Page 30 of Deadly Little Games

Ican’t deal with him or them today. Ever since I received that message from Alec, an immense ball has formed in the pit of my stomach, lingering with every passing moment. I’ve sent him a bunch of messages and he hasn’t read any of them. I just really want to hear from him. So we can make a plan to join him.

Taking some plates from the kitchen, I deliver them to the tables and return for more.

“He wants you,” Kelly says, and my body tenses as I instinctively pinch the bridge of my nose.

I don’t have to ask who theheis she’s referring to. I already know, and there’s no avoiding him here. I could lose my job, and I need this. It’s the only thing keeping me from jumping in the car and driving to Bexley to find Alec myself.

I grab a menu and head over to the booth, putting on the fakest smile I can. Leaning back against the booth chair, he runs his finger along his jawline. He slowly scans me from head to toe. My stomach erupts in a fit of stupid fucking butterflies, and I hate it. I hate how my body reacts to him. How it wants his touch. How it needs it. I can get myself off just fine, but my pussy wants the real deal. Fucking selfish bitch. Gage is off-limits, and he’s an asshole.

“What can I get you?” I ask, flipping out my pad and ignoring the way my body is reacting.

Several painfully long seconds pass without him uttering a word, and I’m on the verge of walking away to attend to someone else.

“Your brother,” he says, and I roll my eyes, shoving the pad back in my apron.

His fingers clench around my arm and my heart races.

“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” His question hangs in the air, and I lift my eyes to meet his unimpressed gaze.

“Wouldn’t take a genius to pick up on that one,” I sass back, wincing as a sharp pain shoots up my arm.

“I’ve been a patient man. Just tell me where he is or I’ll have you take his place. We need him back,” he says, then lets go of my arm, and I rub my fingers over his grip marks.

“I haven’t heard from him in weeks since he left for college. So I have no idea, okay?” I snap, and Gage must see the truth written all over my face because he just nods.

My phone pings in my pocket, and I lift it out without thinking twice. It could be Alec.

It’s a message from an unknown number. I open it and all the blood drains from my face.

Unknown -Your brother didn’t go off to college. He’s still in town.

I squeeze my phone to quell the shaking in my hand. What the actual flying fuck?

Chapter Fifteen

Gage

As she looks down at her phone, her eyes widen and a deep frown forms on her face, her grip on the device tightening as if it’s her only source of security. She bites down on her bottom lip and my cock twitches, begging to be released so I can shove it down her throat until she can’t breathe. Fuck. Why is she the only one who can make me feel like this? Why her, of all the people I could have?

She’s all I can think about. It’s driving me insane. Having her around is a major distraction, and I absolutely cannot afford any distractions at the moment—or ever.

Work is my number one priority. Always has been and always will be. That’s why I’ve never had a serious girlfriend, because they take me away from what’s important. What I’ve been trained to do before I could even walk.

She shoves her phone into her back pocket, then drops the menu onto the booth between us.

“Did you send that? How?” she snaps.

“Send what?” I frown.

“The message! How would youknow?—?”

“Show me the phone!” I growl, reaching for her pocket. She stumbles back, shakes her head, then walks away.

She talks to someone behind the counter, dropping her apron off, and then she’s gone, hurrying out the front door.

Pushing myself out of the booth, I feel the weight of stares on me as if everyone in the diner is watching my every move. Fortunately for them, I’m not here for that. I’m here cause her brother is causing us fucking problems, and the sooner I find that fucker, the better. He owes us money, and he’s meant to be helping with the next supply run. He should know better than to fuck with The Brotherhood. Next time I see him, he’ll have a bullet in his head and be hanging from the fence. But, fuck, can I do that to her? Fucking hell, this is exactly why I can’t afford to let anyone in, yet Freya’s forced herself inside without even realizing it.

She’s outside, phone in hand, raising her voice as she speaks into it. She’s casually leaning against my Range Rover, a sight that would normally make me furious if anyone else dared to touch my car. She’s always had a way of getting under my skin, like an itch I can’t scratch. Stripping away layer after layer until only the bones remain. It’s a shame she hates me just as much as I hate her.

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