Page 46 of Cruel Debts
"Bitch," he growled, reaching out to touch her. "Why are you putting me down in front of the guests?"
Her shrug was brief and uninterested. "Why not? You need brought down a peg every now and again."
She's not wrong. This man walked around like he was a gift in mortal form to the Guild, and he never let anyone forget it. His unbearableness has nothing to do with the gruesome scar stretching from the edges of his smile, and everything to do with his personality and attitude.
The scars don't hurt his badass, I-should-really-come-with-a-warning-label persona, though.
"So, how's your girl doing lately?" Harper asked quietly, staring at her fingernails as I tied off the last stitch in Nash's skin. "She get out and do anything very often? She mentioned a job?—"
"Maybe you should keep your nose on your face and out of other people's business," I told her slowly, my hackles rising with her intense not-scrutiny. "Trinity is fine just where she is—until the man hunting her down is found, she'll be safest there."
Harper and Nash exchanged a knowing look. "You keep her locked up in the apartment upstairs?"
I frowned. "What's the problem? She's got plenty to do?—"
"I found her locked in the fucking gym the other day," Harper pointed out, crossing her arms to glare at me over them. "When shedoesget out, it's not far, and it's always shitty for her."
"And how would you know—wait, what do you mean you found her?"
I knew Liam left her locked in the gym, but she hadn't mentioned someone had set her free, or helped her. To find out it was Harper, of the Skeleton Crew, alleviated some worries, but created a whole new set of them for my sanity.
"I mean, she wouldn't have gotten out if I hadn't noticed the chair in front of the danm door and moved it."
"She spent time with you, then?" I wasn't angry or upset, merely curious. And my curiosity wouldn't be satisfied until she answered the question that had been, for all intents and purposes, rhetorical.
Of course she spent time with Harper. Why wouldn't she, when she'd been locked up like a fucking fairytale princess in a storybook by her three insufferable captors?
"I taught her some self-defense moves," Harper admitted, shrugging at my look of astonishment. "What? Can't a girl learn to defend herself?"
My frown deepened. "She's too soft for all that. We've known her for years. She's not the kind of girl to kick ass. She's the kind of girl you protect."
"She's soft, is what you're saying," Nash pointed out, his brow quirked. "Didn't peg you all for self-sacrificing white knights, ironically enough."
I shoved a thumb into the still-fresh scarring over the last bullet I'd removed from him a few weeks ago, and relished the hiss it garnered in response. "She's a contract, nothing more. We owe her brother, and we made a blood oath. Something you probably don't know anything about."
Nash blinked slowly. "Dude, I have two brothers. I share a girlfriend with them. I think I know a lot more than you about blood ties and the like?—"
"Nash!"
He tugged her into his lap even as she swatted him for his big mouth. "What, Harpie girl? It's true. I thought you were over acting shy about us. You getting cold feet again?"
Her frown was comical. "Not on your life, you prick."
"Good, then quit complaining."
"Ahem," I cleared my throat, waiting for them to shut up long enough to get a word in edgewise. "If you two are done with my services, I'll send the bill through St. Clair, as usual. And take my leave."
I'd rather be anywhere but here right about now. Home, resting my eyes, is a good start.
Harper followed me to the door, her posture stiff as she stopped me before I could leave. Her hand curled around the handle, and those dark eyes glared up at me from beneath bushy brows that made her look more dangerous than she likely was.
"Listen, I'm only gonna say this once, and then I'll drop the whole thing." She sucked her teeth and sighed, a very Trinity-esque move if I'd ever seen one. "That girl you got up there—Trinity. She's not as soft as you wanna believe. And if you don't get her out of that place and into some fresh air, you're gonna find out that keeping a human locked up is harder than you think. Or you'll break her."
"I don't need your advice on how to care for another human being," I grumbled, though her words had merit I wasn't willing to admit to. "Thanks for your concern, though."
"You don't know what it's like," she said suddenly, a crack in her voice that wasn't there before, making her seem vulnerable. Scared. "To wonder if every time you round a corner, someone's going to kill you, after all this time. To be on the run foryears and always live with a bat under your bed and a knife in your pillow." Her body shook, and I wondered how much this admission was going to cost her in the long run. "It's not fun, but neither is being hidden away because someone else thinks it's too dangerous for you to be out in the sunlight for five minutes."
"We promised her boss, her parents?—"
