Page 157 of Chaos Kills

“Why?” she mutters, appearing half dazed. “You didn’t put them there.”

“But you were here with me.”

“I wasn’t here with you. But what you did…consider me swooned.”

I roll my eyes, but Bay makes her move, coming in for the kill shot when her soft mouth presses firmly into mine.

Her lips coax mine easily enough, slipping her tongue in between them like the venomous little snake she is.

Great men fall to women like this.

They’ve always been the smarter sex. Bay isn’t lacking in the sense that she could tempt the living shit out of me to do anything she wanted. I’ve gotten closer than I’ve been, and I don’t know if she’s noticed it or if fate decided to play, but I can’t help but pull her closer until our chests are flattened together.

Our tongues lightly battle, taking their time as we both fall into this. She wants what I can give her in this moment, and I want her to remain with me in the aftermath of the war that we’re trying to mend.

Without her and Wallace, I don’t know what follows. I need to forge alliances and paths, and she’s the gravel that’s going to get me there.

She wants peace just as much as I do, if not more.

But all she seems to desire from me, at this moment, is for me to kiss her and ease her back from what happened in this room before I arrived.

You just shot Reeve’s new fuck buddy for this chick.

A member of the Forsaken Crew.

And I’ll use that term loosely.

Reeve has never touched anyone on our crew before, which tells me he’s spiraling like a motherfucker.

Evenwith those details, I can’t bring myself to honestly give a shit that I just got rid of a problem. And that’s when Bay pulls back from me, as if sensing my inner turmoil. Instinctively my lips chase hers for the briefest of seconds before I reel it in.

I don’t like that she has marks on her.

I don’t particularly enjoy that Luisa’s words are in my head. But I do permit myself to remain in this moment for a second longer.

“I owe you,” she says, but she doesn’t move away when our mouths are still inches from each other’s.

“I owed you before,” I retort. “I’d say we’re even, but I promised you a video.”

“You’re still going to help me?”

I bow my head. “I’m still going to help you.”

“Why? This should be perfect for you to keep a wedge between Torin and?—”

“I don’t want to keep a wedge. I want you to stand by me as an equal when we take this old world down.” I lift a brow. “Haven’t I made that clear, Little T?”

Bay continues to gape at me as if investigating my words for the truth, but she would have to look hard to condemn me of them being anything else. I know trust is a hard thing for her, it is for me, too. Yet, one of us has to break down and try before it works against us instead of for us.

“Come to one of my races,” she blurts out, surprising the absolute hell out of me. “Maybe it’s time we start being seen together.”

The immediate answer that forms in my brain isfuck no. Nonetheless, her logic isn’t wrong, and I can’t say seeing her is a chore.

Since when?

“That might cause issues,” I deadpan, earning me a blank stare behind those vivid blue eyes. “You’re South Shore, about to possibly take The Landing seat, and?—”

“I am South Shore through and through,” she replies matter-of-factly. “And no one is going to question that. If anything, they’ll know I’m playing Emilio’s ass. I’ve never been power-hungry. I refused to be the head cheerleader in middle school because I didn’t want to boss people around.”

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