Page 86 of Collect the Pieces

“Oh, so she can leave that freakish statue next to my bed and mess with my nocturnal activities?” Rav throws his arms wide, laughing as he backs up a few steps. “But I can’t retaliate?”

“That’s right,” Jigsaw confirms without hesitation.

“Those are the rules,” Wrath adds, his grin wide and unapologetic.

“Why do you assume she did it and not me?” Jigsaw challenges, arching an eyebrow.

Rav smirks. “Well, all the ladies want to get into my bed…” He drags out the words before flicking a slow, exaggerated wink—one of those smug, over-the-top gestures that probably works for him fifty percent of the time.

An embarrassingly loud snort-giggle bursts out of me.

Jigsaw’s mouth twitches with amusement. “You’re lucky she’s laughing,” he mutters, his face hardening and voice carrying an edge of menace. “Or I’d choke you for even suggesting my girl wants to get anywhere near your sad, cum-soaked bed.”

Now that was a little too mean. I frown at Jigsaw and give Rav an apologetic smile. “Sorry, there’s only one bed I want to be in.” I reach over and squeeze Jigsaw’s arm to make it clear in case Ravage is slow.

“Can we see the doll?” Lilly asks.

Trinity nods. “Do you mind passing it around?”

“Not all. Just be careful, the nails are sharp and rusty.” I hand the bag to Shelby on my right. She passes it to Rooster without looking inside, like it’s a prop for a horror movie she’d rather not star in.

“Did it really survive the crematorium?” Teller asks.

“Awww,” I protest. “You’re going to unravel my story piece by piece?”

Teller lifts his head and stares at me like he expects me to come clean. I sigh. “She came to me that way. But I was told she was tossed in an incinerator and that was all the damage she sustained.”

When Lilly accepts the pouch, she pulls the doll completely out. She turns the doll over in her hands, studying the smooth wood, the intricate carvings, and each rusted nail with an almost reverent curiosity. “My grandmother had something similar,” she muses. “It didn’t have the freakish nails poking out of it, though. She told me her mother-in-law gave it to her as a wedding gift and if she kept a clean house, it would bring good luck.Butif the house was messy, the husband was lazy, or the kids misbehaved…” She trails off, raising an eyebrow. “It would haunt her and cause problems.”

I shiver. The way she says it doesn’t make it seem like a quaint folktale. More like a warning.

“That covers an awful lot of issues,” Z jokes, his voice an easy rumble that cuts through the moment.

Lilly’s red lips twist with humor. “Be happy that thing got lost. She wanted to pass it on tomewhen I got married. I said no thank you.”

“Sounds like it would’ve brought us good luck,” Z says, the warmth in his tone unmistakable.

She gently grips his chin, tilting his face toward her, staring at him with so much affection, I feel like we’re intruding on a private moment. “I was a little girl who hadnointention of ever getting married. If I’d knownyouwere in my future, I would’ve accepted it.”

A few guys groan. Someone makes a whip-crack noise.

Another guy mutters,get a room. But no one really seems cruel about it. Z’s a club president, and it’s obvious the guys all have a lot of respect for him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s utterly unapologetic about his open affection for his wife.

I glance at Jigsaw, almost expecting him to be rolling his eyes at the display.

But he’s not looking at them.

He’s focused on me.

A quiet warmth spreads through my chest. I reach over, sliding my hand over his knee. “They’re sweet.”

“Sweet’s not the word I’d usually use for Z, but with Lilly, yeah.”

Before I have a chance to ask anything else, a woman on the other side of the table asks, “Where did your grandmother’s end up?”

“No one knew.” Lilly lifts her chin in my direction and passes the statue to Z. “Now I’m wondering if it was buried with her because no one else in the family wanted it either.”

A few more people inspect the statue or ask me questions about it but most just take a quick look and pass it on. Jigsaw finally hands her back to me. I lean sideways, placing her under my chair.

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