Page 44 of Chaos Luck Wrath

“Damn man, I’d want to protect that, too,” Devon commented.

Jax leaned in closer before giving an aggressive sigh combined with a groan as he noticed a small detail. “Oh, come the fuck on, man.” He pointed at the pic, specifically at Layne’s hand that had her engagement and wedding bands on display. “Tell me you’re not banging some guy’s wife.”

Shrugging, Gage was obviously unbothered. “I told you it was complicated. He’s not who I’m worried about, he’s well aware of everything that’s going on. It’s her shithead brother that’s the problem.”

“You screwing the brother, too?” Isaiah blurted out. Before Gage could correct him, Hunter smacked him upside the back of his head on Gage’s behalf. “Ouch! What?” Isaiah initially looked confused as to what he said, then gave a goofy grin. “You never know who wants to be impaled by the mighty Vlad.”

In disbelief of Isaiah’s commentary, Jax muttered to himself while consuming the rest of his coffee. When he finally collected his thoughts, he gave a resigned sigh. “How much of a problem is the brother? Are we talking about a guy who talks big or one who brings all his low-life friends to come play?”

The memory of the pocketknife sticking out of Layne’s leg and the bullet hole in Joey’s chest had the emotions running hot through Gage’s veins. Trying not to bend and snap the silver butter knife in both his hands that he hadn’t recalled picking up, Gage’s words came out strained. “The type who deserves the wrath of every damn horror in hell.”

Chapter Twenty

SAFETY FIRST

“How’s the leg?” Rebecca asked from the other end of the line.

It was on the edge of being a little too cool to be sitting outside in shorts, but it was worth the occasional goosebumps when the wind picked up. Layne looked down at her stab wound, it was just getting to the stage where it began to itch as it healed. Fortunately, Dr. Patty had only needed to do minimal stitching during the initial triage. The blade had felt like it created a foot-long opening when it had gone in but had only left about an inch-wide wound in its wake.

“It’s healing. I’ve had worse,” she responded, trying to minimize the incident. “Anything exciting going on down in Baltimore?”

With a giggle and a coy tone, Rebecca drew out her one-word response, “Maaaaybeee.”

For a split second, Layne felt like she was living a part of her life that could be considered normal. This was just another talk with her best friend and she could pretend for a little bit longer that they weren’t hundreds of miles away from one another. She could also pretend that her life of crime and danger was nothing but a crafted storyline in a book.

The next thirty minutes were spent listening to Rebecca gush over her new beau. Some guy that shared a lot of the same interests as her and even had a decent taste in wine. She griped about him liking an opposing football team, but otherwise, he seemed like he was worthy of keeping around.

“Well, don’t fall too hard for him until I get the chance to meet him, okay? I got to make sure he’s good enough for my bestie,” Layne playfully warned Rebecca.

Feeling a text come in from her watch, she noticed it was from her associate, Ethan. Real life was beckoning her back it seemed.

“I’m sorry, Rebecca, but duty calls. I promise I will check in again in a few weeks, okay?” The apology was heavy in her voice.

The sadness clung to Rebecca’s words, “I love you. Be careful.”

“I love you more.” Layne ended the call with a sigh. Promising to be careful would have felt like a massive lie. She wasn’t going to make promises she couldn’t keep.

She looked around the small square footage of the backyard of O’Reilly Manor. It was just enough space in a city where any amount of a footprint came at a premium.

Taking a few minutes to shift the gears in her brain, she looked at Ethan’s message and smiled at the way he always attempted to lift her spirits.

ETHAN

Who is your favorite employee?

LAYNE

Depends.

What do you have for me?

ETHAN

Our latex-faced friend suddenly remembered a password.

LAYNE

Suddenly?

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