Page 99 of You Might Be Bad for Me

More so by what she does to me.

The hate and anger I felt toward her years ago has numbed into something else each minute I sit here.

Curiosity maybe.

“Just get the package from Marcus. You’ve been gone long enough and we could use you here.”

“I don’t know if I want to come back,” I tell him honestly and flatly.

“It’s not a matter of want,” he replies but his words come out hollow and with no authority although he wishes he had it. “We’re your blood.” He plays the only card he has that can get me to do his bidding.

“You never fail to remind me.”

My phone vibrates with a message and I’m more than happy to end this call.

“I’ve got to go.” My phone vibrates again. “I’ll update you when I can.” I don’t wait for him to acknowledge what I’ve said, let alone tell me goodbye. I’ve never been close to my brothers. Not like they are toward each other. I’m the black sheep, I suppose.

I crack my neck as my phone vibrates for a third time. Before checking it I glance back at Addison only to see she’s gone, although her laptop is still there. My heart stills and my body tenses until I see her by the counter, ordering something else.

Annoyance rises in me as I realize how much pull she has over me in this moment. I’ve turned back into what I hate. My teeth grit as I pull up my texts and that annoyance grows to an agitation that makes me grip the edge of the table to keep me from doing something stupid.

Three messages, each from Jake.

Marcus isn’t coming tonight. He said there are complications.

I have your girl’s number though if you want it.

And I think she’s coming here tonight.

Jake wants to die. That’s the only explanation. He literally wants me to kill his ass.

My glare moves from the cell phone in my hand back to the coffee shop across the street. Addison’s cardigan dangles loosely around her as she moves back to her spot. Her jeans are tight and I can just imagine how they’d feel against my hands as I ripped them off of her. It’d be difficult, but I would fucking love it.

“Do you …” I hear a small, hesitant voice next to me and I have to school my expression before I can look back at the waitress.

She’s an older woman, with soft lines around her eyes. A stray lock of dark hair with a line of silver running through it falls from her bun and into her face as she offers me a smile and holds up a pot of coffee. “You’re all out this time,” she says, like it’s a reason to have another.

“Sure,” I say and smile politely as she fills the cup.

The hot coffee steams and I stare at it as she leaves me be.

So Addison is giving her number out.

I wonder if she would have given it to me. I replay that scene in my head and instead of leaving, I slip in beside her.

I don’t deserve Addison. That’s a given.

But I’ll be damned if I let some asshole like Jake get his hands on her.

CHAPTER7

Addison

It took three days to actually go through with it and go back to Iron Heart Brewery.

Three days and this feeling in my gut that won’t leave.

Three days of fiddling with images in Photoshop and hating each and every one because I can’t focus.

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