Page 59 of Ruthless Beasts

He took out a plate and piled on a calzone, adding a heaping helping of the side salad, before handing her the plate. “Eat up. I have a little work to finish and then I’ll take you home.”

She took a huge bite, moaning around the cheesy mouth full. After chewing it, and swallowing, she spoke again. “Hannah is a bartender.”

“Excuse me?” Adam asked before taking a bite of his food.

“My best friend. Maybe she can help.”

He finished his bite of food before speaking again. “I forgot about her.”

He took out his phone, sending off a text asking Max and Drew to bring in the girl, then he continued on with his meal. The conversation flowed well enough, and even though Adam pretended like he was angry she was here, I suspected she was exactly what he needed to see. Ironic, since he spent so much of the first weeks of her living with us pretending like he had no interest at all.

He finished up his food, then went back to work, leaving her to curl up with a book on the couch. One blanket later and her eyes were drifting closed in a peaceful sleep, and before I realized it was happening, I was joining her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

BELLAMY

“I swear to God, if you don’t put me down right now, I’ll use my fingernails and stab your brain out!”

The screaming tore me from sleep into the lucid reality of unfamiliar surroundings. I blinked a few times, finally remembering I was in Adam’s office at the casino. How my feet became propped up on a sleeping Mercer’s lap and my head wound up in Ace’s lap was beyond me. When did Ace even get here? He looked down at me, his sleepy eyes telling me that the screaming woke him, too.

“That’s it! I will sever your head with my bare hands. Don’t think I can, big boy?” The screeching continued. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m stronger than I look.”

“Guess naptime is over.” Ace’s voice was rough, but his fingers were gentle as they toyed with the strands of my hair.

“I guess so.” I sighed. I didn’t want it to be over. In fact, I was perfectly content here in Ace’s lap. He never let me see this gentle, intimate side of him, and I knew I shouldn’t encourage it, but the talk of sharing was always at the back of my mind,making me wonder what if. What if I just took what a part of me wanted?

“I swear to God, I’m a witch, and I can make you stub your toe on every fucking corner you pass for the rest of your life.” The familiar voice nagged at me, and I sat up. I spotted Hannah slung over the shoulder of Max as he walked through the open office door. She spotted me. “Oh, hi Bella boo. Good to see you.” My friend's voice was syrupy sweet before turning hard again. “If you don’t put me down now, I’m biting you. You’ve had enough warnings.”

Drew rubbed his arm. “She’ll do it too.”

“She’s fucking possessed.” Max pitched her forward, dropping her into a chair in front of Adam’s desk.

Adam looked on, amused. His eyes sparkled as he watched my friend. I stood, the blanket falling to the floor as I walked toward my friend, excitement bubbling from seeing her for the first time in what seemed like forever. When I got close, Drew stepped between us, ready to guard me from Hannah. My Hannah. My sweet best friend.

“Hannah wouldn’t hurt a fly. Let me by,” I demanded.

Drew held up an arm with teeth marks. “No.”

“Let her by,” Adam ordered, not giving his friend an ounce of sympathy. “I’m sure our little Belle can manage the piranha just fine.”

Drew lowered his voice, mocking his boss, “I’m sure our little Belle can manage the biggest threat in the room with ease.”

Adam’s chest shook with silent laughter, but didn’t dispute that my best friend was a little unhinged. To be fair, she wasn’t always like this. But I imagine being carried in by a stranger to an office you’d not seen was a little scary. It was nice to know that if the situation was dire, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

When Drew moved out of the way, I rushed forward, flinging my arms around my friend and squeezing her tight. Fuck, it was good to see her.

She pulled back. “Are you kidnapped too?”

I looked over at my guards, glaring, and only getting a shoulder shrug in return. “Kidnapped?”

“We asked her to come, and she refused,” Max explained.

“They did notaskme to come.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “I believe what he said was, ‘Is your name Hannah?’ and when I confirmed, he said, ‘Come with me.’ I guess fuck off and leave me alone wasn’t the correct response because next thing I know, these jerks are tossing me into the back seat of an SUV. They child locked me. They fucking child locked me like I was five.”

“You act five,” Drew tossed in.

“She threatened to run the second we put her down.” Max backed up his friend.

---