creating a wall. “Fine, be fast.”

Yanking the shirt over my head, I tossed it at him, then held out a hand for the vest which Liu offered up, one side already unzipped. Slipping it on and pulling my ponytail free, I tried to get the zipper lined up, but it wasn’t working.

“Let me help,” Atticus said behind me, making me jump.

I looked over at him, taking in the sight of the vest and gun holstered on his hip. He no longer wore his suit jacket, giving his look a casual edge I rarely ever saw. It was a damn good look and one I hoped I might see more of without the gun and vest.

“If you want assistance, you’re going to need to turn so I can get to the zipper,” Atticus informed me.

Ryker snickered, and since he had his vest on, I couldn’t elbow him, so I stepped on his foot instead—by accident, of course. “Fuck, what the hell, Tin-Tin? Are you trying to cripple me before a fight?”

“I’m so sorry, how clumsy of me,” I simpered, making sure my face showed just how sorry I was before flipping him off and turning my attention to Atticus. “Thank you for your help, Atty.”

Atticus glanced at Ryker then back at me as if he wasn’t quite sure what had just transpired between us. “If you’re sleeping together, that means you forgave him, so why are you two still being mean to each other?”

Well, fuck, the man had me there.

“I suppose we’ve always been like this to an extent, even as kids. For some strange reason, we’ve always shown we care by poking fun and teasing each other. If either of us really needed the other person, we’d be there in a second, but in general, we’ve always hassled one another about this or that,” I shared, trying my best to explain something that’s been built over a decade of friendship.

“You don’t tease me at all. In fact, you’re always patient and understanding. Far more than anyone else has been in my life,” Atticus commented as he slotted the zipper and pulled it up, brushing along the side of my breast. “Does that mean you don’t view me as someone you can sleep with?”

My breath hitched at his question and the intensity of his gaze as he timidly cupped my cheek. I settled my hand over his, holding it right where it was. “Do you see me as someone you want to sleep with?”

“No,” he answered almost instantly. “I see you as someone I want to spend my life with. Sex would be a welcome addition to that, but I’m willing to forgo intimacy as long as you don’t leave me. It stands to reason that with six other men far more skilled than me to meet your sexual needs, you wouldn’t be interested in that from me.”

“Atty, I am absolutely interested in having sex with you,” I corrected, my heart aching at the fact he didn’t think I saw him as attractive and desirable. “I think this is a conversation for another time and place, but hear me when I tell you that I’m extremely attracted to you emotionally and physically.”

He nodded, a small smile on his lips telling me he was fucking thrilled with my admission. Popping up on my toes, I kissed him, letting my lips linger for a few seconds before pulling away and tugging my shirt back on.

“Hey, Atty,” I called, stopping him from walking away to look back at me. “Thank you for telling me how you feel. I know that’s never easy for anyone.”

“When you truly want something, it makes you braver than you thought possible,” Atticus answered, giving me another of his beautiful shy smiles.

Tucking in the front of my shirt to keep it out of my way, I reached a hand to Ryker for my jacket. He didn’t hand it over right away, making me frown. “What?”

“He’s the reason you wouldn’t talk about it in the car,” Ryker stated. “You didn’t know how he felt about you or if he was even interested in being part of whatever’s starting between all of us. That’s why you wanted to have one-on-one conversations to make sure if he said no, it wasn’t in front of us all.”