Page 61 of Merciless Angel

Cash scoffed. “What’s he gonna do? Delete my penicillin allergy from my records? What a tough guy.”

“That’s exactly what he could do,” Blaze continued. “Then years down the road you go in for something and they give you that shit without knowing. Take this seriously, dickhead.”

“I handled it the way I chose to handle it,” Daire cut in, speaking for the first time since we left Raina’s house. “That’s not the kind of favor we agreed to. Fucker deserved a beating for asking to fuck Clover. Right in front of her too. He had it coming.”

Blaze fumed next to me, clenching his fists in his lap over and over. “When they destroy our fucking lives and empty our bank accounts, it’s all on you.”

Daire met Blaze’s angry stare through the rearview mirror. “If they do that, we kill them. That’s all there is to it.”

“What would you have said if he’d asked you for a night with Clover?” Cash faced Blaze, a brow raised.

“I’d have told him to go fuck himself and left it at that. Sometimes that’s enough.” Blaze’s leg bounced with the energy he fought to contain.

“And if it wasn’t?” Cash pressed, refusing to let this go.

“Then I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.” Turning to me, Blaze asked, “How do you feel about what happened tonight? Do you think Daire was out of line?”

I cringed as everyone waited for my response. Taking sides wasn’t going to win me any points here.

“I don’t know. I wish it hadn’t happened at all. Daire was being Daire.” I shrugged. What else could I say?

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Daire shot me a glare through the mirror.

Wary of his temper, I said, “It means that you’re always looking for a fight. You enjoy it. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not wrong,” Blaze answered for Daire. “He’s a blood hungry bastard.”

Daire raised a middle finger but said nothing. Can’t argue the truth.

I waited until we got back to the house to say, “I talked to Raina. The Gods have a big drop happening tomorrow night.”

I heard myself say it and felt detached from the words. It was too late to take it back now. This was happening.

Daire paused before drinking from a bottle of Jack. I had his full attention. “Where and when?”

As I relayed the information Raina and I had agreed on, I saw Daire’s eyes light up with sinister intent. That should have been enough to make me feel better about what I was going to do. Second thoughts kept creeping in, tormenting me with the what ifs.

What if this whole plan got someone killed? What if things went too far and someone got hurt? What if it I was making a huge mistake?

Cash eyed me suspiciously. “You wouldn’t be lying to us, would you, Sunshine?”

That got both Blaze and Daire eyeing me too. I wanted to shrink away into a hole in the floor.

“Why would I lie about this? What would I have to gain from that?” Somehow I met their stares without flinching.

Blaze spoke first. “Our Rainbow wouldn’t lie to us. She knows what would happen if she did.”

Daire’s vicious laugh sent chills racing through me, chilling me to the core. “Yeah, but just for fun, let’s show her anyway.”

“Show me what? Let me guess. More controlling, possessive male crap.” Trying not to let on how freaked out I was, I tugged the bottle of Jack from Daire’s hand and took a drink. Something told me I would need it.

Cash chuckled, ambling toward me. “You’re getting a real attitude lately. I like it. Where was this version of you all along?”

Buried deep inside beneath the fear and intimidation. I’d never been the confrontational type like Raina nor was I quiet and submissive like Lyra. My sassy nature fell somewhere in between. The Angels had scared it out of me for a while. Not anymore. Knowing this would all be over soon empowered me.

“It’s always been here,” I said. “You guys just didn’t give me a chance to be myself with all of your threats and forcefulness.”

“Yeah, well, that won’t be stopping any time soon.” Daire strode from the room, pausing to add, “Tie her hands and bend her over that couch. Grab something to stuff in her mouth if she gets too loud.”

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