Page 175 of Wicked Minds
“You don’t need to go home,” he argues.
“Despite your best efforts, I don’t live here, which means none of my things are here. So, yeah. I do need to go home.”
“Ben left town this morning,” Royce segues, and I swivel my head toward him.
“How do you know that?”
Grayson chuckles. “Didn’t even wait the full forty-eight hours you gave him.”
Royce flashes a savage smile that’s all teeth. “So he had one working brain cell after all.” Turning to me, he says. “I drove past his house. Looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Must have grabbed whatever he could and took off.”
“So he’s just gone?” I question.
“Yup. And he knows if he ever shows his face here again, it’ll be the last thing he ever does.” I shiver at the malice in Royce’s tone, believing he means every word.
“What about Lux?” I ask.
“Who gives a fuck?” Grayson asks, a bite to his tone.
“Since it’s my place of work,Igive a fuck. And so will the other girls who rely on it to pay their bills.”
Grayson scoffs indignantly. “You’re not going back there.”
“Excuse me.” I glare at the asshole across the table.God, how did I forget how infuriating he is?!
“I don’t think now is the time for this conversation,” Logan interjects, attempting to smooth over the situation.
“You can bet your stubborn fucking ass I’ll be going back there, Grayson. It’s myjob.”
“You don’t need it,” he argues, getting worked up. “We have money.”
I blanche and Logan groans, knowing exactly what hole Grayson is digging for himself.
“I am not a charity case,” I hiss. “I don’t want your pity handouts.”
“With Aurora being a Van Doren, she’s entitled to her share of the family fortune. You can have some of that.”
My teeth grind, and I swear, Grayson is lucky there is a table between us or else I’d wrap my hands around his neck and strangle him. “Aurora is aJames, and any money she may be entitled to from your family is hers. Not mine.”
I can see I’m really starting to irritate him as his jaw ticks and he glowers at me. Gone is the heat and possession from this morning, and now he looks like he wants to murder me as badly as I want to murder him.
“Why are you so fucking stubborn?!” he snarls.
“Why are you such a raging asshole?” I counter.
“Alright,” Royce barks authoritatively. “That’s enough of that. There’ll be plenty of time to discuss Lux. You’re obviously not going in tonight”—he cuts a glare my way, but no, I had no intention of working tonight, if the club is even open—“which means we’re all free to attend Logan’s game… assuming you want to go, James.”
I cast a glance Logan’s way, catching him watching me with excited anticipation. The thought of spending the rest of the day in his clothes, holed up on the sofa, does sound amazing. However, how can I pass up the opportunity to watch him play? Especially when he looks like it would make his entire weekend if I was there.
“Of course, I’ll be there.” I smile sweetly at him, and he grins broadly. “I never even asked how your game went last night. Did the Timberwolves’ scout show up?”
Logan scoffs. “Do you even have to ask, Shortcake? Obviously, we kicked ass, and yup, the scout was there. Just gotta cross my fingers now and wait and see.”
“There’s no way you didn’t impress him,” I say, reaching over to squeeze his hand. It mustn’t be enough contact for him, though, as he hauls me onto his lap. The tension in the kitchen suddenly dissipating as Logan regales us with the highlights of last night’s game.
It feels weird to be at one of Logan’s games with Grayson. The last time we sat in these seats, I was here against my will. And look how far we’ve all come… Well, maybe not Grayson and me, but hey, he’s not looking at me like he hates me, so that’s a win.
The two of them have stood like bodyguards on either side of me since we got out of the car, ensuring no one got within touching distance of me. Admittedly, I appreciate it. I was more nervous than I expected when we got here, and I saw the crowds, but if it looked like someone was going to knock into me, one of them would shove them aside.
