Page 59 of Merciless Angel
He swatted me on the ass as I entered the house before him. “Don’t make me bend you over and spank that ass in front of everyone.”
No sooner had I stepped inside than Lyra leapt off a sofa in the front sitting room. Eyes wide, she hurried over to me. “Save me from, Jet. Please. I need a break.”
Her jerk ass stepbrother sat on the sofa she’d vacated. He frowned in our direction. Several other people occupied the front room, chattering and laughing, keeping him from hearing Lyra’s plea.
Raising my voice so Jet would hear me, I grabbed Lyra’s arm and gushed, “Oh my god, girl. I have to talk to you. You won’t believe what happened.”
Before Jet could stop me, I dragged Lyra away. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”
I’d always wondered why she put up with Jet’s controlling crap. Now I knew that these situations weren’t always what they seemed from the outside looking in. There was so much more going on beneath the surface.
“No problem. Let’s find Raina. I need a break from male nonsense too.”
Ignoring the scowl Daire shot me, Lyra and I took off into the kitchen and living room area. When I didn’t spot Raina, I knew she’d be outside. She preferred to escape the packed house and get some fresh air.
We found her hanging with a group of people from campus. Havoc had an arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tight against him. When she spotted us, she disentangled herself from him and came to greet us.
“I’m so glad you both came.” She pulled us each into a hug. “There’s drinks on the patio. Help yourselves.”
Raina steered us over to where a keg sat next to a table filled with bottles and plastic cups. I splashed some vodka into a cup and added some Coke. I wasn’t picky. With the way I’d been feeling all evening so far, all I cared about was getting a drink or two into me. Maybe then I’d relax.
“How’s everything going?” Raina lowered her voice despite nobody paying attention to us. “Are we still on for tomorrow night?”
I took a long drink from my cup, following it with a sigh. “Yeah, we’re still on. If I don’t do it now, I never will.”
My gaze strayed to the patio door. Blaze stood in the kitchen sharing a joint with another guy. I tore my gaze away, staring into my cup instead.
Lyra swirled the beer in her cup. “Is everything okay, Clover? You’re usually a lot more peppy than this.”
“It’s been a long week,” I said. “I found out that Zane died. Then the cops questioned me about it. The Angels haven’t let me out of their sight. They’ve been a lot nicer lately. It’s confusing as hell.”
Although Lyra was a good friend, I hadn’t told her the truth about Zane’s death. Only Raina knew. That kind of criminal knowledge shouldn’t be shared freely. Raina was part of the crime world. I trusted her with that information. If I hadn’t told her, I’d have exploded from holding it inside.
“Yeah, that’s crazy about Zane. Sounds like he didn’t take your breakup so well. You can’t blame yourself though. He wasn’t right in the head.” Lyra patted my shoulder, offering me a sympathetic grimace.
A lot of people suspected that Zane had ended his own life. I did nothing to correct them. The rumor mill among those in our social crowd would buzz for a while. Eventually it would die down.
A brief image of Zane bleeding and begging flashed through my mind. I blinked vigorously to clear it away. I’d been seeing him in my dreams lately. Reliving that time. It was all I could do to focus on my school work and move forward. Zane was gone. There was no turning back time.
“Most of these guys aren’t right in the head,” Raina muttered. She stared across the yard at Daire who mingled with some campus guys.
I cringed when I thought about liking the things he’d done to me. Would Raina think less of me if she knew the things he’d done and that I’d enjoyed the hell out of it?
I listened to the two of them shit talk men and their possessive bullshit while downing my drink. I’d never had any man treat me like a possession before my recent experience. Zane had been willing to kill me to possess me. The Angels had been willing to kill for me.
They’d given me the choice to be theirs or be dead. Would they really kill me though? Part of me didn’t think so anymore. Although after tomorrow night, they may want nothing more than to see me dead.
I was so jumpy that I almost leapt out of my skin when someone approached me from behind. A light touch on my shoulder had me stifling a shriek. I whirled around to find Jaden O’Hare, better known as Riot, standing behind me. He was one of the Sinners, the campus hackers.
We’d chatted a few times at parties. Otherwise, I didn’t know him all that well.
Riot inserted himself into our small group. “Any chance one of you ladies know where I can score a joint?”
Lyra and I both looked at Raina who plucked one from her bra. She pulled a lighter from her jeans and lit it up. After taking a large drag, she handed it to Riot.
“Sweet. You’re a lifesaver.” Riot sucked on the joint before passing it to me. “How’s it going tonight? You’re looking a little grim for someone at a party.”
He nodded at me when he said that last bit. Was I so obvious? The Angels were going to see right through me.