Page 126 of Clinch'd

Sensing my stare, she meets my gaze with an unreadable expression before looking away and with a silent sigh, I turn back to the front.

This is so messed up.

Hate swings the car past a huge iron gate and when we pull up to a mansion that rivals the one Minnie left hours ago, two men emerge from inside.

Instead of taking the tricked-out SUV parked in the drive, the dark haired one approaches our vehicle before wrenching open the back door.

His eyes skim over Hate and his sidekick in the front seat before moving right past us and to the back. My skin prickles and I go to move, thinking to keep Minnie as far from these fuckers as possible when he speaks.

“Hey Min,” he says with a pretty smile, and I whip around.

Who the fuck is this?

Chapter 48

Minnie

Of all the miscreants I was surrounded by back in the day, I’ve always had a soft spot for Cyn. Maybe because back then, he was just a boy before the life hardened him into the man standing before me.

“Hey,” I say, ignoring Cooper who graces me with a frown.

Cyn nods at Beast and says, “Costa. Seen your fights. Brutal.”

Beast just grunts while Cooper grumbles beside him.

With a wicked chuckle, Cyn waves at Beast and Cooper who both exit but when Cooper moves to sit in the back, Cyn says, “I got it, bro.”

“I’m not your fucking bro,” Cooper mutters as Cyn climbs in beside me with a pretty grin.

“Hey baby,” he says, picking me up and moving me to the middle seat while Jig pokes his head inside.

“Minnie!” he says with the same bright smile I remember.

“Jiggie,” I say, and he laughs as he slides in beside me.

“Haven’t heard that in forever,” he rumbles. I can’t contain my smile as he settles in the seat, leaving me practically straddling their laps.

When Cooper and Beast are back in the middle row, Hate pulls back down the drive. Although the path is well paved, I still bump and jostle between my two burly friends.

Cyn rests his hand behind me on the back of the seat and Cooper swings around with a scowl. I’m so fucking tired of his grumpy ass behavior that I raise a brow.

Snarling, he points beside me and growls, “Seatbelt.”

When Jig chuckles, I elbow him in the ribs before fastening the belt. Although to be fair, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t go far stuck between these two.

Seemingly satisfied, Cooper turns back to the front but not before glaring at Jig.

Jig is immune though and chatters the entire way while Cyn grunts his agreement. I haven’t seen the pair in too many years to count so their conversation is meaningless to me.

After a while, I do finally interject though to say, “Where’s Bastion?”

Jig turns and eyes me quietly and I brace myself for bad news until he says, “At home with his twins.”

“Uh what?” I choke out. Bastion has twins. Holy shit.

His blue eyes brighten when he laughs, and I can’t help my smile. In some ways it’s just like the good old days although right now I feel ancient.

Was I ever that carefree? Although I concede, Jig has always had his own demons.

---