Page 91 of Unwritten Rules

“You two are ridiculous. Both of you do whatever you want.”

He leapt to his feet with an evil grin spread across his face as he strode to the kitchen. Opening the fridge and rustling around, you’d think Brent owned the place. My house wasnothis place to pretend to be this comfortable at. The fridge was also not his to rummage through.

Kelly also stood, stretching out her limbs with a yawn. “You two don’t moan too loud today. I’m going to call it a night. Brent, thanks for the food,” she said, leaning over to place a kiss on the top of my head, wrapping an arm around me in a hug. “Love you.”

“Love you too, dude,” I replied, looking up at her. She had a sad smile, eyes full of an unsaid apology.

I’d known her long enough to at least know her facial expressions and body language as well as I spoke English, but there looked to me more deep beneath the surface that made me feel uneasy. My best friend, entangled for far longer in a world that she didn’t seem to want to be a part of anymore than I did. Protecting her felt like my duty, but I failed us both by being blissfully unaware of the elite system. I wished I knew what she went through behind the curtain. I wished I knew more entirely to keep us both safe.

After she padded away down the hallway, Brent returned to the table with my jug of orange juice. He made himself so comfortable in my house that I wondered if he’d ever leave at this point.

“I hope you’re not too comfortable. Why do you want to stay here anyway?” Maybe I was curious, maybe I was looking for validation. Or I was just looking for what was wrong with his noggin that he thought he would be a regular guest.

“Two reasons. One, we have real business to get to. Two, I wanted to see you.” He plopped down after pouring two cups for us.

I wanted to get the business out of the way. In over my head, he might have more insights for me. “Start with number one.”

He shifted in his seat and rubbed the back of his hand before relaxing and sitting back with his cup. “My grandfather wants me to bring you in to bring you up to speed on his partnership he had with your mother. The group you have running things right now have put major dents in what was an otherwise smooth process, and he doesn’t want to lose anymore time. He’s old, cranky, and has even less patience since he crossed over into his sixties.”

Everyone talked about the relationship he had with my mother and I wanted to know more about that, but that question would be better suited for Augustus himself.

I crossed my legs, unsure of what to do with my hands or how to respond. The table between us was great to have as space, considering I needed major distance from everything right now. My heartrate spiked with anxiety from revelation after revelation, and coming to terms with what my mother was involved with was not something I wanted to deal with–like, ever.

The lump in my throat paired with my thundering heartbeat in my chest wouldn’t let my voice squeak anything out.

His eyes flickered with concern as he dropped his smile to a thin line. He saw how truly beneath water I was, trying to swim in the deep end without a single swimming lesson. My inexperience wasn’t solely my sex life, it was ineverything. “My grandfather and I run a large scale operation in the black market. Arms, drugs, shit like that. Your properties across the globe are places we use as meeting points and safe houses. My grandfather expects complete cooperation.”

?Chapter 24

Brent

God, I loved punchingmen in the face.

I gripped him by his collar and pummeled him over and over with my right, ringed hand. The sound of my fist connecting into someone’s face made my world slip away into temporary bliss. Blood on my hand gave me a high that nothing else could compare to.

He also deserved it for trying to fuck over the family business. While the Dictator was a pain in my ass and got on me far too much, he granted me the serenity of violence inflicted upon others every now and then.

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