Page 150 of Pretty Little Lies

“Juice,” I scold. “Don’t be teachin’ themanything.”

“Can we get cake?” Mae asks again before glancing over at Torin. “Will you get me cake?”

Torin glances down at her, and I swear to God, I want to hate him. I loathe how good he is with my sisters. That he wants to be nice and kind to them.

That he gives a fuck.

That he gives a shit about me. That I have to work through this webbed situation with them and give them my trust.

You were okay with it when they were fucking you.

My nostrils flare at the thought of what happened outside of my cock fest to land me here.

“I can,” Torin replies, bringing his attention back to me. “If it’s okay with your sister.”

And now we’re respectful as fuck and asking for my permission.

I nod so that Mae doesn’t harass me about it again, and Juice rises to his full height, silently challenging Torin to fuck off.

“You two go,” Levi says to both Juice and Torin, saving me the anxiety that’s creeping through my veins. “And bring themback here when you’re done. No need to throw any more stress on Astor.”

“Will do,” Juice sing-songs, grabbing Mae’s hand and taking both the girls with Torin in tow.

I’m surprised Cairo doesn’t go with him. He just stands there like him and Levi are about to have a word shootout here in the hospital.

“So what’s this arrangement?” Levi presses, still standing at my side. “I have a feeling that I’m going to want to kill you at the end of it, Black.”

Cairo remains stoic, those dark ebbs and the thick strands of hairs sweeping across one side of his face as he says, “Probably.”

Not helping.

Not helping at all.

“You gonna run a crew with just one word? Or do you speak fluent asshole to get the job done?”

“The latter,” Cairo replies. “However, you should be talking to your girl about?—”

“I’m talking toyou,” Levi barks back through his teeth. “You just claimed her…so are you doing it to piss me off, or am I going to have surprise visits with you sneaking into South Shore?”

“Where’s the fun in telling you all that?”

He’s been hanging out with Reeve too long.

“None,” Levi emits. “So, that means you shouldn’t be surprised when you find a bullet through your head.”

“Levi…” I utter. “Please, stop.”

I don’t know why he’s starting this right now, or why he just won’t talk to me in private about it.

Men.

Men and their pride and need to piss over their territory.

Cairo averts his gaze, as if too bored, or that it’d take up too much of his energy when he slowly brings it back to us. “She’s ours.”

My brows snap together becauseoursis plural that can mean more than one person, but not him.

Never him.

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