Page 172 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

So much rage.

The door opening didn’t make me stop. Neither did the swivel of Lila’s chair away from the table. I kept pounding the shards into the fine threads of the carpet. Kept making that same keening noise of completion as if finishing this one task would somehow erase the pain that had been welded into my chest with a crowbar.

“Miss York.” The voice was cool. Not Donovan’s cultured tones, but a flatter, grittier voice that brooked no arguments. “Miss York,” he repeated when I didn’t react.

I didn’t stop for him. I would never listen to any male again.

“Christ, what the hell happened, Lindz? Lindz.” Jamie grabbed my arm and when I still keep driving my boot into the carpet, she took care of business as only my best friend could.

She hauled back and slapped me dead in the face.

That snapped me out of my trance.

Gasping, I stumbled backward, bumping hard into the conference table. “Fucking hell.” I whirled around and slammed my hands down on the table, only to see my entire band clustered around the open doorway, staring at me as if I was the devil herself, horn, tails, and all.

Right now? I probably looked pretty fucking hellish.

Along with my dazed band stood Noah Jordan, the security expert with Roth Defense. I’d met him a few times over the years, but I’d forgotten he was Hunter’s brother. They were so different.

Noah was the one who’d spoken with such level detachment. I had

no doubt he would’ve strong-armed me in a hot second if I’d gone for any more Ripper Records personal property. With him was a petite blond with shocked pale blue eyes. She had her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans and she kept looking from Noah to Oz as if she expected someone to have to restrain me.

It was a distinct possibility.

I exhaled and hauled out a chair at the table, dropping down into it as if I weighed approximately one thousand pounds. I’d dropped my songbook on the opposite side of the room. Without me even asking, Jamie retrieved it and pushed it toward me across the table.

“You okay?” she asked, voice low.

My eye was watering and my cheek was on fire from where she’d slapped me. Damn her for never pulling a slap. “Fine. Peachy. Is it finally time for the meeting? Let’s go.”

“It would be,” Lila said tightly, “except I no longer have my iPad. Care to explain what just happened here, Lindsey?”

I stared at my hands. “Men are fucking dirty pigs and I hope they all rot in hell.”

“Hear, hear,” Teagan chimed in, causing Cooper to slant her a look. “Well, they are,” she said defensively. “Like your dick gives you special rights or something. I have a vagina and it doesn’t make me think I own the earth.”

“It should,” Oz said from the back of the group. “Men revere them. A dude in lust will literally do anything to get inside one. You could have a fucking slave for life.”

“Bullshit. You’re all too fickle to care for long. And you think women are like Baskin-Robbins. Try one flavor today, another three flavors next week.”

Even as I spoke, I knew I was being ridiculous. But it had been a long, exhausting day—hell, week, month, and year—and I was flying high on too many emotions between what Nash had told me, my own security issues that had brought Noah Jordan to our doorstep, and now Angel’s little livestream event that had nearly torn me to shreds.

I’d handled all of it remarkably well. Now? That time was over. I was officially a freaking basket case.

Jamie snorted. “She’s not wrong. But men have their own flavors. Just some of them need to shower more often.”

“And shave their balls,” Teagan added.

“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Lila rose. “Lindsey, an explanation?”

“She hates Apple products,” Jamie said somberly when I didn’t speak. When I couldn’t. It was as if my vocal cords had been sealed. Stuck together with a glue that tasted like heartbreak. “She’s been in therapy for her issues with them for a while. I hoped she was getting a handle on it, but after what happened here, I think the problem is more serious than any of us ever guessed.”

Everyone laughed. Even me. Especially me. And when I stopped laughing, I started crying.

Jamie looked at me in sheer horror, then came around the table and wrapped her arms around me like a human shield. “Get out of here, all of you. Right fucking now. You too, Lila.”

Lila did not look amused. I couldn’t say I blamed her.

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