Page 28 of A Twist of Poison

“Hmm.” He thumbed the side of his mouth, trying and failing to hide a grin.

“We can’t go a minute without hearing about that little liar nowadays,” Hollis ground out through clenched teeth, giving Miles the reaction he was obviously scoping for. Miles’ smirk was at full wattage as he peered at Hollis, then between Texas and I.

“Don’t,” I groaned loudly, knowing he’d be stirring the motherfucking pot.

Miles battered his lashes and schooled his face so it was now innocent looking, “What?”

If I didn’t know him like I did, I would probably fall for the act.

Texas—on the same wavelength as me—responded, “That pretend innocent face doesn’t work on those who know you.” He smirked at Miles. “No wonder you get all the golden pussy with that act going though.” Miles chuckled, and I snorted a laugh, a genuine smile spreading on my face.

The Owls had given us more than just a job, a career. It’d given us a tight knit family. Family wasn’t defined by last names, and it ran deeper than just blood. Blood made you related, loyalty made you family.

My blood ties with my family, my dad, and brother were nothing but a broken boy’s dreams that I grew out of hoping for a long time ago. Those men could be writhing on the floor caught on fire and I wouldn’t spit on them. I’d throw the gasoline on to accelerate the process.Burn motherfuckers, burn.

My thoughts turned to Milla, a mess of gorgeous chaos. You could sense it in her eyes. She reminded me of the moon, part of her always hidden away. And I knew I wasn’t the only one to recognise that—like called to like. She was more like us now than she ever was back then. In one way it shot a thrill through me. On the other hand, it intrigued me. What had she been through that she needed or wanted a part of her to stay stashed away, hidden from those around her?

“One of your boys had hawk-like eyes on her at that flashy party.” Miles’ words interrupted my thoughts, his voice betraying his hate for any type of ostentatious matter.

“Which one?” I asked.

“The Mayor’s son, Adam,” he confirmed, his eyes serious.

I coughed a laugh as Texas snorted, and Hollis just stared between us with no emotion crossing his features. Miles took us all in with curiosity. The guy was observant, more so than Hollis, and had a knack for reading people and sniffing out bald faced liars.

“He’s had a major hard on for her since we were kids,” Hollis declared.

It was what we already knew. It was laughable, the thought of him being with her or holding her attention. She made it obvious years back they were firm friends, nothing more, nothing less. Texas and I nodded in confirmation.

“Nah, that’s not it,” Miles commented, hand running over his jaw. “I don’t trust him.”

That got us sitting upright to attention. “We’ve known him since we were in diapers,” I added. He was one of ours, not the Owls because that was a need-to-know basis… but one of our trusted inner circles outside of that. Adam was loyal to us, a lifelong friend, so my back was up. But I cooled the raging anger thrumming in my veins because he didn’t know him like we did; he was an outsider to that friendship, and I couldn’t hold it over him as he was family, on our side, looking out for us as always. “Daniel and Lee had a thing for her too. They just grew outta it.”

Noting the anger draining out my body, he nodded in acceptance. “I knew that’s the reaction I’d get. My loyalty to you and our friendship meant I had to let you know my thoughts, regardless of your opinions or feelings.” He said the wordsfeelingsin disgust, like it tasted dirty on his tongue.

“Aww, hisfeelingscare for us,” I bantered, winking at him. The others laughed when his nose scrunched up, and his glare told me to shut my mouth about any type of emotion.

“Look who his father is,” he carried on and I tried really hard not to let that rage build up again. He was testing the waters; he’d better make sure he knew how to swim.

I levelled him with a glare capable of making grown men’s knees quake with fear, but not Miles. Nope, never him. He just stared back, his brown eyebrow raised, challenging me with a look. I would take Miles up on his silent offer, if he didn’t move himself out of my lane.

“Don’t mean a fucking thing.” I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees. “We aren’t a replica of our parents.” He gave me a look, and I knew what that fucking look meant.Well, Presley is. My cunt of a brother, who was five years older than me, was chiselled in my dad’s image, personality and all.

“Leave it,” Hollis cut in, noticing my rage rising once again. “You know there’s lots of people who are the complete opposite to their parents. Adam’s one of us, don’t worry about him,” he assured in a way that ended the conversation.

“Got your six. Always,” Miles declared as he stood from his seat and left abruptly. I shared looks with Texas and Hollis, trying hard not to ask, “What the fuck?”

All our phones pinged with a message simultaneously, I read it aloud. “Watch your girl. I heard she was in physical pain yesterday.”

Huh? I looked to my brothers, whose faces became a mixture of apprehension and concern. Texas mentioned that he could have told us just then in person instead of running off like a little bitch, Hollis and I snickered. Miles, a little bitch? Yeah, no.

“I’ll check it out and update you,” I advised them both as I left, jaw clenching in anger.

* * *

The car exited the underground parking, and I floored the BMW, pushing it to its limits on the highway. Weaving in and out of traffic with a whoop of laughter and adrenaline buzzing through me, I cruised along with no destination in mind. My phone rang; the speakers automatically connected the call. Fancy ass thing. Daniel’s voice greeted me.

“Yeah?”

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