Page 175 of Relentles
He kissed her cheek. “You owe me no explanations, bae. We’ve barely been friends for months. Whatever you’ve done or haven’t done, I don’t hold against you. Going forward you have to promise me you’ll be completely honest no matter what. Even if you think I’ll never talk to you again.”
“That’s self-destructive. To quote you, I’m not a masochist.”
He smiled at her, and her heart melted.
“From tonight on, if you lie to me and I find out, Iwon’tever talk to you again.”
“We’re wiping the slate clean and starting over?”
“We’re wiping the slate clean and moving forward,” he corrected. “The only promise I’ll make is I won’t ever lie to you either. If you ask me something and I can’t talk about it, it’s club business.”
“Are you keeping your distance because of Jaleena?”
“She’s part of the reason, yes. But so’s Molly. I miss her, Harley. She was very vulnerable and needed kindness. If you would’ve given her a chance, the three of us could’ve been really close. The bigger reason is still you and your treatment of me the past few weeks.”
A new worry crossed her mind. “What if Jaleena doesn’t want you and me to be friends anymore?”
“Then—”
“You once swore that any girlfriend not me had to accept me as your best friend.”
“Yeah, when youweremy best friend.”
“CJ—”
“Over the brutalness of the last few months, we’ve both changed. We move forward from tonight. What you’ve done or said is a memory. Same for me. If you can’t accept that, then the conversation is over and I want you to leave my room so I can start reading again.”
Harley searched her mind to find a bridge between CJ’s hard stance and her desperation. She glanced around his room and zeroed in on his Nintendo Switch. “How’s about a game of Mario Kart?”
He offered her another precious smile. Once so easy and regular, now rare and hesitant in her presence. “We can do that.”
Searching for Ryan, who’d been chatting up Brynn Mason all night and finally convinced her to leave the basement, Rory made his way to the second floor of his aunt and uncle’s house. For the past two days, he’d been riding high about his invitation into the meatshack. He’d even pushed aside the visit to Salt Lake City.
Somehow, Aunt Meggie would find a solution and make everything right without anyone ever discovering the full truth.
Another good thing to have come out of Uncle Christopher’s invitation was Rorystilldidn’t feel like a freak anymore, living in fear and shame that something might be wrong with him. His father was still a dickhead, but he was as bad ass as Rory’s uncles.
They were all about this life.
Unfortunately, what should’ve been a celebration was a mood killer.
Uncle Chris’s 49thbirthday had been so much fun. Everyone couldn’t wait for his milestone, expecting to celebrate for days. Except sadness layered his 50thbirthday party amongst the adults and tension swirled around the kids.
Once CJ left, everyone else disappeared until it was only Rory, Ryan, Brynn, and Grant in the basement. Rory thought he’d have a chance to talk to Ryan again.
But, no, he’d seized Grant’s dismissal of Brynn and made his move.
The fucking asshole.
Now, Uncle Chris’s party was starting to break up. Mattie had texted Rory and told him to be ready to leave in the next tenminutes. He’d excused himself from Grant and hurried to the second floor. If he was still on premises, Ryan could only take Brynn to the second floor, since the third floor had a nursery, CJ’s bedroom, and Uncle Chris and Aunt Meggie’s suite.
Midway down the hall, Rory noticed one of the bedroom doors opened. A strap hitting flesh reached his ears along with a chant of some sort.
Curiosity distracted him from his mission and he detoured to the bedroom, pushing the door open. He expected to see a little BDSM action or…oranythingthan what greeted him. Rule sat on the floor, his belly and thighs exposed and bloody from the strap he was flinging against his naked body.
Rory gasped.
“Go away,” Rule said, not stopping his self-flagellation. “Pain is salvation. Pain is salvation. Pain is salvation.”
