Page 68 of Vengeful Rotten Casualties

“And when it comes to Luc, Micki,” Avalon says as she pushes up from the couch. “Just feel lucky you could still walk after he was done with you.”

The comment is so startling—though not at all unexpected, coming from her—that it makes me bark out a harsh laugh. She grins and hooks her hands into her back pants pockets. I open my mouth to tell her that I couldn’t, in fact, walk well after he was done with me. It’d been more ginger steps than anything, when the front door opens.

“Micki!” Luc’s voice rings through the house. I stand up and trail Avalon as she makes her way towards the foyer. The two of us stop at the mouth of the hallway as Luc, Dean, and his entourage invade. All but Luc peel off jackets and brush droplets from their hair as the door swings shut behind them.

“How’s the weather?” Avalon asks sarcastically.

Dean grunts and drops his jacket alongside the others before marching towards her. He leans down and kisses her upturned lips before arching a brow. “Hot and sunny,” he lies easily. “Why don’t I take you out and show you.”

She presses a palm to his chest. “No thanks. I like it wet.”

His eyes spark. “Me too, baby. Me fucking too.”

“Micki.” I turn away from the carnal looks the two of them are giving each other and drift through the bodies of the others until I’m standing in front of Luc. Only then do I notice the extra jacket he’s holding. “Here.” He hands it to me. “You’re gonna need this. Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I want to press my face into his chest and beg for a kiss like Avalon, but instead, I take the jacket from him and slip it on.

“Are you two coming to the party later this week?” Dean asks, pausing the both of us as I drop down to grab my shoes from the rack nearby.

“Party?” Luc frowns and glances at me as if I’d know what he’s talking about. I return his gaze and shrug.

“Avalon’s birthday,” Dean clarifies. “We’re having a party at Urban.”

I snort as I slide my feet into my sneakers and look to Avalon. Her face blanches. “It wasn’t my idea,” she mutters when she meets my gaze.

I laugh. “Yeah, sure,” I say, taking Luc’s hand as I finish up. He hauls me to my feet. “We’ll be there.”

“Oh we will, will we?” Luc inquires lightly.

I push him towards the door. “I haven’t been to a birthday party where I actually like the people in a long time,” I remind him. “Humor me.”

“I’ll humor you, pretty girl,” Luc agrees easily, wrapping an arm around my waist

“See you later, Micki!” Avalon calls as Luc opens the door. I shiver as a wave of cool fall air hits me. End of fall—closer to winter. The temperatures are dropping, but the rain is already making it worse. I jerk the hood of my jacket up and wave back as Luc and I dash out into the downpour.

Simple things like this. Spending time with a friend. Planning birthday parties. The smell of grass and dirt and rain. It’s nice. I’d almost forgotten what it’s like—feeling normal.

Unfortunately, it was never meant to last.

28

MICKI

What little bitof reprieve we’ve had for the last few weeks is starting to fade, and it comes at the perfect time. Life in the slow lane is far easier than I expected. I like it—I realize. Being with Luc. Having friends. Having a life outside of my revenge. I like it far too much for comfort. If I let it go on too much longer, I could see myself actually living like this. Living after it ends.

I wake up the morning of Avalon’s party with a new message on my phone.

Target resurfaced. Tracking now. Update soon.

The world knows that Andrew Bennington is missing and even if most people don’t care, the ones who do suspect he’s not coming back. Thomas knows he’s not coming back and the rat has taken the bait. A smile overtakes me. The bastard has crawled out of whatever little hidey hole he was in. Now, it’s time for the next phase.

I type out a quick reply, letting them know that the message was received before turning off the screen and rolling into Luc’s chest. I know Luc is good for helping the guys that helped me kill Andrew Bennington, but I’ve been keeping in contact anyway. They’re good for other things too. Particularly for hunting people down.

Luc’s groan rumbles through me where we touch, and he snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me harder against him as his lashes flutter. They’re long and dark, framing his crystal blue eyes perfectly as they open. It’s not fucking fair. He’s so pretty for a man.

“Morning, baby,” he mumbles, pressing a kiss to my hair even as his fingers skim down my side.

I arch a brow. “We’ve got things to do,” I remind him. “We can’t start anything.”

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