Page 11 of Together We Burn
My body gave up its fight, too exhausted to keep struggling against the grip of Mac's arm. Eventually, when my breathing steadied to a normal rhythm, he gently placed me on my feet, but kept me held against him.
“Did you know?” I questioned and turned my head to see Alex, who had been standing just behind Mac. He lowered his head and dropped his gaze to the floor. Rubbing my knuckles, I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head. “How could you?”
“Darlin’.” Mac's rumble came from behind me. “We only found out the day we got you back. And believe me, we've already made our brother pay.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“You were recovering,” Alex finally said, looking between Mac and me. “We didn't exactly want to tell you the day you woke up. Fuck, we didn't know if you would even wake up, Stevie.”
“It's been nearly two fucking months. Forty-nine days, to be exact, since I woke up, and not once did you even tell…mentionanything about this.” I gestured my hand in a circle. The brothers looked at each other, their eyes speaking in a silent code the way they used to when they were kids.
“And what? Do you work for Will now too?” I asked Mac, tilting my head back to see him better.
“If you must know,” Will answered for him, “your little ordeal has brought our brother back to us. No, he doesn’t work for me, but we are on speaking terms after being estranged for far too long.”
I tried to launch myself at Will for the second time, and I flinched as Mac tightened his grip around my chest, pressing down on my ribs as he kept my back plastered against him.
“Myordeal?”I bellowed, seeing red and wanting nothing more than to drive my fists into his smug face again.
The buzz of Will's intercom interrupted the hostility that was filling the room.
“Mr. Jones?” The voice of Monica, his secretary, sounded from the tiny speaker on his desk. “Mr. Weston is here to see you.”
Hearing his name made my heart drop to my stomach. I sighed and shook out of Mac's hold, tugging off my jacket, too hot from my altercation with Will to keep it on, and straightened my t-shirt. The Jones brothers shuffled around the room, and I chucked my jacket onto the back of the sofa as Alex fell into his usual spot, dropping his head into his hands as Mac sat on a chair opposite, watching Will go to the door.
“Oh, fucking brilliant, the whole gang’s here now, aren't they?” I sneered as I leaned against the wall and crossed one foot over the other. Will shot me a dirty look, which I gave right back as he gestured for Jake to come in.
I tried to look relaxed and unaffected as I noted the purple bruises lining his right cheekbone and the slight puffiness over his nose.
“She got you too?” Jake asked with something that sounded like pride as he shook Will's hand and nodded to the split on his lip, which had also started to swell. Will grunted and muttered something about going to get some ice.
Jake walked further into the room, straightening his tie, looking ever so comfortable in his surroundings like the demanding and arrogant CEO he was. Pushing off the wall, I took the three steps needed to perch on the armrest of Mac’s chair, thankful my shaking legs managed to keep me standing.
Mac wrapped his arm around me and rested his large hand on the side of my thigh. Jake’s eyes darted to where Mac held me, his jaw tightening as he watched his fingers drum against my leg.
“Cosy,” he said, his voice sharp and low, the thick vein in his neck pulsing.
I smirked. “Well, he did rescue me. That sort of shit makes you realise just how lucky you are to have someone like that in your life.”
“Is that so?” he goaded. “And does he know you were waiting for me at my apartment last night?”
Alex’s head popped up from his hands, and he glared at me. “What the fuck? Is that true?”
I shrugged a shoulder dismissively, never taking my eyes from Jake’s.
“Mac’s not the crazy possessive type. He trusts me, don’t you, baby?” I asked, and Alex scoffed. Mac was maybe the most possessive out of all three brothers. Shifting, I ran my hand through Mac’s shoulder-length hair; his eyes widened as he took in the back and forth between Jake and me, unsure where this was going. I glanced at Jake, his mouth in a tight line, and that vein bulged even bigger. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an aneurysm.
I dragged my fingertips along Mac’s beard, stopping at his chin to guide his face up to mine. I might be going too far, but something about Jake made me feel a bit demented, so bending down, I plastered my lips to Mac’s, pulling his bottom lip between my teeth and lightly sucking. Mac’s hand tightened on my thigh, and I forced out a low moan.
Alex jumped to his feet and yanked me from his brother, confusion and anger painted across his face, whereas Mac was in complete shock.
“Does someone want to tell me what the fuck just happened?” he exclaimed, running a hand down the back of his neck. My lips stung from the friction of Mac’s rough beard, which was so unlike the soft, short trimmed one Jake usually wore. I licked them, instantly regretting using Mac as a pawn in my pathetic game, and shrugged.
Choosing that moment, Will returned with an ice pack wrapped in a towel pressed to the side of his jaw.What a fucking hypochondriac.
Eyeing us carefully, he returned to his seat behind his desk. He glanced at Jake and me in a stalemate and then at Alex, who was still waiting on an answer.
“Stevie, you can leave,” Will stated, either unaware or unaffected by the thick awkwardness in the room. I opened my mouth, ready to argue, when he raised a hand. “You too, boys. This meeting is about Jacob’s company, nothing that concerns any one of you. So you are all dismissed.”
