call yet, I’m hoping me calling in doesn’t void it.”
“That’s if they let you talk to him.”
“True. I can only try. So, I guess all we do is wait. Wait for him to be transported. Then we visit as soon as they allow it. In the meantime, we need to keep Cherry, Prinie, and Koda under control and under guard. There’s no telling what any one of them will do the longer this shit goes on.”
“Koda’s starting to grow some balls. And those chicks… both of them are wild cards. Either one of them could do something stupid for the love of Zero,” Texas offers.
“Don’t I know it? Cherry killed a man in cold blood, and Prinie? Fuck, she’s a loose cannon if ever I’ve known one. We need to watch them twenty-four-seven. Make sure they don’t try to hatch some hair-brained scheme or some other fucked-up shit,” I add.
“Agreed. I’ll have Chills keep an eye on them. She’s friendly with them both and will keep ‘em under her thumb. If anyone knows how to keep people under control, it’s Chills,” Chains states.
“Yeah, brother, she has you wrapped around her surgically trained little finger.”
“If she was your Old Lady, you’d let her, too. I ain’t mad at it.”
“Okay, so we have a loose plan, and I mean loose, but anyway, I’ll put a call in to check on Zero. Then when he’s processed, we go check things out further. Fill him in on what we think the go is,” I instruct.
“In the meantime, all we can do is hope nothing goes wrong,” Texas laments.
It better fucking not. I don’t want to have to deal with Cherry, or especially Prinie if shit hits the fan.”
“I need a fucking beer,” Texas grunts.
Chains nods as they stand from their seats.
“I’ll catch up with you. I’m gonna make a call.”
Texas dips his chin. “Good luck.”
“I need it.”
They both exit the chapel, leaving me alone in the eerily quiet room. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in here on my own as much as I have in the past twenty-four hours. Every time I come in here, it’s always with Zero, so being in here now without him feels foreign and like a part of me is missing. All I know is, I need to do everything in my power to get him out of this.
I can’t be in there with him.
If I could, I fucking would.
But the Baron will split us up in a heartbeat.
Also, I need to be here to watch over Prinie. I’m being torn in two—my need to stand with my brother and the need to protect the woman I care deeply about.
Zero’s told me to keep my distance, but him being gone makes that more complicated. I need to be here to make sure Prinie doesn’t do anything stupid. That damn woman makes rash decisions on a whim. I know that all too fucking painfully. The day she up and left felt like a part of my soul died.
We weren’t on good terms, not in any sense of the word.
Prinie was perfect.
She still is.
Stubborn. Strong-willed. Too fucking persistent for her own good.
But perfect.
Our attraction to each other was always dangerous. Not only because of her brother finding out about us, but because I always felt like I could hurt her. She makes my skin crawl in a good way. A tingle. And when she’s near, my body ignites in a way it doesn’t with anyone. Ever.
I knew she could be an addiction for me.
And I was right.
I should have stayed away.
I should have kept my distance.
I tried.
Fucking hell, I tried, but Prinie is nothing if not persistent.
She wore me down with her quick wit and sassy attitude. I guess the fact she was off-limits was an attraction too. I’m nothing if I’m not breaking all the rules.
Prinie followed me around relentlessly for months until I cracked under her pressure. We ended up making out on the pool table late one night when everyone had gone to bed. The second our lips connected, I knew I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck, to soothe the beast inside me, to get that sexual gratification I always sought. So, I broke away and tried to stop the road our relationship was about to travel. Because I’m dangerous for Prinie.
So, I needed to stop Prinie’s advances.
But she didn’t stop.
We didn’t stop.
Stealing kisses when no one was watching. Hiding our—whatever it was—from Zero was a constant strain on my moral compass. Until