Page 58 of Making Choices

For the second time tonight, I give Toker the middle finger. The only difference is this time I mean it. “Get the fuck out of here before I give in to the urge to kick you in the balls.”

“Cherub.” He tries to placate me with a sheepish grin. “Shit’s tense right now. Slash’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine.”

“Whatever.”

“Look, I’m sorry for bein’ a jackarse.”

“At least you’re aware of it.”

Toker holds his arms wide. His gaze is earnest as he asks, “Forgive me?”

I don’t even take a second to think, I just step into his embrace and allow him to swallow me up with his lanky frame. “I can never stay mad at you.”

He blows a raspberry on the top of my head. “I know.”

“Conceited much?”

“It’s not conceit when it’s mutual.”

“Sweet talk will get you everywhere.” Peering up at him, I take a moment to really appreciate how lucky I am to have a cousin like Toker. I can see my gratitude reflected in his green gaze, and we both flush with colour. Knowing he’s about to say something rude to break the tender moment, I beat him to it. “You’re fed and watered, so you need to get the hell out of my face before Dad realises you’re the double agent.”

My cousin gives me a squeeze, then he puts a couple of steps between us. All merriment is gone as he scans my face with worried eyes. “Don’t trust anyone outside of our group. Not even Cass or my dad. And definitely not yours. Anythin’ he says is suspect. Any promises he makes are likely false. The walls are closin’ in on him, and that means he’s more dangerous now than he’s ever been.”

“He won’t let anyone hurt me. Not now he knows how crazy Alex really is.”

“I hope you’re right.” Toker exhales noisily. “For everyone’s sake.”

As I watch him leave through the front door, I catch my bottom lip with my teeth and chew on it. Between Toker’s weirdness about Slash and his worries about my safety around my father, my roiling stomach is the least of my problems.

Even so, I still follow Toker’s advice and drink another mug of chamomile tea before bed.

In my precarious situation, it pays to take every precaution you can.

15

SLASH

“Where’s everyone gone?” Venom asks.

“Sudden emergency at the Inadale chapter. Brutus took everyone but the prospects on the gate with him,” Bear replies, moving his gaze from us to Joker’s woman. “He told me to tell you to have some fun while he’s gone.”

“Told you.” I hide my statement with a fake cough.

When I see the anger in Venom’s expression intensify, I brace for him to ruin everything. My pep talk back in his bedroom was for nothing. Hatred flickers in his gaze as he glances Bear’s way, then Joker’s. Regret after regret surges through me when Honey makes another rotation around the pool cue that she’s using as a stripper pole, and Nadia’s man lays down the gauntlet.

“Said he won’t hold it against you.”

As my skin crawls with disgust, I instinctively know that there’s no way I’ll be able to go through with my dumbarse scheme to fuck this whore. I need to come up with a plan B, because my first idea is moot.

My phone vibrates inside my cut.

A timely reminder of what’s at stake.

Somehow, through luck or sheer bloody-mindedness, I refrain from slipping the device free to read the latest update Toker has sent about Cherub to the group text. His text message from yesterday made me smile and then immediately sent my sick mind off on a carnal tangent. Since Toker refuses to update his technology to this millennium, he couldn’t send us photos, so he settled for offering a stream of consciousness detailing how his cousin had cooked him dinner and then he’d braided her hair.

No doubt, he’s checking back in to see if we’ve made any headway with Brutus.

Tonight’s party was supposed to be our in.

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