Page 51 of Jonas

I wanted my moment of stunned indecision to be about her offer, but it wasn’t. It had to do with the way her hand felt on my forearm, the way her fingertips dug in, the way I wanted to twist out of her grasp but only so I could grab her hand and hold it. I wanted to unload my burden on her and see if she could stand strong or if she’d crumble under its weight. I wanted to know if all that I was seeing in her was true or if I was being fooled by a beautiful face and a gorgeous body. I wanted all of this with an unhealthy desire.

At first glance, I’d wanted to take her to bed for a few hours of fun. Now, I wanted her for a completely different reason—an alarming one that scared the fuck out of me.

She might’ve thought I couldn’t pull off bullshitting her but she had no idea the heights I could take a con. But instead of doing just that, I opted for the truth.

“I need to go in and let work distract me. It’s the only thing that stops the memories.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Unfortunately, she dropped her hand. “Lead the way.”

I wanted to lead her back to the cabin, straight to the bedroom and try a new way to bury my past.

Sadly, we didn’t have time for that. Further from that, the thought of using her to get rid of the bile swirling in my gut was an unacceptable course of action.

Fucking morals—they ruin everything.

I climbed the steps, opened the storm door, and felt the vibe wafting from inside before I stepped foot over the threshold.

“Oh boy,” Derrika muttered from behind me, catching the feel immediately.

I didn’t want to think that was interesting but I did. Neither did I want to acknowledge how she came about reading a room from the barest trace of animosity but I knew like me she’d learned through abuse. When you never knew when your next beating was coming you learned quickly to gauge every room you entered.

I hated that for her more than I hated it for myself.

“You cannot be fucking serious,” Zane boomed.

I quickened my pace to get to the stairs to the basement.

“Oh boy,” she repeated, dogging my heels.

I hit the stairs in time to hear Lore return, “Sorry, big hoss, but I’m right.”

“He can’t be a big hoss,” Kira explained. “Unless you’re going for the tautology. Otherwise try Viper King, Dipple King, or his latest favorite Big Boss Daddy. Or if you prefer, Large And In Charge though that one makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little, because I think he thinks the large part of that statement is referencing his man member and not his height.”

I stopped at the foot of the stairs to take in the occupants of the room. Kira was sitting at the long table with her laptop open but looking at Lore who sat across from her. Layla was sitting next to her, pale-faced and unhappy, Kevin next to her eying his wife with concern. Zane was at the far end with a smirk. Easton and Nebraska were standing, both holding coffee mugs. Theo, Smith, Cash, and Cooper all filled in around the table.

“What’d we miss?” I asked as I walked to the table, moving to a spot with two empty chairs side by side. I pulled one out for Derrika. When she didn’t immediately move to sit, I glanced back at her. “What’s wrong?”

She was squinting at Lore.

“I know you,” Derrika affirmed.

“Yup.”

“You worked at Delcon when I started.”

“Yup again.”

“Angie…” Derrika snapped. “Angie Lewandowski. I processed your exit interview after you quit. But your hair was fire engine red.”

Currently Lore’s hair was dark brown, almost black.

“I prefer to call that shade chili pepper. You know, because it makes me feel spicy,” Lore quipped.

“Stella.” Nebraska sighed using Lore’s real name as a rebuke.

“What? A girl can’t have a little fun while she’s undercover? Men go crazy for a redhead. They can’t help themselves.”

“It’s the whole, do the curtains match the drapes thing,” Cash explained.