A slow, lazy grin blooms across his face, and I immediately relax. However, Eve doesn’t take the same comfort I do, because the girl feels like she might snap in two at any moment.
Chapter 20
EVE
This night is more traumatizing by the second. Drex, oddly enough, is the only thing keeping me together right now. My salvation is in the arms of a self-proclaimed killer.
I’m twisted.
And fucked up.
And naked in a room with men I don’t want seeing me naked.
Drex relaxes as his father grins, but it’s a creepy grin if you ask me.
Herrin is a nice looking guy for a man who is old enough to be my father, but I’m so freaking glad Drex wanted me instead. In fact, it makes me want to kiss him right now, because Herrin looks like a nightmare on legs.
He’s just as tall and tatted as the others, but it’s the unsettling way he looks at something, as though he’s calculating its value—my value in this case.
His eyes… I’ve never seen eyes so cold. The other guy’s eyes were the same—the one who asked Herrin if he regretted his decision. And I know Sledge called him son when he was scolding him, even though I didn’t hear all of what he said because he was talking so low. Surely that can’t really be his son. Sledge is the nicest guy in the club.
It half makes me wonder if Sledge and Herrin didn’t somehow trade sons. I’ve seen Drex cast cold glares to many people, but he has a warmth to his gaze when he looks at me. It’s reserved for me and me alone.
Or maybe I’m just crazy enough to hope for something like that.
The silence stretches on, and I grow all the more uncomfortable. The thick air is almost suffocating me.
Herrin’s eyes hold mine, and that dirty, gross feeling invades. “You can have fun, son, but don’t forget what we originally discussed.”
Something about that has Drex tensing again, and I really don’t like that.
“We’ll talk about it later. But trust me, she had no idea. Tonight should be an indication of that. You didn’t see how scared she was.”
Sledge looks over at Herrin and grunts, “I’m with him. Girl is clueless about all that shit.”
Clueless sounds about right. I have no clue what they’re talking about, but I know who they’re talking about: me. I just don’t know why.
Herrin frowns, then he looks at Drex. “Coincidences are rare. Keep that in mind.”
Normally, that would make me curious. But tonight, my head might explode. In fact, I honestly don’t give a damn what they’re speaking in code about. I’m sure it’s another “spy” conversation.
Herrin and Drex speak for a minute longer, but I tune them out. Until Drex nudges me, acting as though I’m supposed to respond to something, though I have no idea what.
I look up to see two pairs of eyes staring expectantly—Sledge’s and Herrin’s. When I don’t respond, Herrin apparently realizes I’ve not heard him.
“I said I apologize for Jessie’s behavior. It won’t happen again. We take care of our own.”
What am I supposed to say? It’s fine that the big son of a bitch tried to rape me? It’s fine that you’d allow that if I wasn’t Drex’s girl? What the fuck happens when I’m not his girl? Because, it’s not like Drex is going to keep me around forever.
The grim reality is swift and ugly. There’s no way I’d survive in this group without Drex’s protection. Even with it, I still almost ended up… I can’t even think about it.
When I still don’t speak, Herrin frowns. I really don’t give a damn if I’m somehow insulting him. He’s a sick, twisted son of a bitch to think a simple apology somehow makes it all better.
A knock at the door makes me jump, and Drex curses while tightening his hold on me. Sledge opens the door, and Axle steps in.
He’s monstrous and scary as hell. Even without the snake tattoos that line his arms and neck, he’d be scary. A scar runs from his hairline down his face in a vertical line, barely missing the outer corner of his eye, and it curves and angles until it meets his chin, stopping just under his bottom lip.
But he saved me. He’s still scary, but at least he’s not a sick bastard.
His eyes scan over me briefly before he offers me a tight smile. I almost feel bad for how I reacted earlier when he tried to speak to me. But damn, I needed a second.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Axle says gruffly, “but the guys downstairs are getting restless over the mess I made. Sorry.”
He doesn’t sound sincere in his apology. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but he seems more proud than apologetic.
“I’ll handle it,” Drex says, shifting, and my heart sinks as I cling to his arm, halting him from sliding out of the bed.