Page 65 of Vicious in the Dark

“What’s your deal, Ruthless?” she asked, staring into her cup. “Why are you so bitter toward me now?”

There was no answer I could give that she would be satisfied with. Needing to ease the strain that had fallen over us, I said, “I put together a crew to handle Archer’s drug deal tonight. Ace and Wolfe are sending some people as well. Which leaves the rest of us open to deal with the Thorns.”

“What are you saying?” Maven’s head came up, her expression changing into one of hope and excitement. “We never came to an agreement. Wolfe and Maddox were against my plan to be bait.”

The spark in her eyes gave me life. I enjoyed it a little too much. “Well, too fucking bad for them. Ace and I were for it. They’re outnumbered. Since when do you only do what they want? That was never your style.”

A mischievous smile crept over her lips, taunting my dick. I’d always wanted her, but never had her. Not in every way I should have had her. I was dying to lay her back on the weight bench and fuck her until her moans drowned out the bickering bullshit upstairs.

“It’s not my style now either,” she said, finishing the smoothie with a grating slurp. “I didn’t expect you to back me up. Thanks, Ruthless.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it.” I waved off her thanks, crushing the warm, fuzzy feelings that threatened to rise. “Seriously. Don’t mention it to Mads or Wolfe. It’s better for them to find out once it’s too late for them to stop us. So, what’s the plan, Baby Girl? You’re the one calling the shots.”

I cringed as my pet name for her left my lips. Goddammit. Being around her made old habits come easily.

Maven didn’t react to the slip up, but I knew she heard. Instead, she launched into her plan. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it didn’t need to be. Maven would go to the warehouse bar where we’d found R.J. and Derek. She’d flash her Hale Syndicate tattoo around and make sure that she was seen. If the Crimson Thorns were looking for her, they’d find her in no time.

The loud thud from a chair falling over upstairs made us both jump. Maven rose with a sigh. “I guess I better get back up there and help Ace keep the peace.”

“Hey, Maven,” I said, feeling both disappointed and relieved at her departure from my private space. “Don’t push Wolfe and Maddox too hard to get along right now. You can’t force them to work things out. Let it happen naturally.”

She paused halfway to the door, considering my words. Then she launched herself at me, throwing an arm around my neck. “I knew my Micah was still in there.”

My stomach twisted painfully as I fought the urge to strip her tiny shorts off and bend her over. I settled for a gut-wrenching kiss that tore at the stitches of the wound she’d left behind. Maven opened up for me, parting her lips as she darted her tongue forward to meet mine. She tasted of strawberries and smelled like moonlight. I knew that didn’t make sense, but somehow it did to me.

When she pressed against me, I stifled a groan and broke off the kiss. Turning her around by the shoulder, I gave her a light smack on the ass, urging her toward the door. “Go stop those assholes from killing one another, would you? I’ll see you later. Be ready to go by eleven.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

MAVEN

As the clock ticked closer to eleven, my anticipation grew until my entire body hummed. I couldn’t wait to get out there and make something happen. The Crimson Thorns had no idea who they were fucking with. I’d enjoy every second of showing them.

When I finished with my smoky eye shadow and deep red lips, I styled my hair into a cute but messy bun atop my head. Then I carefully tucked a handy little four-inch blade into the mess of black locks. Some people were detail oriented enough to look for such things during a frisk, but in my experience, it often went overlooked.

Since I wore a plain black tank top to show off my syndicate tattoo, I went without arm sheaths. I tucked my favorite knife into my super cute calf high boots, the one Wolfe had given me. In the other boot I tucked one more blade. I wore jeans instead of a skirt, so I left the thigh sheath behind.

I still couldn’t believe that Ruthless had taken my side. There was a lot more going on inside his head than he let on. He’d become so closed off, so painfully emotionless. A front of course, meant to hide the vulnerable parts on the inside. He’d been through hell while I was gone, and I didn’t judge how he chose to handle his feelings. I just wished he’d let me in a little. Even in his kiss he’d been holding back.

Wolfe and Ace had left about an hour ago for a sudden meeting with their judge friend. Ace knew about the plan tonight. I would go to the warehouse bar where we’d chased down Derek and R.J. If the Thorns were actively looking for me, they’d have someone watching the place. If all went as planned, they’d grab me. I’d let them. Then once they reached out to my guys to make an exchange, we would kill them.

There was always the chance they’d forgo the exchange and kill me. I wasn’t worried. I’d already taken out some of their men, and Ruthless would be watching my back every second.

As for Maddox, he didn’t understand why we wouldn’t be taking part in the Archer drug heist, sending others in our place instead. Ruthless had encouraged him to check in on the nightclub they used to meet with those seeking their illicit services, citing a problem of some kind. Maddox had been reluctant. Did he suspect that we were up to something?

He wasn’t leaving us any other choice. He may have been the head of the Hale Syndicate but that didn’t make him the boss of me. No doubt he’d be pissed when he found out what I’d done. He should have been more open to what I wanted instead of immediately shutting it down. He’d always been temperamental and hardheaded, but he wasn’t always so hard to reason with.

Leaving them behind had changed all of us. At the time I’d been so lost in my own misery and trauma that I hadn’t considered how it might affect them. No wonder Ruthless was so cold to me. He had to protect himself. I understood completely.

A knock on the door startled me. I double checked that the blade in my hair wasn’t visible before rushing to answer the door. Ruthless stood in the hall, dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt that drew my attention to his heavily inked and scarred forearms. I thought of our kiss, deep and wanting, but restrained. Maybe it was too late for Ruthless and I to have more than that. Maybe we’d missed our chance.

“Maddox left ten minutes ago to check on a made-up problem at our nightclub,” Ruthless said. “We better get moving before he comes back.”

“He’s going to be mad as hell when he realizes what we’re up to.” I rushed around the bedroom, grabbing my phone and wallet. I stuffed both into my jeans and hurried to follow Ruthless down the hall.

“Oh yeah, we’re going to hear about it later, but at least the job will be done.” Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, Ruthless waited for me to catch up.

I placed a hand on his arm and offered a friendly smile. “Thanks, Ruthless. It means a lot to me that you’re watching my back tonight. I know I’m in good hands.”

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