Page 99 of Ruthless Beasts

“Ouch.” Mercer looked at Drew. “That’s rough.”

Drew shrugged. “The roughest.”

Brushing the brownie crumbs off my palms, I pushed to my feet. I took Hannah’s hand, pulling her up too.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“The garden. It’s really coming together since everything we planted has started growing.” I walked toward the back door, knowing damn well that Drew would follow us. Probably Mercer too. Plus however many other guards that Mercer forced upon me. He liked me safe; I appreciated that. But was there such a thing as too safe? “Lady, come.”

The pup jumped around excitedly, chasing her tail before she bolted out the door. We followed, walking toward the garden. I turned to Hannah. “How are you liking the setup?”

“It’s fucking amazing,” she gushed. “Want to come see my place?”

I turned to Mercer, who shook his head. I mocked him as I said, “Dad says I can’t play at your house today.”

“More like daddy.” She laughed.

“Oh god, don’t feed any of their egos. They’re already huge.” My feet hit the soft grass, the slight moisture under my soles causing me to sigh contentedly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to go soon. It’s on their property, after all. The sun is just setting. Plus, I think they believe if you take me, they’ll never get me back.”

“We’re obsessed,” Mercer added from a few yards behind us.

I pushed open the garden door, and she stepped in. Drew went to enter, and I stopped him. “No boys allowed.”

He turned to Mercer. “Sir?”

“If I would have known this was a girls' clubhouse, I would have installed cameras.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, Merc?”

“Fine. But don’t leave the garden without us. We’ll be playing ball with Lady.” He pulled a ball out of his pocket and threw it, watching as the dog raced to retrieve it.

I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Go before I change my mind,” he ordered.

I skipped inside, smiling at my small win. When I was sure they were out of earshot of the garden, I gave my best friend my attention as we walked around, looking for the perfect spot. “So, what’s the deal with Max and Drew?”

We sat on a cement bench under an overgrown tree. The sweet scent of roses surrounded us. She looked down at her hand, picking at her nails. “There is no deal.”

“Really?” I raised a brow. “Because it sure feels like there is some?—“

“There isn’t,” she cut me off.

I bit back my amusement. “Oh. Okay. Phew. So that stifling sexual tension y’all suffocated us with was all made up.”

Hannah let out a frustrated laugh. “Okay. I think they are cute. But they are so fucking infuriating. One, if not both, is always in the way, always hovering, always has some sort of bullshit to say. I can’t stand it.”

“Mhm.”

“Stop. I’m serious. They are too much. I don’t know why your guys assigned me a guard. I don’t need one,” she huffed out. My smile grew, and that annoyed her more. “What?”

“They didn’t.”

“They didn’t what?” She crossed her arms in front of her.

“Assign you a guard. Those are my guards. If they are around you, that’s on their own time.”

She blinked a few times, slowly. “What?”

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