Page 54 of Wicked Deceit
“He’s not too bad, boys,” Bodhi says through a cocky grin. I wish the world would swallow me whole, spit me out in a new region, give me a new name, and let me live in peace.
Seger’s mouth falls open. “Body Slammer,” he practically squeals, clutching Zepp’s arm. “It’s fucking Body Slammer,” he hisses again, breaths heaving in his chest.
Bodhi tosses his head back and laughs. “We’ve been through this, West. Whichever one you are.” Bodhi rolls his eyes, but secretly I think he likes the attention my fanboy boyfriends give him.
I frown when Seger stares at my brother like he stares at me—with stars in his eyes and hearts above his head. Shit. Is he going to leave me for my brother? After the torturous events at Thanksgiving dinner, I wouldn’t think he’d want to. But he still stares at him like he’s the light of his damn life, and I’m… well... I’m chopped liver now.
A heavy arm rests on my shoulders, pulling me into his bulky side. “My dear, sweet little sister. So, this is all of them. All together and in one place,” he says with a mischievous grin, lighting up his stupid face.
“Please don’t start this now,” I groan, wrestling against his hold, but he grips me tighter. “You’ve already met them all,” I hiss.
There were two very effective ways to get my brother away from me when I was a kid. Bite him or kick him in the nuts. He’d stagger away, yelling at dad because I hit him. Eyeing his arm on my shoulder, I weigh my options. Bite or nuts? Which will hurt more?
“No, this should be fun,” he says, pulling me closer until my face is practically in his armpit.
Biting it is.
“Don’t make me bite you,” I growl, heaving a fist into his gut, and I recoil. Pain shoots up my left arm, my only good arm, and I cringe.
Seger, Carter, and I are going to have a serious conversation about more self-defense lessons. The one time in the gym wasn’t enough. I barely learned how to swing my arm. Not to mention after twenty minutes of hopping around the old boxing ring, I died from lack of oxygen. I should have made them take me jogging or something because my endurance is shit. I need to learn how to punch better, harder, and faster. How the hell am I supposed to succeed against the enemy when my brother doesn’t even flinch when I beat him?
“You’re like a fly,” Bodhi teases, ruffling my perfectly styled hair.
“Bodhi!” Shoving my good hand into his side, I knock him away from me. And he laughs and laughs, heaving breaths and knee-slapping himself.
“Alright, alright,” he says, swatting at me again. His eyes linger on my very tense boyfriends and then back to me. “How’d you pull that off?” he asks through a smirk, waving toward the guys.
“I’ve been asking myself that very question since I met them. Nice to see you boys again,” my sister Callie says with a grin. “If you ever need support, just ask Dex.” Dex lifts a hand, waving to them with a grin. “He’s been through it all before.” A reassuring smile forms on her lips with sympathy forming in her eyes. As if to say, ‘sorry boys, we have a scary father who will tear you apart.’
“And I thought I had it hard. There are four of you. I can’t imagine.” His hand wipes invisible sweat from his forehead, grimacing. “Prepare yourself. He’s super scary and protective.”
“True story.” Chase swallows hard, taking a sip of his stolen champagne. “Shit’s scary by yourself and the threats….” His body shivers, remembering the threat my father gave him before.
“He threatened you?” Zepp asks, flattening his palms against his tux pants.
“More or less.” Chase scoffs, drinking the rest of his drink.
“That’s fucking great,” Seger murmurs, shaking his head. “Are we even going to survive this, Angel?” His moss-green eyes plead with me.
“Stop scaring them,” I huff, walking toward Seger. I cup his face into my palm, pulling his tall form towards mine. “You’ll be fine, big guy. I won’t let my dad hurt you.”
He smiles down at me. “I missed you,” he murmurs again, rubbing his nose against mine. I sigh in relief.
Having them so far away, tied to family obligations, was hard. My pieces were scattered across the map. And me? I barely breathed through the whole thing. Thank God they’re here now, flanking my sides and protecting me from whatever evil lurks in the ballroom, or I’d be dead. Literally. We still don’t understand why we are here or why my family was invited to attend. Talk about suspicious behavior. The only thing I can think of is that my parents can contribute to the charity because of their wealth.
“Yuck, gross, don’t do that to my little sister.” Callie fake gags, sticking her finger down her throat.
“Shut up. I’ve seen Dex’s tongue down your throat more times than I care to.” I shoot back over my shoulder.
“Little sisters are so annoying. Why did we beg Mom for one?” She snorts, looking at Bodhi’s smirk.
“So, do your boyfriends know about your little online friend? What was his name? I mean—if he was a guy.” Bodhi snaps his fingers.
“Tristan!” my sister shouts with a grin. “That’s what his name is!”
I sigh. Why did I have to be put in this family? I could have been an only child with loving parents. Instead, I get these two idiots giggling over Tristan, who they still think doesn’t exist. Hmmm. This could be fun.
“You haven’t told them?” Zepp whispers, boldly brushing his lips across my cheek in greeting.
