Page 25 of Filthy Liar

“That was good?” Reid grunted, taking my hand as if he was worried we’d be separated.

“Our meetings can end in gunfire at times. No one was shot, it’s a win,” he said seriously, leading us upstairs to the bedrooms.

Zavier helped him bring a mattress from one room into ours, and Diesel rolled his eyes when Logan started pulling the one off the bed to put beside it.

“Remember to keep the noise down. Don’t traumatize the kids.”

I had zero plans on getting laid, so I nodded. “Understood.”

He made sure we had enough bathroom supplies and our things for the night, then he said good night and locked us in, the latch sounding loud in the quiet room.

Ander finally let the discomfort show on his face as he blew out a breath, pressing a hand to his ribs.

“Ten minutes with Skeet feels like hours. Don’t piss him off.”

“Show me,” I said as I reached out to pull his shirt up, helping him get it over his head so I could inspect him better. He was definitely bruising, and my eyes widened when I realized there was a bandage on his pec.

“Skeet’s a knife guy,” Ander chuckled, peeling the corner back to show me. “It’s clean and stitched.”

“He fucking cut you?”

“Nothing makes a person babble like a knife,” he replied dryly, fixing the bandage again.

“Jesus, man,” Zavier murmured as he moved behind Ander to look at his back, reaching out to touch him. Ander flinched slightly but let him inspect his injuries while Logan and Reid made the bed.

I was so exhausted and couldn’t wait to go to sleep.

Zavier

Ander was hurting so much more than he was telling Raven, but I wasn’t going to call him out for it and worry her. She curled up on one of the mattresses with Logan and Reid while Ander took a shower, and I figured now was a good time to talk without her there.

Ander glanced at me from under the spray as I stepped into the steaming room, frowning at him when I noticed his soaked bandage.

“You’re supposed to keep that dry, dude.”

“My muscles hurt like a bitch. Trust me, this is worth it,” he replied, flicking his eyes to the door. “Raven okay?”

“The guys have her,” I nodded, resting my butt against the sink and watching him. “You want to tell me how bad it actually is now she can’t hear you?”

“It’s just deep bruising. My ribs are killing me, but not like they do when they’re broken, which is good. I’ll know in a day or two if anything is bad.”

“You can’t lift your arms properly,” I deadpanned.

“You get punched repeatedly by Skeeter Maddox and try lifting your arms. My body is screaming at me,” he grunted, scowling as he dropped the shampoo.

“I’ve got it.”

“Donotget in this shower with me.”

“Bite me,” I replied as I stripped down to my boxers and stepped inside the shower, grabbing the shampoo and squirting some into my hands. “Turn around.”

“This is pushing the friendship a little.”

“So we can rub dicks through Raven’s pussy and ass, but me washing your hair is a hard limit?” I joked, making him roll his eyes as he turned. I was careful not to press too hard as I massaged the shampoo into his scalp, his voice soft when he spoke.

“It’s not Dante.”

“I want to believe you, but it’s hard.”

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