Page 66 of Curse

She hands me a small ring of keys warily. “Anything else?”

I frown, looking at the keys she hands me. “These aren’t yours. Where are your keys?”

Her face flushes pink, and she drops her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know,” she mumbles. “I had them yesterday morning, but I couldn’t find them at dinner.”

A smirk tugs at my lips as I recall Franco’s punctured flesh. Siena must have wielded those keys like miniature daggers. The thought makes me happier than it should.

When Olivia raises her gaze back to mine, I narrow my eyes and grip her arm firmly, keeping my voice low and steely.

“Stop telling people we’re together. I don’t give a fuck why you’re doing it. If some asshole is giving you shit, you know me and the boys will back you up. But stop lying.”

Olivia’s eyes flash angrily, and she tries to yank her arm out of my grasp. “Fuck you, Matti. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t know?” My voice rises, frustration spilling over. “Why the fuck do women refuse to say what they mean or take care of themselves? It’s bullshit. If you don’t like something, say so. If you want something, fucking ask. We’re not mind readers! How the fuck are we supposed to know if you don’t fucking speak up?”

Olivia snarls at me, her words cutting like glass. “You mean like the girl you raped and killed?”

Before the accusation is fully out of her mouth, I drop her arm and step in close to her, menacing. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”

“Liana,” Olivia chokes out her name, and I slap my hand over her mouth, pinning her against the wall.

It is taking everything in me not to rip Olivia’s head off her shoulders. “Now who doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about?”

Her eyes blaze with defiance, and she yells something muffled against my palm.

Leaning in, I growl, “Think very fucking carefully before you speak.”

Olivia’s terror cracks through her defiance, and she nods as much as she can from behind my hand. We bicker like we’re sister and brother, but I don’t often truly get angry at her. Slowly, I peel my hand off her mouth with a warning look. She immediately bursts into tears.

“Do you think I want to use your name or Vin’s name to get asshole men to leave me alone? I wish I could just tell them to fuck off, but it’s not that fucking easy, Matti!”

Olivia shoves against my chest with both hands. She’s not strong enough to move me, but I step back to give her space.

She gestures to her body, clad in leggings and a cropped hoodie. “Look at me! I fucking workout constantly, but if you decide that you want to throw me against a wall, what the fuck am I going to do about it? Tell you I don’t like it? Ask you to stop? Are you fucking serious? That has never fucking worked for me.”

She wipes away her tears, and I have to push back the guilt. I’m still fucking pissed that she brought up Liana, but she seems like she’s about to break in front of me.

I try to calm her down. “In my experience, making it clear what you want is the only way to—”

Olivia snorts at me, dragging the back of her hand acrossher cheek.

“Your experience is not my experience, fuckhead. You know what works? Lying and saying I’m in a relationship or I’m on my period if someone gets too handsy with me. Telling someone that I have a raging asshole boyfriend ready to beat their ass if they don’t leave me alone. Keeping my fucking mouth shut and hoping they get distracted by something else before they have a chance to do whatever they’re going to do to me because what I know for fucking sure is that if I stand up and say something, I’m going to get hurt even worse.”

A different darkness settles over me. “Who hurt you, Olivia? You know we’d never stand for anyone hurting you.” I think of Siena. How she struggles to voice her desires, her fears. How hard it must be for her to trust after everything she’s endured. Olivia’s words hit harder than I’d like to admit.

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be, Olivia.”

She glares at me, her expression a mixture of pain and fury, and turns on her heel. I grab her arm, stopping her. When she refuses to look at me, I dip my head down so I’m in her line of sight.

“Hey. I’m sorry. You’re like a kid sister to me. You know I’ll beat the ass of anyone who fucks with you, just say the word. So would Vin and Tommy.”

She finally meets my gaze. The tears stop, and she holds her head up higher. “Did you just fucking apologize? What the fuck? Whoareyou?”

“Just please don’t tell people we’re together. It’s disrespectful to my girl.”

Her eyes widen and sparkle, a big smile creeping across her face. “Iknewit! Holy shit, this is fucking headline news! Matti has a girlfriend. I never thought I’d see the day!”

I bite back a grin. “Just keep it to yourself, okay? Things are complicated right now and I’m trying to keep her under the radar.”

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