Chapter 14 #2
“Alright, alright,” Trent speaks up, raising his hands in an attempt to grab their attention.
“Spencer, how about you just let us know what you need, and we can all get back to what we were doing?” Trent says, pushing off the wall to go stand between them, ever the diplomat.
But I see the change in his eyes as he looks between them.
He might be a man of the law, but I remember when his first response was violence.
He’s found a way to deal with that side of him, but it’s not gone.
He’s just better at hiding it.
Rick turns his rage-filled gaze on him, but Trent doesn’t flinch away, instead standing taller.
Trent and Rick used to be about an even match back in high school, but I haven’t seen them like this in years.
They’re damn near the same size now, but I honestly don’t know Trent well enough to judge.
Most of the time, he’s covered in his gear, and when he isn’t, he’s not one for fitted clothes.
I doubt he’s as built as Rick considering he’s a health nut who damn near lives in the gym, but he’s not exactly small, either.
If they fight, I’m not sure Spencer and I will be enough to pull them apart.
“Yes, why didn’t I think of that?” Rick asks, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Oh wait, I did. He refuses.” He points an accusing finger at Spencer. “Which is why we're all still standing around wasting time.”
“Yes, because we’ve accomplished so much with all the time before this,” Spencer says, throwing his hands in the air.
Ouch. That stung, but he’s got a point, even if it sucks to admit. We’ve been chasing our tails.
“Waiting on the others won’t fucking kill you,” Spencer seethes, slamming his shoulder into Rick’s as he pushes past him. Even though it probably threw Spencer off more than it did Rick, I know it’s his last straw.
Rick turns, slamming into Spencer, who goes down hard, a tangle of limbs. Trent’s there in the next second, grabbing Rick around his chest from behind and hauling him backward as Spencer pushes up, shaking his arms out with a smile.
“You know, I knew you didn’t like her, but I thought you at least cared about us,” Rick hisses.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your convenient lack of information! Never have you come up empty like this in the past. Now, suddenly, you can’t find anything and have no answers! I call bullshit!” Rick shouts, shaking out of Trent’s hold. Spencer stands, gaping at him, confusion written all over his face.
Rick crosses the room in just a few huge strides, and Spencer doesn’t even try to avoid the hit when his fist snaps out. Spencer somehow manages to stay on his feet, but the hit is enough to split his lip.
He spits out a mouthful of blood, wiping his mouth on his arm, before tossing his head back with a laugh.
Shit, he’s lost it.
“Oh, Rick, you have no idea how wrong you are, but I don’t have to explain myself to you. Not that you’d listen, anyway. No, you just want someone to be the bad guy, don’t you?”
Spencer steps up to Rick so that they're chest to chest. Rick’s back is mostly to me, but I can see the rapid rise and fall of his shoulders as he struggles for control.
He’s about to snap, and Spencer doesn’t seem to give a shit.
“You're mad that she’s gone, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. No amount of planning kept her safe, and now you're losing control.”
A grin splits Spencer’s face, but it’s more mocking than anything.
“And we all know how much you crave control,” Spencer says, reaching a hand up to poke Rick's chest. Before he can even touch him, Rick’s moving. Lunging forward, toppling them both over the coffee table.
“Damn it, guys,” Trent sighs, taking a step back as they thrash about, trading blows.
The distant sound of a motorcycle catches my attention, and I say a silent thanks to the universe. Considering Zander hasn’t been home in days, I assume it’s Kratos, and if anyone can get these two to get their shit together, it’s him.
Trent looks my way, and I know he heard it too when he backs away. He and the guys might be getting closer, but nobody fucks with Kratos, or almost nobody…
We're not Jade, though, and I don’t want any part of whatever is about to happen.
The bike cuts off just as Rick pins Spencer beneath him.
One of his eyes is swelling, and I know it will be black soon.
His already split lip is even worse off now, but Rick looks like he took a few hits, too, which is impressive.
Spencer goes limp as the front door swings open, but Rick makes no move to get off him.
Spencer’s lips pull up in a smile, his teeth stained red with blood. I doubt that feels good with the current state of his lip, but he doesn’t even seem to notice.
“Aww, Ricky boy, replacing me already, and here I thought I was special.”
My head snaps up so fast that my neck cracks. I can’t bring myself to care as I look toward the door and find Jade standing there with a playful smile that lights up the whole damn room.
“Welcome back, Demon. Perfect timing,” Spencer says, shoving at Rick as he pushes to his feet, eyes wide, drinking her in the same way the rest of us are.
“I aim to please,” she says, blowing him a kiss. It’s just like them to go back and forth like this, but something about it feels different, less hostile and more…flirty?
Kratos and Zander stand at her back, and they must have come in with her, but I didn’t even notice them at first. Like everyone else in the room, their eyes are glued to Jade.
Even so, I can’t help but notice how different they are with her here.
Zander’s covered in blood but somehow still looks less like he’s going to go off the deep end than when I saw him last, and there wasn’t a drop of blood on him then.
Kratos has a smile on his lips that I’ve learned is reserved only for Jade.
He’s typically a hardass, but not with her.
I turn back to watch her as well, as if unable or maybe unwilling to avoid her pull.
Jade stops just a few feet in front of Rick before she looks to Trent and then me. “Miss me?” she asks, and I can’t fight the smile that pulls at my lips.
Rick lunges forward, scooping her up into his arms and pressing his lips to hers. I watch them as her arms come up to wrap around his neck, her fingers threading into his hair, her eyes fall closed, and I feel a slight tinge of jealousy.
Jealousy that I have no right to feel. She isn’t mine, and why would she want to be? She has the strongest guys in the city eating out of the palm of her hand, not only as their lover but as their boss.
What could I possibly offer her?
“Fuck, Jade,” Rick groans, pulling back to look down at her as if to ensure she’s real. “Never again,” he snaps, but his tone isn’t as harsh as usual, his mask of intimidation missing as he looks at her, relief shining in his eyes.
“I promised we’d do this together. I came back,” she says, rubbing a hand over his cheek. Rick leans into her touch, resting a hand on top of hers in a show of tenderness I’m not sure I’ve ever seen from either of them.
He holds her for a moment longer before he lets her slip through his arms. With her feet once again touching the floor, he takes a step back. The look on his face tells me he would rather keep her to himself, but he knows he can’t.
Jade turns her attention to Trent, who stands still as a statue, looking at her as if he’s seen a ghost, and I guess that’s pretty accurate.
She’s across the room and in his arms in the next second, wrapping her legs around his waist as he tucks her head under his chin, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.
When she finally pulls back, he presses his lips to hers.
It’s a sweet kiss, nothing like the one she shared with Rick.
And even though I know I should, I can’t bring myself to look away.
They love her. Anyone with eyes can see that. Their love is so different, yet still the same, all-consuming and beautiful.
When he finally releases her, she slides down his body before turning to face me with a smile.
Jade walks up to me, and I have to stop myself from shifting nervously under the weight of her gaze.
“Hey, Princess,” I say with a nod, and it’s lame as fuck, but I have no idea what to do right now. One wrong move, and any one of these guys might tear me to pieces, literally.
“Hey,” she says with a chuckle before she surges forward, wrapping her arms around me. She catches me off guard, and we almost topple over, which only makes her laugh harder.
Brat.
Slowly, I wrap my arms around her. Feeling her tiny frame pressed against me is comforting, as if proving that she’s real, and I let out a sigh of relief. For a while there, I thought we might never find her, never see her again.
“Welcome home,” I whisper the words just for her, and I feel her arms tighten around me.
Yeah, I’m just as screwed as the rest of them, but I think I might be okay with that.