Page 26 of Cruel Debts
“I’m sending you home, first thing tomorrow,” he grumbled, eyeing me up and down out of the corner of his eyes. “Don’t get comfortable.”
He stormed out before I could even ask him where the fuck I was supposed to sleep.
I satat the table for damn near an hour before someone came out of their respective rooms and found me there, staring off intospace. One might even assume I was breaking down, but what I was really doing was plotting.
I’d broken down already, on the inside. I’d hold myself together as long as I needed to, on the outside. Nobody would see me cry, not this time, not anymore.
I couldn’t argue my case if I was crying for escaping a seriously fucked up situation. Other girls had it worse and were far less lucky than I was. I should be grateful I escaped, grateful that I was lucky.
Instead, I was trying my damndest not to fall apart in front of someone. Anyone.
I was used to being alone. I could handle being alone. What I couldn’t handle was being perceived as the weak, pathetic little girl everyone treated me like.
No more.
Hawke sauntered into the kitchen, skidding to a stop when he clocked me at the table. With a pointed silence, he moved to the fridge and back, disappearing the way he’d come without a single sound to fill the room.
And in his place, twenty or so seconds later, was Asher, this time wearing a shirt, his mood no less irritated than Liam’s.
At least he wasn’t as grouchy, though.
He eyed me warily, half-hooded lids drooping like he was two steps away from sleep. “Why are you still here?”
“Liam hasn’t shipped me off yet.” I huffed a sigh, putting on my best pout. “Asshole.”
“Why would he send you home?” The look on his face was priceless, filled with a mix of confusion and shock.
“Because that’s what my parents hired him to do.”
His expression didn’t falter as he pulled a soda from the pantry, cracking it to pour over a cup of ice. “When the fuck did they hire him?”
That’s interesting.“He didn’t tell you guys?”
Hawke slid into the room, his ears red. Probably burning from eavesdropping around the corner. “No, he did not.”
Uh-oh, Liam. Someone’s in trouble, and this time, it’s not me.“Huh.”
Hawke fell gracefully into a chair beside me, scooting it far enough away that it’d be a challenge to kick him should he offend me. “Well, Asher, looks like Liam’s got some explaining to do.”
Asher, scratching his head, turned to me, a frown marring his beautiful face. “What I meant was, why are you still in the kitchen?”
“Well, nobody else showed me where the hell to migrate to, so what was I supposed to do?” I threw my hands in the air. Why was this concept called thinking so damn hard for men these days? “Wander the apartment myself until I walked into the wrong room?”
Asher paled. “Good lord, please no.” I could imagine what was going through his head, and really, it was a shame I hadn’t taken the opportunity while I had a chance. Running into him without his clothes on would have been absolutely divine.
“I’m not a tour guide,” Hawke muttered as he disappeared once again, likely in search of their third, so he could get to the bottom of the secrets Liam kept from the other two.
And then there were two.
“I suppose you could show me where I should grab some sleep, right?” I said prettily, stretching so he could see the lines of my lithe torso through the baggy clothes that hung on my underfed frame.
His eyes followed my body, then jerked away, like he’d just remembered who I was. “Yeah. But first, a few rules.”
He didn’t bother to sit down, keeping the table between him and I like a barrier. I wanted to move to close the distance, but I knew better than to push too soon. Asher was like a skittish cat,and his hackles were still up. Last thing I needed right now was for him to run in the other direction.
“I’m listening,” I said slowly, leaning back in my chair. “Haven’t had rules since I left my parents’ house.”
“Don’t leave this apartment without one of us with you.” His eyes cut to the door in the living room, narrowing to slits as a commotion in the hallway echoed past it, and then faded. “These fuckers around here aren’t to be trusted, Trinity. You’re only guaranteed safety here when you’re behind closed doors that belong to us.”
