Page 38 of Bittersweet Revenge
“Look.” Dean eases back slightly. “I’m not trying to be a dick. Just… That shit is not okay with me. And it almost happened on my watch.”
“My sister isn’t your responsibility. She’s mine.”
“Um, fuck you both. I’m not either of your responsibilities. I can take care of myself.”
I don’t take my eyes off him, and I can see it…he cares about her. Maybe that should have been obvious, but when I look at him, see the sincerity in his angry stare, I know he would kill for her if he had to. He wouldn’t have stopped at the Bar if someone hadn’t stopped him.
I’m used to that in some ways. My world is violent. My family takes care of each other. But Dean isn’t family. He hardly knows her. And yet he cares about her.
“We don’t hurt people,” I lie to him. Cillian’s hold on me loosens, and then he steps back. “But I take care of my own.”
“How?” Dean asks.
“None of your fucking business. Also, you’re staying here tonight.”
He shakes his head. “The rest of them might listen to you, but I don’t.”
Aislin takes his hand. “Stay. I missed talking to you this week.”
And just like that, he relents. “Fine.”
I fight back a growl, jealousy licking up my spine again. He’s willing to stay for her but not me?Who gives a fuck? Why do I care about him?
“You can stay or go, little fighter. It’s up to you, but if you stay, I want you in my bed tonight.” I turn and walk away. “Cil. Come on.”
With a sigh, I hear my cousin, my oldest friend, follow me into the room I use as an office. I sit down, and he closes the door.
“What are you doing, T?”
“I gave him a choice, like I always do. If he doesn’t want to fuck me, he’ll go.”
“You know that’s not what I mean. You want him to stay in the house? And you mentioned wanting that fucking sicko dead in front of him. I thought it was funny at first, seeing you dance around him, but now I’m getting worried. We don’t know him. We have a lot of fucking secrets he can’t find out about. We have your dad breathing down our necks. We’re planning a fuckingmurderbehind the boss’s back, and trying to push a ton of coke, Molly, and K through this campus so said dad-slash-boss doesn’t lose his shit and fuck all four of us over. Now isn’t the time for…whatever the fuck is happening.”
“Nothing is happening.”
He frowns, his brows pulling together. “You like him.”
“I want to fuck him, like I said from the start.”
“You want to get to know him.”
I sigh, rest my elbows on the desk, forehead against my hand. This is Cillian. I can’t lie to him. It would never work. “I can’t be curious about someone?” I hate the truth in those words. I hate Dean for a reason I can’t explain, but I also want him just as much.
“Of course you can.”
“He kept Aislin safe. He cares about her. He’s fucking fierce. No goddamned fear of me or you.”He reads classics, and something tells me I could talk to him in ways I couldn’t with anyone else.That part I keep to myself.
He runs a hand through his hair and plops down in a chair. “No shit. It’s kinda wild. The fucker reminds me of you.” Cillian laughs.
“He could be beneficial to have around.”
“He could be. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to be careful, and that doesn’t mean we should trust him. Just…be careful. Hopefully you fuck your curiosity out of yourself and he goes on his way.”
I huff in response. “I don’t want anything more from him than that.”
“We’ll figure it out. Hopefully I don’t kill him.”
“Might be easier if you did.” I laugh. “This doesn’t go past me, you, Ash, and Rory.”
