Page 43 of Broken Promises

I forgot that Reid was there until I parked behind his Challenger, knowing there was no point in trying to sneak off since the fucker was smoking on the front porch with Riley. His entire body was tense, and he was already walking towards me when I opened the car door to climb out.

“You son of a?—”

“Yeah, I know. I’m a bastard. It’s not what you think, bro,” I said calmly, letting him punch me to make himself feel better.

“You almost got them fucking killed!” Reid snapped, trying to punch me a second time, but Riley stepped between us and shoved him back a step.

“Enough. We can talk inside.”

“You knew he was back?”

“I did.”

Betrayal flickered in his eyes, and I was starting to think he was going to leave until he turned and stalked into the house.

“A heads up would’ve been nice,” Riley said dryly as she glanced at me.

“Heads up,” I chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot he was here. I wanted to stay close to your mom’s in case Raven needed me. I just dropped her off.”

She groaned, motioning for me to follow her inside. “You drove up to the house?”

“Yeah. Raven told Beckett about you hiding my car,” I said with a shrug.

“That fucking snitch. Your little girlfriend’s going to lose teeth if she doesn’t shut up.”

“Leave her alone, she’s been through some shit,” I replied as we stepped into the living room, not correcting the girlfriend comment. I weirdly liked it.

Guilt slammed into me when Blake popped into my head next, but I shook it off. I had to try to move on from her, we weren’t good for each other, and it was obvious nothing was going to change between us.

Even if she came back, she’d only leave again. I had to remember that.

Maybe focusing on Raven was a good idea.

My dick twitched in my pants at the thought of Raven hate-fucking me, and I didn’t realize I’d smiled until Riley scoffed at me.

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it. I don’t want to see your sex face or your boner.”

“Considering I’ve witnessed you fucking Luna on the hood of your car, I think you’ll get over it,” I answered with amusement, earning a glare.

“Well, maybe if you stopped sneaking up on people, you wouldn’t have to witness such things.”

“Or you could stop banging outside in public places. It’s not like my fucking car is quiet. How tight were her thighs around your head for you to miss my arrival?” I teased, my face softening when Luna walked in. She was sweet and the complete opposite of Riley. I liked her. “Hey, Luna.”

“You can’t be here,” she said in a panic, her eyes flashing to Riley. “What if the mafia shows up?”

“Then we hand him over so they leave,” Reid said flatly, crossing his arms and eyeing me with mistrust. It wasn’t that long ago that we’d spent most days hanging out, and I hated how we now felt like strangers.

“It’s not like that. I need to explain,” I replied, giving Reid my full attention. “I was dumb and got caught up with them a long time ago. Stefano trusted me to run things here, so when he stopped digging into my shit, I figured Zavier wouldn’t get dragged in. It was just small jobs, then they got more complex. I thought Stefano had no idea about anyone I was connected to here, so when I left, I thought I was steering them away from you guys. I left to keep everyone safe.”

“Well, good job. Lopez got shot and Raven got hit by a fucking car. It’s your fault everything went to shit,” he spat, pissing me off a little. I’d take the blame for the mafia stuff, but Raven walking away from them had nothing to do with me.

“From what I’ve heard, you dug your own grave with her,” I answered, not knowing much other than the fact that Raven wouldn’t have kicked them out because of me.

Reid and Logan did something all on their own, I’d almost bet money on it.

“You’re going to get her killed!”

“I’ve kept her safe!” I snapped back, jabbing a finger against his chest. “I found her alone at a Heights party on Saturday night, you know? Naked and fucking terrified as Devon andMichael tried to rape her. I handled it, and now she’s living with me so it won’t happen again.”

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