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402 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2021
”I swear these people acted like grown ass adults before you got here, Nic,” Sacha commented dryly before even he cracked a smile.
’Bodhi’s lips twitched up a bit before he took a deep breath as if he was fortifying himself. “Could you put on underwear? Sorry, I get that it’s your room but—”
“Of course!” I jumped out of bed and hurried to my dresser to pull out a random pair. I wasn’t used to being around someone who cared about the state of dress I was in. Maybe I should have been embarrassed, but it was oddly nice that someone wanted to be around me without nudity being expected. “Sorry, it's a professional hazard, I think, that nudity doesn’t bother me anymore. I’ll try to remember that going forward. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“Just like that?” Bodhi asked, surprise clear in his voice. I climbed back on the bed, brow furrowed as I tried to figure out his question. Sensing my confusion, he continued, “Just like that, you’ll do what I ask so I’m more comfortable?”
“Yes?”
(…)
“That’s it? You’ll just… do whatever to make me not feel insecure?” His repeated need for reassurance made me wonder just what had made him that insecure. ”
“Why are you so nice to us and not to Sacha and Vas?” He searched my face as I mulled over his words, deciding how candid I wanted to be.
“Well,” I drawled out as I shifted, trying to get comfortable, “Sacha is an opinionated, controlling asshole, and Vas is a fucking jerk. So, I’m giving them what they give me.”
“And us?” Oli asked.
“You’ve never been a jerk to me and same for you, Bodhi,” I explained, gesturing at them. “Would you like me to be a bitch instead? Or you want to hang out here, keep an eye on me like Sacha obviously asked you to do, and watch the movie?”
They looked at each then back at me before Oli gave me a sweet smile and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me down to join them. “I take option two. But you know you’re wrong, right?”
“Wrong about what?” I settled on my bed as Bodhi hit play.
“I’m just as dangerous as the brothers,” he whispered, turning his face to make eye contact. “I do like killing people.”
A rough laugh escaped me at that, and I whispered back, “Me too. Now shut up and watch the movie.”
”Everyone loves to play with those of us that are broken.” I reached up and gripped the sleeves of his shirt, not letting him back away from me as I finished. “Until they find all our sharp edges. But you and I, we rejoice at every cut. Every scratch makes us feel, proving to us that we’re alive. I can see that we’re the same in that way, just by looking at you. You want to break me just as much as I want to break you, so we can play along those edges.”
”What did you just take?”
“Something personal,” I told him curtly, trying to cut him off.
“I can’t let you leave this apartment without at least knowing what it is you took.”
“A photograph. That’s all you are going to know. That, and the fact that I’m not leaving this apartment without it. Even if I have to step over all your dead bodies to do it. Can you work with that much information?”
Oli grinned at my threat, the smile only growing when Allen cursed harshly. “What have I said about threatening to kill people at crime scenes?”
“To only do it if I mean it?”
"No matter who you are, communication is key. Don't let things fester and build up, or it will tear you apart."