Sinners' Playground (The Harlequin Crew #1) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,105

We lost you. We-"

"You took away the only chance I ever had to be happy when I needed you most. It doesn't matter how you justify it. There were a hundred ways that whole thing could have gone and you chose to destroy me when I was at my lowest. And now you stand here telling me what I can or can't do, laying claim to me like I'm some sort of possession and expecting me to forgive you when you haven't even tried to apologise? Please. You might have ruined me, but I'd take a thousand years of misery over a single moment as one of your toys."

The look Fox gave me made my heart twist in a way that had my eyes prickling with memories of the tears I'd cried over him and the rest of my boys, but I fought them back with fierce determination. I would never cry for them again.

"Let's go back to the house and talk about this," he demanded. "Maybe then you'll understand how we-"

"I hear the hot girl with the unicorn hair won the wet t-shirt contest and somehow I missed out on the show," JJ called as he rounded the side of the club and approached us.

I looked over at him just as he tossed me a roll of cash and I caught it automatically.

"Thanks," I said, pushing forward so that I was pressed up against Fox and making him back up to let me stand. "Can we get the fuck out of here now?"

"I'm not done talking to you," Fox demanded. "We need to discuss this. And I'm not letting you get away with this little stunt either. It's past time for us to set some fucking ground rules and I'm done with playing nice about it."

"Fine," I snapped. "Let's all lay our cards on the table and find out where we stand."

"I'll text Chase and get him to meet us back at the house," Fox replied, moving to open the door beside me. "Get into the truck, Rogue."

"I'll ride with JJ," I replied coldly. "He was always my favourite anyway."

JJ grinned broadly at that and moved forward to wrap an arm around my shoulders as he steered me towards his orange GT. Mutt got the hint and leapt inside with a happy woof.

I slipped into my seat wordlessly, only looking back at Fox once I'd clipped my seatbelt into place and was reclining in the plush leather. He was already in his truck, shades on and his mouth set in a firm line as he backed out of the space and shot away towards the road.

"Well," JJ said as he slid in behind the wheel and gave my wet shirt an appreciative look. "This is going to be interesting."

F ox messaged me to meet him and JJ back at the house and I left the gym in my grey wifebeater and jeans, walking over to my Suzuki motorcycle and swinging my leg over the saddle. Call me an asshole, but I didn't always bother with my helmet. The pavement would break my fall if I came off today and I'd lost the will to give a shit a long time ago. I was pretty sure that was around the time Rogue had ripped my heart out, Luther made me into a killer and my life got turned on a dime.

I wasn’t suicidal, obviously. But I drank in the pleasures of this world like they were fast going extinct because now I knew how quickly the good stuff could be torn away. From the moment I’d realised I should have told Rogue how I felt about her before it was too late, I swore to never fucking make that mistake with anything ever again. So nowadays if I wanted it, I took it. And if it gave me a thrill or made me hard, I took it even quicker.

I tore down The Mile, the wind rushing over me and carrying the scent of the sea and the latest fishermen's catch as adrenaline pumped through my blood. I loved this fucking town. I loved the waves and the pier, the cliffs and the fishes. I even loved the blood spilled at night and the danger lurking in the shadows. Sunset Cove was a dreamer’s paradise and a coward’s nightmare. And it was my favourite place on earth.

I sped past Sinners' Playground, my gaze drawn to the Ferris wheel out on the end of the hulking pier as the sun glinted off