Chapter 18 #2
Jonah picked up the bottle and tossed vodka into his gaping mouth with a grimace.
He huffed at my arched eyebrow. "I can't be sober around him."
"That hurts my feelings, big guy. I thought we were friends now." He unloaded the containers, ignoring the fact that he had entered my apartment without knocking. I wandered over to inspect the damage and clicked my tongue when I saw the door splintered.
"Oops, sorry, Chief, I'll get that fixed for you."
"Your papa didn't teach you to knock?" I dragged a side table in front of it.
If an idiot tried to break in, there were four people who knew many creative ways to kill them. Jonah's stool groaned as he planted his ass down, and he snatched the glass out of Ray's hand to pour himself another shot of vodka. Ray shrugged.
"What are you doing here, Spare?" I asked.
"Ugh, I'm not a fan of that nickname. Why don't we make a deal?
I'll call you chief if you stop calling me Spare.
It reminds me of my parents, and that's too depressing.
Especially since I just found out my mom's new sidepiece is apparently 'the one'.
" Ray quipped, trying to decide which wine he wanted.
He tapped one label with a wink. "You'll like this one, Jonah. It's dark and broody, just like you-know-who." He jerked his head in my direction.
I plucked it from his hand, pulling out a glass decanter. Ray let out a whistle of approval.
"A man of taste. Our chief has all sorts of secrets he's hiding, doesn't he?"
Our chief brought a snarl of disgust to my lips. The only one who owned me was Lara, and it was time they understood that.
"Get to the point. It doesn't look good for a police chief to be entertaining two prominent criminal figures in his apartment. The law means something to me." I placed my hand over my chest like a pledge, stifling a grin.
"Bullshit," Jonah snapped, his gaze roving over my face with frustrated heat.
There was nothing for him to find, though, but his instincts wouldn't let him rest. "You've got a reputation for being incorruptible.
But I don't think that's true. You're just as dirty as the rest of us. Only you like to pretend otherwise."
"Ouch," I sighed.
I let Jonah's outburst linger in the room and turned my focus to the food Ray bought instead. I served myself some beef massaman and collapsed on the couch. The apartment wasn't big, and with my unwelcome guests, cramped. Jonah and Ray stared at me.
I shrugged. "Get to the point, boys."
Ray's eyes twinkled with mirth and challenge.
Neither of them saw me as a threat, but the difference between them was Jonah wanted to understand my motives, whereas Ray was happy to take everything at face value.
They were both going to lose their minds when they realized what secrets I hid and who Lara was.
I caught my thoughts, spoon midair. Why was I even thinking about their reaction?
They didn't matter.
Jonah tore the top off one container and served himself.
His jaw was tight with unspoken words. Ray watched with amusement as he added to his wineglass.
What did Lara see in them? They were both handsome, Ray with an ostentatious beauty and Jonah with brutish muscle.
She wanted them both. But did she want me too?
I wasn't much older than Jonah at thirty.
The slight grays threaded through my hair didn't come from age.
It emerged during my time at the asylum.
I liked it. Each distinguished strand was a sign of my survival.
"We're here about Lara. I want to know your intentions." Jonah's gray eyes roved over my features, like he could puzzle out the answer to what I wasn't saying.
He and Ray took a seat opposite me. I tilted my head in mock confusion.
"You sound like her fucking daddy, big guy, and I don't mean the fun kind." Ray rolled his eyes.
"What's the fun kind?" I interjected.
"Lara says, 'Please, Daddy,' and we get to watch Jonah spank her, obviously." Ray said.
Jonah's cheeks turned pink.
I arched an eyebrow, eating my curry to stop from saying something I would regret. Lara was in my bedroom. And as soon as they left, it would be me between her legs. I was too obsessive and too possessive to allow anyone else to steal her affection from me.
"Be serious," Jonah growled as he pulled a cushion over his lap.
God, I hoped he wasn't hiding an erection. I might lose it. This was absurd, and I didn't want to entertain it any longer. The curry soured in my stomach, and I put the bowl aside.
"Are you going to tell me what happened the other night at the club?" I couldn't keep the bitterness from my tone, and it scaled when they shared a heated look.
I gripped the side of the armchair to stop myself from stalking to the bedroom and imprinting my touch on Lara's body. While I'd been busy with Cole, she'd been busy with them, and her tight-lipped refusal to elaborate ate at me.
"A gentleman never kisses and tells, but I'm sure you would have been welcome." Ray's smug grin made my fist itch.
"I don't need an invitation from you." My answering smile was tight.
"Blunt it is then. I want Lara, and so does Jonah. We're here to work it out because we're not going to give her up."
Sharp heat coiled in my stomach, and it made my body prickle with sweat. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them exactly why it wouldn't work. But when I spoke, it wasn't a secret that fell from my lips.
But a summoning.
"Come out, Lara. I think this is a conversation you should be a part of."