Page 87 of The Demons We Hide

A snort escapes Nolan. “That girl doesn’t know how to not have her guard up.” Gio grins in response, and for a moment I watch the two of them—sharing some unspoken bond over a girl that when I demanded to be allowed to bring her with us when we left, they argued against her.

Somehow, I’d known that all it would take is pushing them together before they would realize how special she is.

“Lex, I want you working on the guys who attacked G,” Nolan says, dragging me back from my thoughts after a moment. “I know you’ve probably had it running in the background along with your other work, but I want it to be a priority now. We need to start tracking down leads while Darrio is absent.”

I nod. “I’ll put it to the forefront,” I agree readily.

“Check Megan too,” Gio suggests. “She and her bitches haven’t let up on Jules at all even after we made her one of ours. She might’ve had something to do with the apartment fire, at least. I wouldn’t put it past her.”

Before I can answer, Nolan’s phone trills, and he pulls it free with a curse.

“What is it?” I demand, eyeing him as I straighten up.

Nolan’s eyes scan the screen, reading whatever message is there, and his expression turns thunderous. “Motherfucker.” He shoves a hand through his hair as he stares down at the cell in his hand. “Darrio wants me to go back to Eastpoint.”

Gio groans. “Fuck,” he draws out the word. “When do we have to leave?”

“No.” Nolan shoves the phone back in his pocket and drops his other arm back to his side. “Not the three of us—just me.”

For a moment, neither Gio nor I speak, and then, at once, we burst up from our positions. “Are you fucking insane!” Gio yells.

“This is a bad idea,” I agree.

Nolan holds a hand up, a silent plea for calm, but calm has flown out the fucking window. We don’t split up for long-distance jobs like that. We never have.

“I don’t like this,” I say.

“Your disapproval is noted, but, according to Savino, it’s not up for discussion—he already expected me to ask to bring you two.”

My hands clench into fists, and I imagine what Savino’s head would look like removed from his body. It’s not an easy task to dismember a body—I should know—but the more practice I get at it, I’m sure it’ll get better.

“It’s just for a meeting,” Nolan says. “One day.”

“You’re not actually going to leave without us.” Gio laughs, but when Nolan doesn’t ease his stance or say anything, G’s expression shutters once more. “You… tell me you’re joking.”

Nolan shakes his head. “I’ll push it off for as long as I can, but one of you will need to take Juliet.”

“I’ll take her.” The words are out of my mouth before he’s finished speaking, and both Gio and Nolan shoot me an amused look.

“Fine.” To my surprise, Nolan doesn’t argue and G doesn’t offer himself up. Not that he can bring her back here if there’s any chance Darrio could return at any moment. Still, I’d expected some list of demands to keep my hands to myself from either one or both of them.

Instead, Nolan merely claps me on the shoulder. “I’ll keep you updated on when I’ll leave,” he says. “But make sure you keep that damn shrine of yours locked while she’s with you.”

“I will.” I breathe the promise into the air. All I can hear, though, is the sound of perfect puzzle pieces clicking into place. Even though I hate the thought of Nolan going off on his own without either Gio or me to back him up, I can’t help but feel the spark of excitement that fills my veins.

Juliet’s coming back to me. She’s going to stay with me again. In my house. In my bed. Right where she’s always belonged.

34

JULIET

These men are slowly chipping away at me until I feel like I'm no longer the Juliet that I made to keep myself safe. I've become someone new. The night in the woods had been both the hottest sexual experience of my life and, in the same breath, the most terrifying. I'm not so naive as to realize that I didn't walk into Nolan's trap and let myself be captured. I'd thought I was smarter, that I hadhimunder my control. I'd been so fucking wrong.

The Scorpion Kings are uncontrollable.

Days turn into weeks and I find out that the professor looking guy from the boys’ last gamewasactually a scout—from Eastpoint University, no less. The football season is crawling by, but like all good things, it’s coming to an end.

I’m so focused on the games, my shifts at the Dionysus Lounge, and midterms that I forget about damn near everything else. That is, until Mads points out that there’s something else around the corner.

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