Page 56 of The Catalyst

And who is the one using his monster cock to get such a reaction from me? Oh, right.Him.

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"Come on,Beth. You don't have to do that," Oisin mutters as I pick up the big chunks of broken plates off the ground. My eyes snap up as he puts the plastic plates on the table. Ollie leans against the counter, fully clothed this time, with Ronan on one side and Charlie on the other. "Ollie made the mess with whoever he was fucking earlier. He can clean it up."

"Yeah, you did enough by cooking."

I keep my poker face in place as I stand up, carrying the broken pieces to the trash. My gaze finds Oliver's but he seems just as unmoved as I am.

It's okay. They don't know it was me.

Our secret is safe.

I grab the broom and dustpan. "I don't mind. It's better to clean it up than someone getting hurt. These pieces are pretty sharp."

"Seriously, man. Why the kitchen?" Charlie laughs.

Because we were a little too caught up in the moment to move it anywhere more private.

"You really need to get over your wholeno one comes in my roomthing, man," Oisin mutters while shaking his head. "Either that or move the fuckfest to the bathroom or your car."

What? Oliver doesn't let anyone in his room. Why? Is it a personal space thing or just a general boundary?

"We all can't be like Ro." I take a jab at my friend's boyfriend who looks at me confused. "You let everyone into your personal space."

Charlie throws his head back laughing. "Oooo, burn!"

"Don't throw your daggers at me. I didn't do anything!"

I roll my eyes before putting the cooled down pot in the middle of the table. "I bust everyone's balls. Just because you're dating my best friend doesn't make you exempt."

"Be careful there, Mercer. Judy can be pretty feral," Oisin warns as he drops a handful of forks on the table, giving me the first smile I've ever seen on him. "She has nails."

I arch a brow at him as I put down a stack of cups, accentuating my words carefully. "And, I have claws…and a knife." I lift the hem of my skirt just enough to reveal the knife I have strapped to my thigh.

"Why…are you carrying that around?" Ronan asks, looking a bit uneasy. Actually, the only one who doesn't is Ollie himself.

"Because sometimes claws aren't enough." Really, what other reason would there be to carry a deadly weapon? I'm not planning to kill anyone, but if it comes down to me or them, I'll choose me. It's not a hard choice to make.

CHAPTER 25

OLIVER

"I'm not saying we need to do anything about her. I'm just saying we should keep a close watch on her," Charlie whispers as I sip my beer.

I don't add to the conversation, but his position pisses me the fuck off.

He claims that Beth is a danger simply because she carries a knife. Some women carry a taser or pepper spray. Her weapon is just more lethal. It's not a cause for concern.

"I hate to say it, but Charlie is right," Ro adds and my head snaps in his direction. My eyes narrow on him because what the actual fuck? "Don't shoot the messenger, but you didn't see her when she had her run-in with Devon Jordan. She was like Ollie with tits. I've never seen a woman act that psychotic before."

"I know she's Nigel's girlfriend, but she has a nasty side and we don't know how deep it runs. She put Jordan on his ass and could've inflicted more damage than she did. All the fucker did was taunt her to fuck with Nigel. She lost her shit because he called her sweetheart. That doesn't even make sense."

We collectively look at the kitchen where Beth is standing at the sink, washing dishes while whistling to herself. She is completely oblivious to this conversation.

The amount of the restraint I'm having to use right now not to strangle Charlie is uncanny. It's not him bringing up that Beth has some level of insanity running through her brain. I've known that since I squeezed her throat to cut off her air and instead of pulling away, she pressed her throat back against my hand in a symbolic statement.

Go ahead. Do your worst.

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