Page 109 of Hold Me Before You Go

“Motherfucker, what did I just say?”

“You and I both know I have issues with authority.”

I sighed through my nose, looking out into the hallway. “That’s why we get along so fucking well,” I said, my voice tired.

“Whatever you’re about to say to me, or whatever you’re fucking trying to say to me, save it. You can’t change the past, and none of us, not even me, regret you finding Carrie,” he assured. “She’s your woman, your happiness.”

“We’re going to lose Red Snake, Hayes.”

That got him to shut up, even for just a moment. “Like I said, we had a good fucking run.”

“I’m giving her the choice,” I confessed.

A short, harsh laugh came from him, reminding me of the one Carrie gave me last night. “Yeah, well, if you gave it to anyone else or kept it to yourself, we wouldn’t be having this heart-to-heart right now.”

My brows came together. “And if I gave it to you?” I pressed, making sure I’d heard him right.

His voice was steady as he answered, “I’d choose your happiness, Gray. I’d choose Red Snake. Every fucking time.”

I was taken aback. That wasn’t the answer I’d expected from him. “What about all your righteous talk the other day?”

“The world is a shitty fucking place.” That was all he gave me.

“So all five of us are fucked in the head, huh?” I sighed again, leaning back in my chair.

“You’re acting like you didn’t know that.”

“She already told me she wouldn’t choose me,” I muttered, looking back to her file.

“No, Gray. She would choose you. She wants to choose you. She’s just too damn good to look the other way on this. That’s why you love her.”

Fuck, but it was. That and so many other reasons.

Running a hand through my hair, I sat up. “Look, I said all of that to say—”

“You even think about uttering those three flimsy words to me, I’m shoving my foot up your ass the second I get back,” he growled.

“Fuck you. I’m saying them,” I shot back. “I am sorry.”

“No one blames you for this, man,” he told me. “Especially not me. You don’t have to apologize for this.”

I heard a bang in the background, and my spine straightened. “What the fuck was that?”

Hayes made a sound like he was impressed. “I have to give it to him. Jack’s got style.”

“Hayes, what the fuck?” I clipped.

“He just blew up at car, that’s all. Nothing bad.”

I muttered a curse under my breath. “Try not to get killed.”

“Oh, before you, me, and the boys spend a lifetime in prison? Of course not. Where’s the fun in that?” he deadpanned.

“I’m serious, Mitchell.”

“Go take your woman back to her blue house, Gray, and get off my ass. When I have the proof, you’ll be the first to know.”

The line went dead, and I sat there for a few moments, remembering how far we’d come, how much we’d built, and when I was done, I got up from my chair and left my office.

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