Page 21 of Now You're Mine

I shrug one shoulder and lean against the pool table. “Why are you agitated?” I ask Lucas, ignoring his question about surfing.

Before Lucas can answer, Christian shakes his head while he lines up his shot. They answer for each other a lot. Must be a weird twin thing. “All this shit with the Burning Crown has him really twisted up. He was lashing out at people for no good reason.”

“No good reason?” Lucas scoffs. “That douche Cole was talking so damn loud, and he just wouldn’t shut up.”

“See?” Christian shrugs. “He’s on edge.”

Yeah, I get it. We’re all on edge. Lux is doing her very best to destroy our entire world, and it’s stressful as fuck. As of late, it feels like we’ve been jumping from one shitty situation to the next. It’s fucking exhausting.

“Have we heard anything from Jackson’s uncle?” I ask.

Christian is still leaning over the table, cue stick in hand, but his eyes flick up to meet mine. “Yeah,” he says, taking his shot, then straightening. “That’s the thing, he looked over the bylaws and this shit might actually be legit. Lux clearly isn’t fucking around. She’s done her homework.”

I rub my chin.Fuck.“So that’s it? There’s nothing we can do?”

“I didn’t say that,” Christian says, reaching for the triangle to line the balls back up. “There might be a workaround. He’s checking into it.”

“Any chance he plans on figuring it outbeforeour tribunal?” Lucas asks, angry.

Christian straightens and glances at his twin. “Dude, you’vegotto chill. The lawyers are working on it. We’ll figure this out one way or another.”

Goddamn, I wish I believed him. I can’t handle losing Lux, and the society,andmy sanity.

Christian’s gaze shifts to me. “So, uh, I talked to Lux earlier.”

That instantly gets my back up. “What? Didn’t I tell you guys to leave her the fuck alone?”

Christian lifts one hand in surrender. “I was just delivering the food you’d ordered for her, Dickwad. Plus, I had to tell her Nathan would be sitting outside her door. I figured she might need a heads up on that, so she doesn’t have a heart attack when she steps out into the hallway.”

I sigh, and my muscles relax. “How’d she look?”

“Pissed.”

I nod, pursing my lips. “Yeah.”

“And she’s not your biggest fan, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, why would she be?” Lucas practically snorts from the couch. “We did what we had to do, but that doesn’t make it any less shitty.”

I lift my chin at Christian. “Did she look okay? What did you talk about?”

He’s chalking up a pool stick and pauses to flash me a look. “Damn, dude, do you need every last detail of our conversation?”

“He’s in love with her,” Lucas says casually.

I spin on Lucas. “Shut the fuck up.”

I’ve admitted as much to myself already, but I don’t need the guys knowing, because it’s not like anything can come of it.

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “It is what it is, man.”

Is he being serious right now? “I care about her, but that’s different.”

Lucas tilts his head back against the backrest and turns his head to look at me. “Is she all you think about?”

I blink at him. “That doesn’t prove anything. We had a plan, and that obviously required my full focus.”

“When she’s not around, does it feel like you’re dying inside?” Lucas asks.

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