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“I’m not the one snapping at people.”
“Pretty sure she’s only snapped at you,” Grey pointed out. So helpful, that man of mine.
Dominic scoffed. “Right. She’d never snap at her precious Greyson.”
Grey slammed his hands down on the table, leaning forward like he was ready to vault it so he could go for Dominic’s throat. “Don’t get pissy with me because you fucked up, man. I told you to sort your shit out or leave, and instead, you hurt her. You’re lucky I don’t beat your ass.”
As much as I hated them talking about me like I wasn’t in the room, it was obvious this was something they needed to sort out on their own. They’d been heading toward a fight since Dominic got home, and I was officially tossing aside my referee badge. They could deal with it on their own.
Dominic clenched his jaw. “What happens between Mari and me is just that—between us.”
“You’re not the one who had to hold her while she fell apart. I did. You crushed her, you fucking asshole.”
Shooting a look at me like he knew I was losing my patience and my sanity, Cameron angled his body between the two men as best as he could. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s take it down a notch. The last thing we need is more drama before the day’s over.”
“Stay out of it.” Grey and Dominic spoke at the same time, then went silent in favor of glaring at each other. Tension rose through the room until I felt like one errant breath was going to set it and us on fire.
“Going somewhere?”
Every head snapped to the doorway as Nate walked in, eyeing the weapons on the table. I thought he was oblivious to the tension, but the tight set of his shoulders told me otherwise. He was ignoring it on purpose, defusing the situation. Gratitude swept me over just as quickly as reality pulled me back in.
Don’t read into it. He’s just being helpful.
Dominic and Grey were still glaring at each other while I focused on my vest again.
“Going for a walk.” Cameron didn’t even try to hide the lie, and Nate didn’t bat an eye.
“That’s a lot of firepower for an afternoon stroll.”
“Isn’t it? I’ll gather everyone at the cars,” my cousin told me, patting Nate on the back before heading out and leaving me drowning in a pool of testosterone.
Fantastic.
Ignoring all of them, I slid weapon after weapon into their respective pockets as if the men weren’t all watching me. I’d worked with the vest for years, and everything had a place inside it so I could move the way I needed to without worrying about where something was. Fumbling your way through pockets was the quickest way to end up dead.
“Anything I should know about?” Nate finally asked.
Greyson answered before I could. “Since you’re not a Marcosa, no.”
Our houseguest seemed to agree, but I could feel the unease radiating off him. Not knowing bothered him, and it was more than just wanting to be in the loop. It was like the lack of knowledge knocked a leg out from under him. For the first time, Nate looked unsteady.
Something about having him off-kilter put me off-kilter too. Since that was the last thing we needed, I did what I never did—I reassured him. “We’re good, Nate.”
I didn’t bother smiling. He’d made it clear we weren’t friends, that he didn’t want to be friends. I needed to respect that. It was just so hard to remember when he stared at me like he was worried I’d disappear in front of him.
Nate watched me for the longest time as I triple-checked my weapons by feel. I’d worn the vest so many times, it was mostly muscle memory, but I didn’t want to take anything for granted. If my distraction over things with Dominic had me rotating my weapon’s positions by accident, it could get me killed.
“You going to be okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” Grey and Dominic answered together. Cue a three-way glaring match, and I was officially over their antics. Had we not been heading into a literal battle, I would’ve left them to duke it out without me.
“Let’s get to the cars.” We’d be late, but I didn’t care, especially when I checked my phone and found a message from Two-Bit.
In position. No sign of him.
Nate grabbed my arm as I walked past, and I felt both Dominic and Greyson tense behind me. Nate seemed to as well, but he didn’t let me go.
“Be careful today.” There was a weight in his voice, a host of words he wouldn’t say.
