Page 78 of Lies Like Love

“Echo needs to get laid.” Crew snorts, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“You offering to be the sacrificial lamb?” Sage laughs.

Crew shakes his head. “Fuck no. Good luck to whoever taps that.”

“Thought she was seeing your brother?”

“The only thing he’s fucking is his hand while he jacks off to Jesus.” Crew laughs. “Saving himself for marriage or whatever shit the church has brainwashed him with this week.”

Crew and his brother, Rhett, are opposites in every way, which made it even more shocking when Echo started dating Rhett. She and Crew might not get along, but on the outside, they seem to have more in common.

Why she’s seeing some guy who’s practically married to the congregation is confusing as fuck.

“So when are you bringing the redhead out to party with us?” Crew asks, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and sitting up.

“Never.”

“Come on.” He leans forward, his eyes glimmering with whatever sadistic thoughts are running through his head. “Scared she can’t hang?”

She’s not the one I’m worried about. Fel’s a magnet for danger, so she’s learned how to be resilient.Sheisn’t the problem. It’s what I’ll do if anyone dares to so much as lay a hand on her that is. These guys might be my best friends, but one wrong look in her direction and I can’t trust that I won’t skin them alive for simply thinking about it.

“Scared one of us will steal your girl, Jude?” Sage joins in on taunting me from his chair, sharing a look with Crew.

“You two are the least of my worries.”

“I don’t know…” Crew stretches his arms out across the back of the couch. “I could show her a whole new world.”

“She’s not into your sick shit.”

“At least now he’s admitting to fucking her, otherwise how would he know?” Sage laughs.

They’re pissing me off just for the reaction.

“Fuck off.”

“Whatever man.” Sage leans forward, facing me. “Doesn’t matter anyway. We’ve got Echo’s birthday party tonight at Incinerate. Remember?”

Fuck. “No.”

“Well, she invited Fel.”

“When?”

Sage shrugs. “Beats me. Echo just said Fel was coming, and I figured you knew. So much for keeping her away.”

I make a mental note to remind Fel not to keep things from me, even if I have to brand it into her skin. There’s no way it slipped her mind because Fel plans shit weeks ahead. Which means only one thing—she’s not sure how I’ll react to her accepting the invitation, and she hid it on purpose.

It would be smart if I wasn’t going to figure it out sooner or later. Fel knows the idea of her getting friendly with anyone at the shop makes my temples throb—even Echo.

Maren’s a bad enough influence on her, dragging her to fight nights and planting seeds about me in her head. But Echo is worse. She comes from our world. LA streets are deeply ingrained in her. And even if she seems sweet on the outside, there’s a much harder core underneath.

“So you’re coming then?” Crew asks, smirking.

I’m tempted to punch him, but he’d probably just enjoy it.

Sick fuck.

“Apparently.”

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