Page 66 of Diem

“Aw c’mon. We never got around to the good stuff.”

“And we never will,” I mumble, holding up my cup.

Walking away before he can say more, I step into the kitchen and set my drink on the counter. As much as I’d like to have another, I don’t trust these freaks and I’m not about to be vulnerable around them.

With a small sigh, I consider going home and step up to the door, searching the living room for Harriet. She’s not here, but I do pause on a figure that seems familiar, gasping when he turns his head.

Patrick? The same Patrick Skull that has been threatening me over. What’s he doing here?

Does Diem know? Does Skull?

Either way, the asshole has gotten me into all kinds of trouble and grinding my jaw, I approach with a scowl. Except behind him stands Skull who locks eyes with me and grins.

Shit.

Veering toward the stairs, I take them two at a time and when I reach the landing, I head straight for the bathroom. Except the door is locked and I hear moaning beyond the flimsy wood. Fuck.

When I turn back to the stairs, I see Skull at the bottom and spin on my heel, calling out, “Jaxon!”

His head pops up. He’s chatting with his douche football friends, but I don’t care and approach with a miserable smile.

As dangers go, Jaxon is a pussy cat compared to Skull. I’m willing to take the risk, which is why I grab his arm and pull him into the bedroom before shutting the door in Robbie’s face.

The last thing I see are his narrowed eyes before Jaxon nuzzles my neck and says, “Hm. I knew you’d change your mind.”

Pushing him back, I pace past him and say, “Look, I—“

“C’mon, Maeve. It’d be real good between us.”

My mind is racing which is why I ignore Jaxon and step to the window. Maybe I should call Diem? He’ll know what to do, but before I can bring up his number, Jaxon spins me around and pushes me toward the bed.

When I sidestep around him, he grabs my arms, forcing me to sit down.

“Relax,” he says but I feel the first trickle of alarm and move to stand until he drops over me like a dead weight.

Damn. How stupid am I? I walked right into this.

“Jaxon, no,” I say while he paws at my breast, and I slap out with my hands.

Immune, he grabs my jaw and rasps, “Hold still.”

Really? Fucker.

I maneuver to push my knees up between us but in the next moment, Jaxon is gone, and Diem stands over me with a murderous glint in his eye.

He looks me over quickly before turning back to Jaxon who backs up with a smarmy grin and says, “She came onto me, dude.”

I have no time to speak beyond a gasp which is drowned out by Diem’s roar as he pounces on Jaxon and proceeds to pound on him like he’s in the ring.

Except Jaxon is not a fellow cage fighter and sitting up, I stare, dumbfounded until Jaxon is nothing but a bloody pulp lolling on the floor.

“Diem?” I say before springing to my feet and dancing around him.

I’ve never seen him like this before and I don’t know what to do but I have to stop him before he kills the bastard. Right?

Yes. Right. What the hell is wrong with me? Except, I can’t get the thought of Jaxon doing the same thing to Dixie out of my head. He deserves what he gets but Diem doesn’t.

“Diem?” I whisper before clearing my throat. “Diem!”

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