Page 21 of Agony

“Nah. I want to see what it looks like mixed with the faded blue.”

I shrugged. It was his hair.

“Okay, wow, that actually looks good,”I admitted when he strode out of his bathroom, his freshly-dyed hair now dry and pushed back from his forehead. The purple ended up mixing beautifully with the blue.

He grinned. “I know fashion. Just wish my brothers did.” I snorted. “You know I had to force Jax to change for your date? He was going to show up wearing grease-stained jeans and an old t-shirt that was one wash away from falling apart.”

A soft smile tilted my lips. “I hope you know I wouldn’t have cared what he wore to our date. I want Jax. His appearance…” I shrugged. “I just want him to behim.”

Ace nodded. “I know that now. Didn’t know it then. But you were softening him a little, and I wanted that to continue. He’s had it rough.” He looked at me through those crystal-clear blue eyes. “Jax can be a pain in the ass, and he’s overbearing as fuck, but his heart is good.”

“Everything about Jax is good,” I corrected him. “He’s perfect.”

Ace barked out a laugh. “If you say so.” He walked over to his bed and began tossing clothes aside, some of them landing on the floor. “Aha!” He lifted a makeup bag, holding it high in the air. “I bought this a few weeks ago but haven’t been brave enough to attempt this myself. Mind guiding me?”

I guessed most people might have been surprised by Ace’s request, but I wasn’t. I bet he would rock makeup just as easily as he rocked his colorful hair and dark clothes.

“Let’s go to the bathroom,” I told him. “We’ll do our makeup together so you can mimic me.”

“If I was bi, I’d steal you from my brother,” Ace playfully sighed.

I laughed, not surprised in the least that he was gay. “One day, you’ll find a man who encourages this,” I assured him. “Until then, keep being unapologetically you.”

He winked at me through the mirror as I began laying out all the cosmetics on the counter, along with the brushes. “I’ve always been me. And fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.”

I smiled at him. I could stand to learn a thing or two from this boy.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jax

“Jax went to see Rico last night,” Shaw announced once we were all seated at the table.

Ace glared at me. I just evenly met his gaze, waiting for his explosion. “What the fuck, Jax?” he snapped. “Youpromisedyou cut ties.”

I arched a brow at him. “When there’s innocent women and girls in danger, being sold as nothing more than fucking objects, promises like that come second,” I bitterly reminded him. He scowled at me. “Welcome to being a fucking outlaw, kid. Life isn’t sunshine and goddamn rainbows.”

“You fucking?—”

“Stop,” Arlo snapped at both of us. I glared at him. “Ace, shut your mouth. Jax did what he thought was right. I trust that; I trust him. You need to do the same.”

Ace clenched his jaw. If his looks could kill, they’d be burying me in a shallow grave out back. “If you go to prison again, Jax, I’ll never fucking forgive you,” he swore.

I sighed. Cameron shook his head. “Maybe we should hearwhyhe went to visit Rico before we start jumping to conclusions, Ace.” Ace sneered at him. Cameron nodded at me. “Tell us what happened.”

“I reached out to Rico yesterday morning,” I began. “Asked him to meet up with me. I already knew it would cost something.” Ace clenched his jaw. Arlo shot him a hard look to keep him quiet. “We met at midnight at the river—our old meet-up spot. He told me the ring ran for five years before he even got wind of it. Which means there’s high players. Rico mentioned politicians and federal and local law enforcement.”

“Shit,” Arlo swore. Some of the fight died out of Ace at the news.

“He didn’t know much,” I continued. “Told me what he knew, which was basically what we’d already heard. The only time he got to speak to someone about it, someone came to him asking for protection during a shipment. Rico put a bullet between his eyes.”

“What’s his price for talking to you?” Arlo asked, steepling his fingers together on the table in front of him, peering at me through his glasses. “Rico always has a price.”

I shook my head. “He told me that trying to take down this ring was enough. Whether I manage it or fail, we’re even.”

“And you trust that?” Shaw asked me.

I let my eyes meet his before I nodded once. “Rico has never been shady, Shaw, and he’s always had my back. I trust him.”

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