wind, all hell will break loose. Have fun digging into Jake’s life—in the meantime, I’m living mine and I’m doing it any damn way I see fit. And so help me God, if any one of you tries to stop me, I’ll never forgive you.”
I’d made it to the door when Trey called out. I stopped and craned my neck so I could look over my shoulder.
He gave me a small smile and I swear to all things holy, he looked proud. I wanted to soak up that look and lock it in so I’d always have it, but I was too ticked off at my brother to fully appreciate it.
“Baby, please don’t leave the building.”
Gah. I wanted to steal his keys, get in his truck, and go back to his big house where I could hide in his big room in his big bed and not think about the monumental butthole Jason was.
Instead, I nodded.
“Thank you.”
Those two words hit me in the chest, and I knew he wasn’t thanking me for not leaving the building.
Hope built.
16
The door quietly clicked behind Addy. As pissed as she’d been at her brother, I admired her self-control. I, on the other hand, was unsure if I possessed the same restraint.
But then, I wasn’t pissed. I wasn’t even angry. I was motherfucking furious.
“Trey—”
“Do not speak to me, Jason.”
The room, so quiet you could hear every inhale, turned strained. Tension so high, one move would inflame an already hostile situation. A room that was filled with deadly men who were no strangers to violence, death, and destruction.
“Razor,” Carter called.
The old nickname cut me to the quick, I wasn’t Razor—not anymore.
I wasn’t anything.
I found Carter through the crush of men, still sitting at the head of the table while the others had stood, prepared to lock down the combatants if the need arose. Nick was moving around the table to take his cousin’s side, Matt was moving in behind me. But I didn’t take my eyes off Carter. During my contemplation, I hadn’t thought about what Carter would think of me being with his cousin. He knew me; we’d served together for years, he’d had a front-row seat to my indiscretions.
“How big of an issue do you think Belview’s gonna be?” Carter asked.
“Gut says a big one,” I returned, happy Addy was no longer in the room, yet not pleased about why that was.
“Right, and are you saying that because you want to keep my sister in your bed?”
Carter’s jaw clenched, Matt moved closer, Nick slid in behind Jason, and I vaguely wondered what Addy would think if her beloved brother left the office with missing teeth. Likely she’d be pissed, though after the shit he’d slung her way, she might not. But Emily Walker would be out of her mind pissed. Although she might be more pissed when she found out why her son needed dental work.
“I’m gonna say this one time, Jason. I respect you and your family. I understand you’re looking out for Adalynn. I even get why you don’t like me with your sister. I have a lot to prove to all of you. But I swear to Christ, you take one more dig at my woman, you’ll be eating through a straw.”
Jason reared back and his eyes narrowed. “And that’s how you’re planning on proving you’re good enough for my sister?”
“No, that’s me telling you, brother or not, I will not stand for anyone disrespecting, embarrassing, or talking shit about Adalynn. And you of all fucking people should know that the shit you said to Addy both embarrassed and hurt her. She’s Addy, so she’ll forgive you. Me, not so much. It’s gonna take a long time before I forget. A long fucking time, Jason. And for the record, Addy’s not in my bed, she’s in my life. And I know without having to explain it to you, you know the difference. So that brings us back to my point—you don’t like me for your sister and you wanna take jabs at me, I’m man enough to take them. But you ever embarrass, hurt, or disrespect Adalynn again, you and I will have bigger problems than we have now.”
“You’re fucking my sister,” Jason angrily returned. The electricity that had been bouncing around the room ignited. Matt’s hand curled around my bicep and Nick flanked Jason, stopping him from moving closer. “And you’ve got the balls to tell me how it is.”
“Last time, Jason. I am not fucking your sister. And if