Page 135 of Malice and Surrender
Cupping her face, I kissed her hard, loving the fresh minty flavor of her mouth. Her hands went to my waist, and she gripped me tight. My lips lingered on hers, not wanting to leave her alone with Avro but knowing I needed to. Avro stepped out of the bathroom but stayed near the door.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
Grabbing the rest of my crap on the way, I stomped to the door. Flinging it open, I stopped dead as I almost ran into a raised fist about to knock. Jace lowered his arm as I glared.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I growled at the sight of him. My body trembled with the burst of adrenaline. It took all my resolve not to tackle him out the door and continue what we started at the house. The dark glare in his eyes said he was thinking the same thing.
“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing,” he said. My eyes flicked down to his hand. I thought he was holding a gun but realized it was a Taser and smirked.
“You brought a Taser with you?” My respect for him notched up slightly.
“You can never be too careful these days. Don’t know what sort of asshole you’ll run into anymore. I’m really hoping you try to hit me again, though, just so I have an excuse to use it. I’ve been dying to see what this can do when turned on high.”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m flattered that you think you need that toy.”
“Unlike you, who would jump straight to murder, I’d prefer to stop you, then throw you back into the cage where you belong. The one you never should’ve left,” Jace said, and the curl of his lip had my fist clenching. I reminded myself that he was pushing me on purpose. He wanted me to make the first move.
“Jace? What are you doing here,” Avro asked.
“Seems to be the question of the day,” I muttered, stepping out of the way for Jace to enter. Why the fuck not at this point? My plan to whisk her away for a few days was officially ruined.
“If you bothered to check your messages and call me back, then I wouldn’t have to track you down,” Jace growled as he stepped inside but kept his eyes trained on me. The tension grew with his proximity. Our eyes locked on one another.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Avro said.
“You didn’t think that leaving me a message that you’re going to go speak to him….” Jace pointed a thumb in my direction. “And then go radio silent, wasn’t going to worry me?”
“He does have a point. I’ve thought about killing you multiple times already,” I said, and all three sets of eyes turned in my direction. “What? I’m being honest. Jace has a valid point.”
“See,” Jace said, glaring at Avro.
“Don’t get like that with me. You’re the one that decided you were going to leave before anything was resolved,” Avro shot back. My brow lifted as Jace’s face went dark, his lip pulling up in a snarl. He would’ve held his own in lock up. I might’ve liked him if he didn’t want to put his cock in my girl.
“Enough!” Raine shook her head. “Not that I’m not happy to see all of you, but I don’t understand. Did I leave a fucking breadcrumb trail for you all to follow? And if you two are only here to fight with me about Kai, then don’t bother.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that lifted the corner of my mouth. At least she was just as firm with them as with me. Good to know.
Jace crossed his arms over his chest. “I haven’t decided why I’m here other than to make sure the two of you were alive. Obviously, that was a waste of time since Avro was actively dodging me.”
“I was not,” Avro said and stepped toward Jace.
“Don’t fucking lie to me. You knew I didn’t trust him and knew I’d worry when I couldn’t reach you. Yet, you set out to see him alone and then disappeared. What the fuck was I going to think? I pictured you floating in some swamp as alligator bait.”
“What, no love for me?” I drawled out and earned a glare. “I hate to admit it, but I do have alligators and have thought about it.” It was fairly close to what I’d debated doing.
“Why do you have alligators,” Raine asked, and I smirked.
“Would you believe me if I said they make great pets?” Before they could drag me into any more of this argument, I grabbed the door handle. “I’m out of here so you all can have your lovers quarrel,” I said mockingly.
I slammed the door behind me. Closing my eyes, I took a slow deep breath. My heart was pounding hard while the anger tried to consume me. I sucked in the cool, early morning air and spotted Avro’s car tucked in the corner of the lot. Was the asshole here all night? The fact that he kept an eye on the room was unnerving, but that also meant he let Raine and I have that time together. It was confusing. I wouldn’t have been able to stay in the parking lot knowing that they were having sex inside.
The thought of the three of them alone had my blood pressure rising. My hand twitched as I mapped out all the areas I could dispose of their bodies. I needed to step away, or I really would lose control It wasn’t just words. I felt myself stepping close to the line that always took over when I was sent to teach opposing club members a lesson.
Walking away from the room, I made it three doors down when a guy stepped out, lighting a smoke. Fucker.
“Hey buddy, do you have a smoke I can bum off ya?”
The guy turned his bloodshot eyes in my direction and snorted like I’d said something funny. The anger I was trying hard to control slipped a little more. I hated that look. I’d been stared at like I was worthless most of my life.
