Page 58 of Beautiful Envy
My fingers flexed; the urge to hold her while we had this conversation was strong. But since I was outnumbered, I wanted to respect the dynamics of the group I’d walked into.
“A man came to see me. He wouldn’t tell me his name, just that he had an offer for me. If I did the two things he wanted, he’d expunge my record, and I’d be free to live my life.”
“And if you didn’t?” the prettiest of the three guys asked. I’d already forgotten his name.
I smirked, sitting back and folding my arms over my chest. It was easier to be an asshole when I wasn’t staring at Darcie.
“I made sure that nothing would fall back on me if I couldn’t fulfill his demand. I’ll return to prison and finish out my sentence. A nice white-collared prison at that.”
“That’s too good of a deal for the price not to be steep,” the angry one said. Darcie nodded as well, agreeing with him.
“What do you have to do, Maddox?”
Exhaling, I dropped my arms. “Hand over my father and… Stanley Driscoll.”
“Hand over, how?” She sucked in a breath.
“They’ve been collecting evidence on them. They only needed one thing for my father.” I swallowed as the memory of the past month rushed through my mind. “It wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it. It’s why it took me so long to come here. I had to secure my father, or I would’ve never made it out of Georgia.”
She sat up, her eyes wide. “Your father, is he… dead?”
“No. As much as I wanted to make him suffer, I gave him over to Agent Bones.”
“What are you going to do? Will he come after you?” she asked, her voice soft.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet if I’m honest. I just knew I needed to find you before my next steps. So, here I am.”
Her eyes warmed, and she smiled, holding my gaze for a long moment. Glancing up, she caught the big one’s eyes. “What do you think?”
The redheaded man watched her, debating something in his mind. He glanced over at the other two, waiting for them to give him something. When he was satisfied, he exhaled and looked at me.
“What are your intentions with Darcie? Are you just a friend, or do you plan to steal her away in the middle of the night and go on the run?”
I had to give it to the man. He had balls to ask me that.
I glanced at Darcie, her eyes sparkling. She was so sure about these men that I would be too.
“Darcie has always been the beat of my heart. I don’t know how not to love her. I’ll be in her life in whatever capacity she allows. I’d never assume to know what she needed more than she did. If she chooses you three, I honor that choice and respect her decision, regardless of where that leaves me. Does that answer your question?” I asked, smirking. I just couldn’t help poking the bear.
He grunted, a smile curving up one side of his face. “It suffices for now. Do you have a place to stay?”
“The only things I have are the clothes on my back and my bike. Everything else was lost. I was only able to recover the low rider because it had been impounded. Another perk from Agent Bones.”
“Then you can stay with us,” the pretty one said. “Sunflower doesn’t have much need for her bed these days.”
If he thought it would enrage me to hear they were sleeping with her, he was in for a surprise. “Perfect. I could use a night of sleep where I didn’t have to keep one eye open.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” the friendly one chided, smiling.
“Touche,” I said with a chuckle.
“I’ll take Maddox back to the house and get him settled in,” Darcie offered, attempting to stand from her perch. The pretty one’s arms tightened on her for a second before releasing her. It felt nice that they still thought of me as a threat. It made me believe I still had a chance.
“Cowboy, go with,” the big one ordered as we all stood.
The friendly one nodded, not dropping his smile.
“I’m sorry; what were all your names again? I was so excited about finding Princess that everything else faded. I’d like to move on from the pretty one, the friendly one, and the big one.”