Page 47 of Call It What You Want
Roman left the Burning Crown a few months ago, but the society isn’t really something we Sacred Sons can quit. It’s in our blood. It’s in the marrow of our bones. And I know Roman still feels the pull.
“Yeah,” I say, never taking my eyes off Ava. Chase is sitting at the foot of her lounge chair, but there’s distance between them. It’s the only thing saving him right now. “Thanks.”
Roman follows my gaze. “Is that the bride? Wow.Nice.But who’s the guy?”
“Her boyfriend,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Oooh,shit.” He takes a pull from his blunt. “You’re just going to let him sit alone with your wife like that? That’s not like you.”
He’s not wrong. Just seeing Chase near Ava makes me want to tear his throat out with my bare hands. I take a deep breath, forcing the rage down. Roman passes me the blunt. I draw a long pull, wincing as the smoke sears its way into my lungs.
“I’m feeling generous,” I say, watching them. “I’ll give him one last conversation with Ava for the road.”
“What do you think they’re talking about?” he asks.
“Doesn’t matter.”
He glances at me. “Why? What are you going to do?”
I blow out a billow of smoke. “I’ll do what I always do—arrange the pieces so they fall my way.”
Roman laughs. “Do I even want to know what you mean by that?”
“No.” I roll my shoulders, muscles knotting up as I watch Chase lean closer to Ava. Goddamn. This guy must have a fucking death wish. My hands curl into fists.
“So what’s the plan?” Roman asks.
“You mean, besides making this asshole wish he’d never been born?”
Roman flashes me some side-eye. “I mean, once you get everything sorted out, what’s the plan with Ava?
I’m growing impatient with this conversation. Just a few months ago, the other Sacred Sons and I were asking Roman abouthisplans with Lux, and did he answer?No.He was being evasive as fuck.
“You’re a nosey motherfucker, aren’t you?” I say.
“Just returning the favor,” he says with a grin and a shrug. “The other guys are worried. They’re convinced you’re hiding something.”
A muscle jumps in my jaw. “And what might that be?”
“No idea, man.”
When it comes to Ava, all I’ve told the guys is what they need to know, and right now, they don’t need to know shit.
“They’re just being paranoid,” I say. “No thanks to you.”
He pulls back. “Me?What the fuck? I haven’t done shit.”
“All that fuckery with Lux—the plotting, the lies—now they’re seeing conspiracies with Ava where there aren’t any.”
He snatches his blunt from my hand and takes a pull. “That was different, and it’s not like I do that shit all the time. It was that onespecificsituation. Any one of you would have done the same thing…”
Yeah,exactly.
I shrug. “Whatever, dude. I’m just saying, you’re the reason they’re all paranoid and shit.”
“Ormaybe it’s just the weight of everything that’s been going on,” he points out. “That kind of heat makes people twitchy.”
I grab the blunt and take another hit. “I have everything under control,” I say for the millionth time. It’s my fucking mantra lately.
