Page 52 of Their Property
I felt Kyrie’s hand on my arm while my head swam. I needed a moment to get my bearings, but there was no time. I heard glass breaking, then screams, while a loud booming sound rattled the walls, floors, and chandeliers.
“Come on.” I sprung into action, pulling Kyrie in the opposite direction. “We gotta go.”
She tried to follow but teetered precariously on her heels. “Wait.” In seconds, she flung the ridiculous shoes off and ran barefoot alongside me. She wouldn’t last long like that, but I’d throw her over my shoulder like a caveman if I needed to. “What’s happening, T-Bone—oh my God!” We’d only run a few dozen yards when she stopped in her tracks, bringing her hands to her mouth at the sight through the window.
Across the courtyard, the southern wing of the capitol was on fire. Smoke and flames filled the air in the distance too. The night sky was alight with orange and panicked screams.
I tugged at Kyrie to keep us moving. “Looks like someone’s attacking the city, so we need togo.”
She broke into a run again without any more coaxing. “What about Dyno and Grudge?”
I gritted my teeth. My mind was in the exact same place, but those two could handle themselves. I had to get her to safety first.
“We’ll meet up with them soon. They’ll be fine.”
Those dick-fucks better be.
SIXTEEN
GRUDGE
Iwas surprised to see Dyno lookingheatedon my perimeter walk and frowned. He usually had a cool, easygoing demeanor, but now he was tense, agitated. He was also fifteen minutes early to switch spots with me, and I was not at all eager to go inside a crowded ballroom. Seeing Kyrie would be a plus, but crowds and enclosed spaces sent my heart racing with anxiety.
I spread my hands at Dyno as he approached to ask what was wrong.
“T tried to chew me out for dancing with Kyrie, then he stalked after her down a hallway like he planned to fuck her in a dark corner.” Dyno crossed his arms, looking everywhere but at me. “Hypocrite.”
I chuckled and scrawled out a note.Is he going to?
“No. I mean, I’m pretty sure he won’t.”
I cocked my head, lifting an eyebrow at him.
“We’re a package deal, Grudge. Same as always. He wouldn’t unless the two of us were there.” Dyno rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “He might kiss her though. I almost did when I danced with her and…I think he saw.”
I groaned and quickly scratched out another message.We’re too far gone to resist anymore, aren’t we?
Dyno laughed wryly and nodded. “Not a day’s gone by in the last few years where I haven’t thought of her and wished things could be different.” He tilted his head toward me. “Be careful what you wish for, as they say.”
I hesitated a long while before writing out my next thought.What if things work out, but she doesn’t want one of us?
“Then she gets none of us.” Dyno gave me a hard look. “I don’t think that’s likely to happen, but what we agreed upon years ago still remains.”
I frowned, uneasy at that idea. He and T-Bone were smitten with Kyrie. So was I, but if they were happy with her and she found me lacking…
“We’re a package deal,” Dyno repeated. “No one gets between the three of us, Grudge. That’s the same shit Lacey tried to pull with me way back when. If Kyrie’s right for us, she gets all of us. She’llwantall of us.”
He moved directly in front of me and wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, his nose nearly touching mine. “What do T and I tell you all the time, huh?”
“Hmm...” I couldn’t say the words, but I touched my forehead to his and gripped the edges of his cut, nodding that I understood.
“You’re ours.” His warm breath fanned over my lips, fingers curling into the back of my neck. “And you’re perfect.”
I shook my head, closing my eyes. They always tried to tell me that, but I was the furthest thing from perfect. My failures were imprinted in my DNA, beaten into my head, and permanently carved into me. What little muscle remained in my mouth, the removal of my speech, was a constant reminder of that.
“Hey.” Dyno clapped both hands to the sides of my neck. “Stop that. Yes, you are. T and I will keep telling you until you believe it. Shit, maybe Kyrie will too.”
I huffed out an incredulous laugh. Kyrie could have her choice of men. Despite her dreams and the signs, I still wasn’t convinced it would be us in the end. Dyno and T-Bone were better choices than me, but they still didn’t have much to offer a governor’s daughter.
