Page 35 of Rise By Sin

“You barely even know her,” Jack accused.

“I know enough to know I have feelings for her, and I think she returns those too. I want to see where things can go between us at least,” Deacon went on.

“She’s ours,” I growled, a possessiveness I had never known rushing over me as I turned to Deacon with so much anger. He was a big fucker, but I’d be faster. I could take him down if I needed to.

“You sure about that? All you guys seem to do is piss her off,” Deacon taunted with the hint of a smug fucking grin on his face.

“Fuck you! You know nothing about what we have with Ava. She’s been ours since the first day she agreed to scene with us and she’s still ours now. She’ll always be ours, so back the fuck off!” I snapped.

“That why she keeps shoving the both of you away, but almost kissed me earlier?” The smug smile was fully in place on Deacon’s face now and I couldn’t hold in my anger any more as I rose to my feet, ready to smash his face in.

“Mace!” Jack grabbed my arm as he jumped to his feet and pulled me back. “Don’t do this. We know what we have with Ava. If he thinks he can come between us, then let him fucking try.She’ll always choose us in the end,” he told me. I knew he was trying to sound calm, but I heard the edge of anger in his tone. He was pissed too, he was just more level headed than me.

“Fuck me!” Ava groaned and when we all turned to look at her she was awake and glaring up at us. “Why don’t you all just fight to the death? Last one breathing can throw me over their shoulder and carry me off to their cave,” she spat bitterly.

“Ava…” I tried,, but she sent me a glare that stopped whatever I was about to say to excuse our behavior instantly.

“You’re such fucking idiots,” she growled as she struggled to push herself up and swung her legs off of the sofa so she sat. “My brother is either in the hands of a murderer or the mob, and you three are here having a fucking dick measuring contest over a woman who has told you repeatedly she can’t ever have a relationship!”

“That’s bollocks love and you know it,” Jack told her as he dropped down to sit at her side.

“Mother fuck!” She roared at the top of her voice as she looked to the ceiling like she was praying for something. “One more fucking word about anything other than finding my brother and I swear to God I will shoot all three of you in the kneecaps.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “Most likely candidates to have Colt are the Owen’s. They’ll want to know what he knows and who he told, so they’ll keep him alive for a while if they found him.”

“Okay. That means they didn’t have him three days ago when they came to my place looking for him. We start there,” Ava nodded. She left out that starting there was easier because the alternative didn’t bear thinking about – that the psycho sadisticmurderer had taken Colt, but I saw it in the worry in her eyes, and I fucking felt exactly the same way.

Ava struggled to stand up, then seemed to pause for a second to steady herself, before crossing the room to where her walking aid was propped in the corner. I could see her shaking from across the room, but I also saw the determination in her eyes.

“What are you doing, sweetheart? You should eat. I ordered subs earlier. They’re in the refrigerator,” Deacon spoke first. Brave man. Still a complete asshole though.

“I’m getting Colt back,” She told him without even turning to look at him.

“How?” Jack asked.

“Mace. You know where I can find the head of this Itish family?” She asked as she paused and turned to me.

“You’re not talking to the head of the Owen fucking crime family, Ava,” I told her flat.

“Fine,” she nodded, then she turned and walked off down the hall towards the bedrooms.

“Fine?” I repeated as I looked to Jack with utter shock. Did I just win that argument? It couldn’t be that easy.

“No,” Jack said as he got to his feet. “It’s never that easy, mate.” He wasn’t wrong. Apart from when we all played together and she had been submissive for Jack and I, I was pretty sure Ava had never listened to a damned word I told her without a serious argument first.

All three of us followed Ava down the hall and into Colt’s office, where we found her sat behind his desk with his laptop open.

“What are you up to, trouble?” Jack asked.

“I have full access to Colt’s bank accounts. He made sure I could access everything from the day I turned eighteen. If this Owen family has Colt I’m going to buy him back,” she said firmly.

“Jesus. It’s not that easy baby and you know it. They won’t just let Colt go if he has information about their operations,” I sighed.

“Money talks, Mace, and Colt has a shit load of it from what I’m seeing in his accounts. Also, if they don’t agree to that, there’s always the threat of two cops already knowing plenty more about their operation that can be handed off to the FBI,” she said nonchalantly.

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” I told her as I tried to stare her down, but she just glared right back.

“So be it,” she shrugged like she didn’t give a shit, and the terrifying thing was that I was pretty sure she really didn’t give a shit.

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