Page 7 of Wicked Minds
“I’m still your friend,” he retorts far too calmly.
I scoff in disdain, a sneer curling my lips. “You know what, fuck this.”
Turning on my heel, I march back out of the room, intent on tracking down the woman truly to blame for all of this. I won’t let her get away with this again. Iwill notlet her destroy my family for a second time.
The creak of the floorboards is my only warning before two hundred pounds of pure muscle knocks me off my feet. The air is pushed out of my lungs as I hit the floor, rasping out an angry, “What the fuck, man?!”
“You’re not going to do anything more to her,” Royce snarls in my ear, sounding truly furious for the first time. His hand fists the back of my shirt and pins me to the floor. “From now on, you’re going to stay away from her.”
Either he was able to read my intentions from my expression, or I must have said aloud what I planned to do. Either way, it’s sent him into a feral rage, the likes of which I’ve never been on the receiving end.
“What are you?” I sneer. “Her protector?”
“Yeah,” he hisses back just as vehemently. “Her protector fromyou.”
I bark out a cruel laugh even as I buck against his crushing weight. “So this is what we’ve become? She tells you some sob story that tugs at your heartstrings, and four years of friendship is just washed down the drain?”
His grip on the back of my shirt becomes bruising as he presses down with more force until I’m half convinced he’s going to crush my ribcage just to keep me away from her.What has our friendship become that I even have to be concerned that that’s his line of thinking?
Leaning in until his lips hover at my ear, he whispers, “You’re forgetting I don’t have a heart. Which means I’ll have no problem removing yours from your chest if you go anywhere near her.”
“Merry—What the hell is going on here?”
I manage to lift my head enough to find Logan gaping at us from the doorway. His initially cheerful tone—so at odds with the tense situation sparking in the living room—has turned to confusion as he takes us in.
I shuck Royce off my back, glaring at him as I get to my feet and brush down my slacks and shirt.
“Where’s Riley?”
Of course, that’s Logan’s primary concern. Couldn’t even wait to hear what transpired between us before enquiring about her.
Scoffing, I can’t fucking look at either of them.
“I took her home,” Royce states bluntly.
“You did what?” Logan cries. “Why?”
“Because she doesn’t fucking belong here,” Royce practically yells at him, clearly exasperated.
Logan gapes at him for a moment, before his eyes go wide. “You know. You believe her.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter under my breath. Louder, I say, “This is too fucking pathetic to listen to,” before striding toward the door.
“You better sort your fucking shit out, or we’re going to have issues,” Royce calls after me.Yeah, as if we don’t already have a steaming pile of problems.
Ignoring him, I head upstairs and lock myself in my room for the rest of the night.
3
LOGAN
“You know,” I repeat after Grayson storms upstairs. I probably should have checked if he was okay first, but I’m so fucking exhausted from all this bullshit. The time away at my parents’ today made me realize just how done I am with it all.
I’d rushed back for the conversation we were all supposed to sit down and have, intent on ensuring Riley told Royce and Grayson the truth, and on guaranteeing Grayson fucking listened to every word she said. Even if I had to hog-tie him to a chair and duct tape his mouth.
Instead, I find my two best friends fighting on the floor like idiots and Riley fucking gone—a matter I intend to address once I’ve confirmed thatisthe reason he took her home, and not because Riley actually managed to worm her way into his steel-capped heart (which I know for a fact, she was totally achieving, even if Royce would deny it until he’s blue in the face).
“Know what?” Royce responds cagily, eyes narrowed and posture rigid.
