Make My Move (Hannaford Prep #5) - J. Bree Page 0,78
he always treats her like glass, but firmly enough that she takes notice and rolls her eyes at him.
“At no point have I been in danger, Ash, so don’t get all overprotective—“
“I’m not angry about that, I’m angry that she’s been fucking stalked and terrorized by a literal crime lord of the Bay and you didn’t say a fucking word to us. What if he came here for her? What if he sent someone here for her and none of us knew? She’s been in danger this entire fucking time and we’ve been chasing our own asses thinking it was some school bullshit when it’s been the fucking Jackal this whole time. He’s one of Joey’s dealers for fuck’s sake!”
That’s awfully close to admitting just how much he wants her and Avery is too fucking smart not to spot it. “Why do you care, Ash? I thought you hated her?”
I expect him to leave, to just bail on this whole conversation because it’s all just too fucking intense and he’s not going to want to be exposed like that.
He doesn’t.
His eyes narrow at her. “I care because if he comes up here for her, I’ll kill him. If he tries fucking anything, I’ll show him exactly how Beaumont I really am.”
Holy fuck.
Avery’s eyes flare and her mouth opens like she’s about to pick his brain wide fucking open but then the water cuts off and Ash turns away, stalking over to the table and slouching into the seat there. He downs the rest of his beer and then groans, cradling his head in his hands.
I get the feeling.
I grab us both fresh drinks and join him at the table.
“If you’re here to stake your claim on her, I already fucking know.”
He sounds fucking miserable and something close to guilt curls up into my gut. “I’m not. I’m here to say we should fucking drive down to the Bay now and gut the rapist fuck before he sneaks up on us.”
Ash chuckles under his breath but it’s full of self-loathing. “He’s the most dangerous member of the Twelve and even if we did succeed, they’d come after us. You taught me half of this shit; what are you thinking?”
I shrug and drain half the bottle in two gulps. “I’m not thinking, I’m fucking angry. Of all the girls, we pick the most fucking complicated one… and the same one. All three of us.”
The bathroom door opens and Lips walks out wearing one of Morrison’s shirts, an old one that she’s clearly owned for fucking years and he’s going to nut himself over. Ash takes one look at her and finally picks up the beer I grabbed for him, tipping it back like he wants to forget the night is even happening.
“Ease up a bit. You need your head for whatever the fuck Morrison brings back.”
Avery parks Lips on the couch with a giant bowl of ice cream, constantly on a mission to get some weight on her tiny frame. I fucking love her for it too, because Lips has gone from a strikingly beautiful but starving slum kid to a fucking stunning Mounty girl. She’ll always be a little rough around the edges but that’s what comes from growing up in the Bay.
I’m the same.
It feels like home to me.
“One of us should be with both of them at all times,” Ash mumbles and I shrug.
“There’s no fucking way Lips is going to be cool with that; she barely tolerates eating with us.”
Ash grimaces. “Well, we give her no choice then. If he’s watching her closely enough to know about the bet then he could grab her at any fucking time. What classes do you have with her? Let’s work it the fuck out.”
Fuck.
Fuck, he’s more than just a little interested in her.
Ash never, ever gives a shit about girls. They’re just some fun, a way to blow off some steam, but he’s never given any more thought to it than getting laid.
He’s in love with her.
It’s like a punch to the gut because my stake over her wasn’t just that I wanted her first, it was that I wanted her for keeps. Fuck, if Morrison feels the same fucking way, I’m screwed. Totally, utterly fucking screwed.
I need another drink. “We’re in all of the same classes except choir which she has with Morrison. We need to figure out what the fuck we’re going to do about summer break, it’s coming up and she can’t go home to the Bay by