Page 58 of Minus

“No, Hatch. You are a big reason this whole shit show is happening in the first place, so I don’t want your platitudes or negative opinions.” I slapped my hand against my chest. “I loved him. With all my heart. You forced him out of my life, and I have suffered because of it. Minus has suffered because of it.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Fuck you!” I let out a frustrated squeal and jumped to my feet again. “Ilovedhim. I get that I was young, and I alsoget that our connection was quick, but that doesn’t change the fact that what we had was real. Your heart might be calcified to the point of stone, but mine was broken, Con. Shattered. It’s the reason every man I’ve ever been with has been compared to him.” I jabbed a finger toward him. “You broke my heart, but now I have a chance to see where this takes me and I’m going to do it. With or without your blessing.”

“By getting involved with a one-percenter?”

“He doesn’twantto be a one-percenter, Hatch. He wants to clean up the club and go legit.”

He leaned forward, settling his forearms on his knees. “Do you know how hard that is to do? The danger of trying to pull off something like that without the whole club backin’ you? You didn’t see what we went through in San Diego, Cricket. I shielded you from all of it.”

“And I appreciate that,” I said. “But I was a child. Like, a baby child. It was appropriate that you shielded me from that. But exiling Jase was way beyond your protective authorization.”

“The hell it was. You’re my sister, and I’ll do whatever I have to if it means you’re out of harm’s way.”

Just then my phone rang, and I silently thanked whoever was interrupting this conversation. However, once I looked down and saw who was calling, I wasn’t so sure. The look on my face must have said it all, not to mention Hatch could read me like a book, and not one of those big thick, complicated Russian novels that took forever to get through. My brother could read me like a pop-up book.

“Is that him calling?” he asked in anirritatingly brighttone.

“No,” I lied.

He simply raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, so?” I retorted.

“Well… are you going to answer it?”

“Not with you here!”

“Suit yourself, he’s your business partner,” he replied glibly.

“Hatch, I swear to God, if this wasn’t a brand-newphone, I would throw it so hard at your stupid head.”

The phone pealed one more time, and I answered with a flustered, “Hello!”

“Cricket, thank God, I was starting to worry.” Minus’ voice made my insides feel like they were filled with bubbles coated in butter.

I cleared my throat. “Worry? Why? What is there to worry about?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“So, thereissomething to worry about?”

“I said forget it,” Minus said, his tone shifting from concern to impatience.

“No. You said don’t worry about it. Which implies there is an ‘it’ and that there is a reason to fear said ‘it.’”

“Goddammit, Cricket, would you please listen to me for a second,” he hissed. “I’m not sure what Viper knows or what kind of surveillance he might have on us.”

“Did things not go as planned?” I asked, and my brother perked up, his interest in my conversation clearly piqued.

“Not so much. Can you meet me at the last place we were together in fifteen minutes?”

“Fifteen minutes? No. I can make it in maybe twenty-five if I leave now,” I said.

“Leave now then,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I said.

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