Page 31 of Give Me What I Want

I sat up, swallowed down the pain meds and watched him with my lower lip worrying between my teeth until the taste of copper tinged my tongue. I released my lip, bringing my finger up to touch it, and sighing irritably as it came away stained red.

I repeatedly licked my lip, then poked it, checking, until the bleeding stopped, while Mav continued to explain what we had woken up to this morning.

Last night we had put on the show of our lives, the people of Venice were damn lucky. On stage, we had been electric. Mav and Ro had battled out at my feet, making me feel even more like royalty than I had when Mav had done it alone in Amsterdam. I had more energy than ever, and we played so hard that, for the first time in years, I needed honey and lemon tea to soothe my throat before bed.

I had insisted on sleeping alone last night, and everyone had respected that choice. I went to sleep with a smile on my face, blissfully ignorant to what my fucking bassist had secretly been up to that afternoon.

Catching the end of what Mav had been saying to my little sister—telling her that he was waiting to get his hands on Ronan—I jumped up out of the bed, ignoring my pounding head as I forced my way past him, his stupidly muscular frame taking up the majority of the doorway.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

“Making sure I get to him before you do, where even is the little bastard?”

“Little? I sure hope you’re not talking about me, Your Majesty.” Ronan’s voice came from the front door. I spun to face him, hair flying around my shoulders, knotted and wild, probably making me look like a mad woman. Well, I was—mad that is.

I was livid.

“You!” I screeched, my throat scratchy and sore. I lunged at him, only missing my mark due to the hulking great arm that banded around my stomach, dragging me back against a solid body.

“Let go of me, Mav.” I thrashed in his hold. “Let go or I’ll kill you too.”

Mav chuckled, his breath hot against the top of my head, and I growled. It was a strange, feral noise, and it made Mav’s chest vibrate with more laughter. “So dramatic.”

“What?” I snapped, still attempting to free myself from his hold while Ro stared at us with a bemused look on his face.

“You’re being dramatic. You’re not capable of murder. Baby, you’re barely able to throw a punch. Do you remember when you broke your thumb because you tried to hit that girl back in college who kept flirting with all of us?”

“I remember that.” Ro grinned.

“Shut up, Ronan. You’re a fucking dead man.” If looks could kill, the one I had thrown him would’ve executed him on the spot. He’d be nothing but a bloody heap.

His brows furrowed, and he sighed, leaning his elbow on the counter beside him as he rested his chin on his fist. “Pray tell, Queenie, what have I done to warrant such a delightful welcome back from my morning workout?”

He was playing with me, thinking that this was some kind of game. Ronan thought that I was just in a crappy mood and that I was throwing my anger his way because he could take it, just like I had done on so many other occasions. But he was wrong. So wrong. He had fucked up, and he needed to pay.

“I think,” Mav said calmly, and I knew he was about to go all voice of reason on me. “That Ronan needs to shower, and you need to calm down. Then we can sit down, and he can explain his side. You’ll listen to him, Bea, and then if his side doesn’t add up, I’ll let you loose on him. Sound good?”

His question was aimed wholly at me, and I grumbled in response, no real words leaving my mouth as I stopped fighting my way free from his hold.

“In the meantime, you can come back into the bedroom with me, and sit quietly while Juno and I work out how to bury this shit, Okay?”

I grumbled again, a noise that he took as agreement as he loosened his grip on me. I took the chance to escape him, anger thrumming through my veins as I threw myself at my target. But once again I was dragged back before I could reach him.

The last thing I heard before Mav closed the bedroom door was Ronan’s laughter.

“Why didn’t you let me—”

“Sorry about that. Do you have any bright ideas to fix this mess?” Mav spoke over me, my phone still pressed to his ear.

He pushed me gently down onto the bed, then rounded it, plumped a pillow, and sat beside me, legs stretched and crossed at the ankles as he nodded and spoke with my sister. Eventually, I sat back with my arms folded under my breasts, a scowl on my face as I accepted that I was going to have to wait,and try to calm down. The only upside to being in the bedroom with Mav was that I was able to listen to him and my sister work together to bury the pictures that had been plastered on some dodgy websites this morning.

Mav had always been the most level-headed one of us. He was best in a crisis and was always able to think fast and on his feet. It was one of the things that I appreciated most about him. I just wished that his skill came in more useful when it came to his uncle, but it never would. Steve was beyond help, and there wasn’t a thing that Mav could do for him. So he’d have to sit back and wait too.

That thought flipped my stomach, and I found myself curling onto my side, resting my head on his shoulder, and snuggling close to him. I was acting like a bratty child, living up to the insult that Ronan liked to throw my way, and he was dealing with my tantrum and my mess. Yet he shouldn’t have had to. He had his own shit to worry about.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered when there was a break in their conversation, and his arm wound around me, fingers stroking circles on my skin.

“I’ve not been able to get hold of him. He’s disappeared. No one has seen him since last night. Cole and Jordan are out looking for him with the security team, but right now we have no idea where he is,” Mav explained, and I guessed that my sister had asked why our manager wasn’t dealing with this.

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