Page 16 of Deviant Bastards

“Yeah, now shut the fuck up so Pixie can sleep,” he says as he gently tugs her closer to him. She’s slowly but surely bringing us all to our fucking knees. We are starting to see that there’s more to her than we first thought, and maybe, just maybe, she is more than just our enemy’s daughter. Ric is still playing games with her father, and Grayson is still tearing London apart looking for her. He has apparently killed six of Lee’s men already and is on the brink of war with the Assassins because of that alone.

“Anyone seen Ric today?” Gryffin asks quietly. Gadge shakes his head and looks across the room at me. “He’s been holed up in his office all week, and I’m sure I heard him fucking someone in there earlier today. Either that or he was jacking off to images of Little Brawler.”

“Again,” both Gadge and Gryffin say at the same time.

I slouch down a little more in the chair, trying to get comfortable, but it’s damn near impossible. So, I end up giving up and curling up at the bottom of Harley’s bed.

* * *

Someone kicks me in the ribs, and I go tumbling over the edge of the bed, landing hard on the floor. “What the fuck!” I whisper yell. I hear a giggle come from the bed. “You’re not a dog,” her angelic voice says. “Only dogs curl up at the bottom of beds. And actually, speaking of dogs, where’s Nuke?” she asks me. Nuke, who was curled up outside her doorway, pads into the room at the sound of her voice.

“He was on guard duty,” I say as I stand up to walk back to the chair at the side of her bed. If Nanuke isn’t with Little Brawler, then he’s with me or one of the grunts. He’s a big dog and needs constant activity, otherwise, he gets bored and chews shit up. I watch as she wiggles out of Gryffin’s hold and scrambles over Gadge. She silently makes her way to the bathroom and returns a few minutes later. “Want to talk about last night?” I ask her, hoping that she will open up just a little bit. Her gaze darkens as she shakes her head. “Nope,” she sasses, popping the p. “But I do need to run.”

I watch as she pulls leggings and a tank top out of her closet before walking back into the bathroom. She doesn’t close the door all the way, and I can see her through the small gap. She lifts up the top she was sleeping in, and I catch a glimpse of a phoenix tattoo on her back just as she pulls her clean top on. As she lowers her shorts, I gasp and turn away from the door. She has a scar that runs from the base of her back to just above the bottom of her left arse cheek.

My mind whirls with thoughts of how that could have happened, and my hands ball into fists as fury threatens to take hold of me. I close my eyes, taking deep breaths and counting. Nanuke whines and nudges my leg with his nose as I feel hands gently caress my face. I take a moment to try and stop myself from getting lost in my thoughts. When I open my eyes, I come face to face with Gadge’s gunmetal, blue ones. “You good, B?” he asks as he pulls his hands away from my face.

Gadge was always the one to pull me out of my own head when the anger got to be too much. He would place his hands on both sides of my face, and ever so gently, he would run them up and down my cheeks until I came back. It was a trick that Kendric’s mum taught him. “I’m good. Have you seen the scar on her?” I whisper, but before he can answer me, Harley walks out of the bathroom.

She looks stunning in her tight-fitting leggings and top. As she walks to the closet to pull out a pair of trainers, she looks up at us and catches both Gadge and me checking her out. “What?” she asks as she pops a hand on her hip.

Both of us shake our heads. “Where are you going, Pixie?” Gryffin’s sleep filled voice asks as he sits up in her bed, and she walks over to sit down next to him. “I need to run.”

ChapterTwelve

HARLEY

Sitting down on the bed next to Gryffin, I put on and tie the laces in my trainers. Dayton chuckles as he walks out of the room. “You’re not going alone.” Gryffin states as he guides me backwards so that my head is lying on his chest. I listen to the steady beat of his heart for a few seconds, gathering my thoughts. “I know. I can’t go anywhere without my keepers, now, can I?” I say sarcastically. His heartbeat increases for a minute, and then he takes a deep inhale, releasing a frustrated breath. I take that as my cue to sit up and pull away from him.

Dayton returns dressed in a pair of grey joggers and a t-shirt. “You’re stuck with me this morning,” Dayton says, gesturing for me to follow him out of the room, leaving Barker and Gryffin behind. “You do realise that you’ll never sleep alone again, right?” Dayton says out of earshot of the other guys as we descend the stairs. I give him a confused look. “Gryffin,” he supplies. “That guy has never shared a bed with a woman for a whole night, not until last night, and now I can guarantee that you won’t get rid of him,” he chuckles.

I shrug my shoulders before saying, “As long as he keeps his dick in his pants, then we should get along just fine.” He doesn’t respond to that comment, he merely grunts and opens the front door. “Woah, woah. Where are you taking her, Gadge?” Aiden, the prick, asks. I glare at him, not showing an ounce of fear because that’s what guys like him feed on.

“Back the fuck up, Aiden,” Dayton warns. It’s interesting that Dayton doesn’t tell Aiden that we’re just going for a run. Although, he must be thick if he can’t tell that’s what we are going to do by the way we’re dressed. “Idiot,” I murmur under my breath, but from the glower that I get from Aiden, I’m going to assume that he heard me. Dayton gestures for me to continue, so I descend the last few steps outside the house. I stand and look around, taking in the area that I have yet to see.

Trees line the entire outside edge of the property, and just beyond the tree line, I can make out a lake. I would love to explore more and try to figure out where I am, but that will have to wait. Dayton joins me, and we take off. I start off with a light jog, not wanting to be out of breath and energy before I’ve even gotten started. Dayton keeps pace beside me, not speaking but just enjoying being outside.

As I pick up the speed, I notice that there are no other houses around us; this house seems to be the only one. The only thing I’ve seen is an access road which has a guard’s station at the gate. It seems adequate enough to keep intruders out... or prisoners in. I need to figure out a way to get past them. As we run around the side of the property, I look for anything that could aid in my escape. I’m proud of myself when I spot a small gap in the fence line, where the trees meet the edge of the grounds. That might just be my way out. My only hope is that Dayton doesn’t spot it too. I turn and glance at him to find that he’s watching me. “Planning another escape, Spitfire?” he laughs. His easy read of my plans angers me, and I glare at him.

“Hate to tell you this, but there’s no one around here for miles. So, I wouldn’t even bother if I were you,” he says as we loop around to the back of the house. We re-enter the house through the kitchen, and I head up the stairs for a shower. “Thanks, Dayton,” I say as we part ways.

Once I’m showered, I change into a pair of leggings and a baggy hoodie, then pick up my book again. I’ve almost finished readingRuthless Monsters,and I was thinking I might need to see if Gryffin will let me borrow another title from him. After a while, it hits me that the room is quiet... too quiet, and I begin to wonder where the guys are. I listen to the silence, contemplating if I should go in search of the guys, when I hear the sound of someone’s feet coming to a stop outside of my door.

“Want to come watch a movie with us?” Gryffin asks as he pokes his head in the door. I put my book down and nod. “What are we watching?” I ask, silently hoping that they don’t choose another horror movie. Not that I don’t like horror movies because I do, but sometimes, I have to give my brain a rest from all the blood and gore. “Dayton says there’s a new Viking series on Netflix that he wants to watch.”Whoop, whoop! Give me Vikings over horror any day.Although, most Viking programs and movies still have a shit ton of blood in them.

As we walk towards the movie room, I spot the door to Kendric’s office cracked open a little bit. “Can I have a word with Kendric first?” I ask, my voice hopeful. Gryffin takes hold of my hand and shakes his head. “Um... he’s busy right now, Pixie.” Gryffin brushes off my request and slightly pulls me away from the door just as it swings open, revealing Ric in only a tight-fitting pair of black trousers that clings to his legs.

This man is covered in tattoos. I mean,literallycovered. Starting from just under his chin all the way down to where they disappear into the waistband of his trousers. I want to explore each and every one, to find the meaning behind them. Ric clears his throat, and I blush slightly. When I lift my eyes to meet his, I find that he’s glaring at me in disgust.Well, fuck you too,I think as I lock my hand tighter in Gryffin’s.Bastard.

Kendric’s eyes follow my movements until a pair of arms wrap around his waist. “Baby, come finish what you started.” A girl’s voice grates on me like nails down a chalkboard. A blonde steps out of his office and plants herself in front of him in a territorial stance. She tilts her head in my direction. “Who’s she?” she demands.

Ric signals for Gryffin to keep walking, so he pulls me behind him. “She’s no one. Now, get your sexy arse back in there.” She squeals and runs back into his office. I feel his gaze on me, so I turn to look at the man who has basically avoided me ever since he took me. He pins me with a sneer and then slams his office door behind him.

As we enter the movie room, my thoughts of Ric and the blonde evaporate. The guys have moved the sofa and coffee table to the far wall, and the floor is littered with cushions and pillows. There are fairy lights sprinkled all around the room. “We thought that you could use a distraction,” Dayton says as he tugs me out of Gryffin’s hold and leads me towards the pillows.

Barker pulls me down onto the floor beside him as Dayton grabs a huge blanket from the sofa to put over all of us.This feels intimate, almost... like a date.

“Trust me, if it was a date Little Brawler, then these two fuckheads wouldn’t be here,” Barker says quietly.Shit, I must’ve said that out loud again.I sigh and arrange some pillows behind me while laying on my side with my head in Barker’s lap.

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