Page 200 of Malice and Surrender
Tears ran steadily down Raine’s cheeks as she leaned forward, her hands clasped together. “I feel like such an asshole. How did I not see he was in so much pain? I’ve been so caught up in my wonderful new bubble with all of you that I just wasn’t paying attention.” Her eyes snapped up to mine. “Should we even be going on this trip?”
“I have to go, but you can stay if you don’t feel like going now. The thing is, Peaches, Avro wouldn’t want that. Why do you think he didn’t tell you? He doesn’t want to be treated differently. It drives him crazy.”
Raine slumped back and wiped away the tears. “Is this why he decided not to come?”
“He has an appointment today with the surgeon to go over his surgery plan,” I said, and Raine jumped up, her fists clenched tight.
“What? You have to be kidding me? He’s going all alone?” I didn’t say anything, and she swore and paced the aisle. “I hate this. I have to pretend I don’t know when all I want is to be there for him. This is ridiculous. Why are men so stubborn?”
I cocked a brow at her. “Have you ever looked in a mirror?”
“Oh, shut up,” she grumbled, making me laugh.
“Look, we are only going for the night. It’s why I shortened the trip. We go, do the awards, fly out tomorrow morning, and force him to come clean and accept help. I have to go to this, Peaches. It is an obligation, and I’d prefer to have you with me, but if you want to stay, I won’t stop you.” I nodded to the Captain and Co-Pilot as they walked in. “But you better hurry and decide. It looks like we’re heading out soon.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and looked back and forth between the open door and me before sitting down.
“You’re right. It’s one night, and this way, he won’t feel worse that I backed out. Especially since we spent an entire day finding that dress.” She looked over at the garment bag. “I thought I was going to kill him. He took me to every store twice.”
“I know, you’ve mentioned it once or twice,” I emphasized, and she glared at me.
“You going to turn into asshole Jace again?” She huffed. “I feel like you’re a transformer.”
“I thought we already settled this. I’m always asshole Jace.” Leaning in close to her, I made sure she was wiggling with nervous energy before I spoke again. “And I plan on being very, very much the asshole at the awards. Be prepared to blush for me more than once.”
Raine’s eyes grew wide, and I heard her swallow. It was so fun to play with her. She’d have the worst-case scenarios running around in her head all flight, and I was sick because I loved it.
“What are you planning?”
The Co-pilot chose that moment to close the door. The lock was loud even over the sound of the engines coming to life. “Too late now. I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” I said, loving the look of pure horror in her eyes.
This was going to be fun.
Kaivan
My beer bottle tapped on the top of the bar. The clubhouse was extremely noisy with everyone back. I couldn’t decide if I enjoyed the background noise that drowned out the voices in my head or preferred when it was quiet and my voices kept me company.
“Hey man, what’s going on?” Mannix sat on the stool beside me. I looked at my friend and knew he knew about the cult, the house, and what we’d seen. It was all laid bare in his eyes. Roach—that ass—must have said something, and now Mannix looked worried. The only ones that should be worrying were Dave and Frank or Francois, whatever he was going by. I had plans for them, and the images only got worse with each passing day.
“I’m not going to randomly kill anyone if that’s what you’re asking,” I said, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
“The thought may have crossed my mind. You tend to take your pent-up anger out in interesting ways.” Mannix smirked, and the corner of my mouth turned up.
“Lately, I’ve had another outlet for my frustration,” I said, and Mannix clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m happy for you, kid.”
“No, don’t be callin' me that. I thought I’d finally got you kicked of that habit?” I groaned and then laughed. Strangely, being called by the nickname Mannix gave me in prison felt good. I knew he’d done it to remind me of my place but also that my life wasn’t over. The guy was like that, subtle with the things he chose to do, but they always had a purpose.
“I remember the first time you mentioned Raine’s name. Even then, with all the anger in you, I saw how much you still loved her. That kind of devotion never dies.” I drank the last of my beer and pushed the bottle away.
“Is that so? And how would you know?”
Mannix smiled and chuckled a deep sound that always sounded warm and inviting. “Well, I think that will be a story for another night. As long as you’re good, I’m good. We’re ride or die, remember that.”
“Mannix,” I said as he stood. I couldn’t look at him as I warred with the emotions swirling in my gut. “I would’ve been honored to call you dad.”
“Asshole,” Mannix grumbled, and I watched his reflection as he wiped at his face, which made me smile.
