Page 41 of In the Light of Sin

This sucked.

These medieval men took away my driving privileges after my little stunt with Sarge’s car. They even took my car away from me—even if I didn’t drive much anymore. Why would I drive if I was basically a prisoner to these men who apparently thought it was the nineteen-fiftys?

I know they were doing it to keep me—and themselves—safe.

Sarge had left with Libby for a while, and I was tempted to follow them, but I already pushed my luck with the club—specifically, Sarge lately. When he came back out, he grunted at me,‘Let’s go.’

The curiosity was eating at me, but I let it go. Things had gotten better between us in the past few days. His fingers were itching for more intimacy, and I couldn’t deny I wanted to feel his body crushing mine again. So when Sarge needed to go to the clubhouse, I’d asked him to drop me off at Oakley’s.

I’d let Sarge fuck me, but going to the doctor’s office to get on birth control? That’s something I wanted to do with a friend. Especially one like Oakley. Her PCOS led her to try all types of birth control, and she’d be able to help me find one. I was already nervous about this enough because of all the side effects that came with taking it. Sarge would only make it worse.

When I first walked in Oakley’s door, I was already smiling. Oakley’s home always felt like a warm hug, just as she did. I kicked my shoes off and scanned the room, eventually locking eyes with Oak.

And V.

V had become a frequent flyer in this house since the beginning. Oakley explained he let himself in and out. He barely talked, just read books, and always stayed where he could see her out of the corner of his haunting eyes.

Some books were his–some were hers. And she was absolutely mortified. Her reading was a pleasure for her—in more ways than one. V’s obsession with her scared Oakley. So even the thought of him reading through her private smutty novels set her even more on edge. He never reacted to them as we imagined he might, so now I just thought of it as a cute little habit he’d picked up to pass the time.

If his presence bothered her so much, I was sure Law would do something about him. But something told me that she felt safer with him here. Hell, whoever was with V was the safest person in the world—

Scratch that. He’d leave anyone’s ass to be in Oakley’s vicinity. Dying or not.

“Sorry,” Oakley said as she came out of her bedroom with her bag draped on her shoulder. “Are you ready to go, Jos?”

I nodded, standing up. V immediately stood from his seat at the kitchen table, seemingly ready to follow us out. Oakley’s heavy sigh ripped my giggle straight from my chest.

“V.” She turned on her heels to face the masked man who had been with her since the night the Souls came into our lives. “I have to drive Joslyn to work, then I have to go to class. Can you just… back off for today?”

He tilted his head, eyes boring into her lifelessly. “No.”

She sighed again, closing her eyes and rubbing circles on her temples, obviously frustrated with his constant hovering. “I get that you want me safe, but it’s just one time—”

My eyes widened at her bold request, and my gaze darted to V’s cold stare. “That’s all it takes for them to take you away from me.”

That’s the most I’d ever heard V talk in one breath. I wish I had some popcorn, eagerly anticipating what my shy friend was going to say to him next. Her eyes softened a fraction. “I’ll be safe, I promise. You have my location on your phone. You’ll be able to see where I am at all times.”

He didn’t look convinced. But I thought the fact that he had her location was interesting. “No,glykó korítsi.”

She frowned, setting her hands on her hips. She didn’t bother to argue, and I doubt she would win even if she tried. “Okay, well–”

He turned his back to her mid-sentence, walking into the kitchen and leaving us there confused. He returned with a light pink travel mug in his hand as he thrust his arm roughly towards Oakley, the light-colored coffee leaking out of the tip slightly. “Coffee. Oat milk with caramel syrup.”

I could tell her cheeks were pink as she looked at the drink he was holding out to her. I grinned as she looked at me with her flushed face. She was embarrassed that someone had witnessed this. Maybe I should tell her that Sarge makes me coffee every morning? It was like a love language, knowing something so simple as their favorite coffee combination. She bit her lip before swiping it out of his hands with a quick‘thank you’ before she ushered us out the door before locking it, V double-checking if the door was locked before he hopped on his motorcycle, waiting for Oakley to move.

All the car rides with the girls were silent and without music. Something that I hated because I knew Oakley and Nyla loved the calmness that music brought. I could listen to music, but the frequency clashed with my hearing aids since these were a very old model, so it bothered my ears more than usual to listen to it.

I was more curious about something other than the music, though. “What language did V speak to you in?”

“Greek.” She must’ve not realized the gentle tone she was using talking about him, different than the usual hint of fear. “He’s from Greece.”

“He shared details of his life with you?” Most of the brothers didn’t share a damn thing about themselves. It’s been driving my ever-so-curious nature crazy.

“He brought a book over one night that was in Greek. I just asked him about it.””

“So, what doesglykó korítsimean?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”

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