Page 168 of Tangled in Knots

“They don’t have to know,” I say, holding back a yawn as Evan begins to drive. “If I’m going to live here, I should have a say in the things happening in my city. It’s obvious I can’t be a normal girl, may as well embrace the mafia princess in me.”

Cian chuckles under his breath and nods. I’m wearing so many different hats, one more won’t matter.

CHAPTER 35

KANE

Adira told us everything about her very busy night before passing out on the mattresses we put on the ground, in the living room. This rental isn’t large enough now that she’s staying with us. We need more room to be able to sleep with her, and a much bigger bed.

We’re nowhere near being accepted or forgiven by her, but the fact that she’s willing to lean on us when she feels like shit, after our track record is a start. Our little rabbit is snuggled in Demon’s arms, the non-bruised side of her face carefully resting on his chest.

“Adira can’t catch a break, and now she’s officially our keeper,” Jed rasps next to me, his face propped on his fist so he can stare at her. “I’m more angry about how hurt she is, than the fact that we have to be good boys for her.”

Snorting, I glance up at him, since I’m laying flat between him and Morris. “I don’t think you meant that to be as hot as I think it is,” I tease him.

Morris rolls his eyes and I tug him against me to lay on my chest. “Come on, you know I’m right. Burning the world downin her honor, while she rides my face would be incredible,” I whisper to him.

I’m not about to risk waking her up when she’s so exhausted.

“Yeah, that does sound fun, but where do I fit into this?” Morris asks.

“At some point, she’s going to decide she wants more than simply the hilt of a knife to get her off,” I remind him. “Our little rabbit doesn’t enjoy feeling vulnerable, and the sight of blood gets her hot and bothered.”

“I don’t think she’ll want any of that with me,” Jed murmurs. “Too much has happened.”

“A lot of things that she doesn’t know about,” I mutter. “She doesn’t understand why you were so set on following Dad’s orders.”

Right before we went on that mission for Dad, something happened between them, which made him even more set to make the auction drop. Even if he doesn’t want to tell me, he owes it to Adira.

“Am I missing something?” Morris asks. “Rock has always been heavy handed with Jed, which is why he rides us so hard to toe the line.”

“It’s more than that,” Jed says. “The punishments he puts me through are normal even when everything goes perfectly. It’s why I disappear sometimes. Dad makes me snap necks at his personal meetings, sells tickets to his men to beat the shit out of me for personal entertainment, schedules me for fucked up tactical trainings. Last year, he hired my services to gang leaders to clean up their messes. It doesn’t faze me anymore, as long as I can keep you out of it.”

I knew some of that, because of how battered he’d come back to whatever safe house we’re staying at sometimes, but didn’t realize it was because of our fuck ups.

I can step off task, do what I want, and thought that as long as the end goal was met that it was fine. I didn’t realize Jed was paying for it.

“Excuse the fuck out of me?” I growl. “Why didn’t you tell me that? Are you telling me that every time I gave into intrusive thoughts and blew something up without a direct order to, you’d get in trouble with Dad for that?”

“I’m so used to it, I didn’t think you needed to know,” he says simply.

“Kane, keep it together,” Morris grunts when I growl low in my chest. “He’s telling us now.”

“Kind of,” I complain. “What made this mission different?”

“Dad made an off hand comment that he’s bored and needs entertainment. He said the next time we fucked up, he’d put us on auction. While omegas can take a lot of damage,” Jed clears his throat in disgust as he has to stop, “so can alphas. The auction would be open to the government to see how much the three of us can take until we break. Dad said he’d pick up whatever is left of us at the end, simply killing us if we were too broken.”

“Wow,” I whisper. “You were pushing so hard, this makes sense now. You’ve always been protective, but this?—

“I chose us over Adira,” he says softly. “If I could do it all over again, I don’t think I’d do it the same. I keep wondering if that’s also why Dad pushed up the timeline for the auction. I know Ophelia occasionally gets raided and she has started a second warehouse for long term housing of her inventory. However, I don’t believe that’s the only reason for him to have moved things up.”

“She needs to know,” I sigh, turning to gaze at Demon and Adira. They’re completely passed out, breathing deeply. “They both do.”

“Fuck, I know,” Jed says. “I’ll tell her when everyone is awake later. Get some sleep.”

Unfortunately, sleep isn’t the easiest tonight, and it takes hours of listening to Morris’ deep breaths before I can slip away.

ADIRA

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