Make My Move (Hannaford Prep #5) - J. Bree Page 0,72

us all in the kitchen, and suddenly I feel so fucking exposed having her here.

“I'll grab you something to change into, the towels are under the sink. Use whatever you need.”

She clears her throat but her voice is still raw. “I can go. Aves has seen me worse than this, she's fine.”

I snort at her and flick the coffee machine on. I need the caffeine to get my shit together because bourbon would be too fucking risky right now. I'd probably do something fucking stupid like kiss her.

“Just take a shower, Mounty.”

I force myself to sit my ass on my bed and wait until she's in the shower before I move. Avery is blowing up my phone, needing more details than whatever Lips had sent her but I have none.

All I know is that she got the job done without flinching, without stalling or second-guessing herself, and knowing that I have someone else watching Avery's back who would kill for her is a weight off of my shoulders. Someone Avery loves and is joined at the hip to, who can also bleed someone out is everything I never knew we fucking needed.

I can't lie to myself anymore and pretend that's the only reason I want her around.

Harley and Blaise have both text to check on Lips as well, and I answer them without my usual cutting sarcasm. I'm just... fucking tired. Tired of being angry and an asshole, tired of living by my brother's psychotic whims, tired of pretending that I don't want the Mounty girl around.

I want her more than I've wanted anything else in my life.

That in itself should be terrifying.

It's not.

When the shower cuts off, I wait a minute and then I knock and hand her a pile of clothes. She barely cracks the door open and I respect her privacy enough not to look, the temptation fucking vicious. I distract myself by making us both coffee. I know exactly how she likes hers thanks to all of the time I've spent in the girls’ room watching Avery fuss over the perfect brew.

When she finally emerges I'm drinking my own cup on the end of my bed, trying not to stare at her and freak her the fuck out. I gave her my shirt because I'm fucking weak and I wanted to see it on her, even just this once. I'm sure she'll burn it later, or give it to Avery to get it back to me, but she's obviously not wearing a bra with it and even though the soft fabric dwarfs her tiny frame, I can still make out the curves that have filled in thanks to Avery's cooking.

I want to touch them all.

She grabs her coffee and takes a deep gulp, a total fucking addict like Avery and I both are. She refuses to look at me, her eyes tracing over the rest of the room like she's going to find some magic portal out of here. I can't hold it against her; I only have myself to blame.

I keep my eyes away from her and on my own cup so I don't spook her. “Why did Joey call the juniors off last year? The real reason.”

She gulps down some more coffee. “Someone from Mounts Bay found out about the bet. He's Joey’s dealer. Actually, he's the top of the drug dealing food chain. This guy didn't like the idea of me being a bet so he warned Joey off.”

I don't like that she knows his dealers but then again Harley knows half of them from his time in the Bay so it's probably inevitable. “Why didn't Joey just find a new supplier?”

“The guy owns all of the dealers. Everyone in the state leads back to him so he told Joey that he'd never touch an ounce of anything again if he didn't back off.”

Well.

There's a lead for Harley to chase up. She can't know the real kingpin, everyone knows the Jackal doesn't have friends, but whoever sells directly underneath him must know something about her... maybe even who it is that's threatening her, if it's not just the seniors and their stupid fucking bet.

I nod again and set down my cup as she tips back the last of her drink.

There's so much left to say to her now I have her alone, truly fucking alone, and yet I can't find a single fucking thing. Nothing.

Except then she gets up to leave.

I move without thinking about it, without thinking about the consequences of doing