“I don’t know, brothers,” Noctis muses, the teasing tone of his voice telling me he knows exactly which buttons he’s about to push. “Looks like the ladies are primed for an enjoyable evening. Would be a shame to cock-block them when both parties are willing.”
My nostrils flare as I watch Evie glance between Tempest and the man beside her. She stares up at him, her gaze a mixture of tentative want and burning curiosity. Like she’s realizing for the first time that she can do whatever she wants—with whoever she wants.
Her eyes dip to his lips, and all I see is green. A violent emerald haze of jealously erupts in my chest at that one glance.Fuck, not only is she practically shouting she’s a virgin, but I’d bet the broken pieces of my soul she’s never been kissed before. At least not like this. Not with want and hunger and sinister desire.
A low rumble starts in my chest as the fucker tilts Evie’s chin up, her pretty lips parting for him.
“You did say Evie is off-limits,” Mavros adds, nudging my shoulder.
“That was before I knew how quickly she’d throw herself at the first prick she met,” I seethe, already moving. Noctis laughs as Mavros curses, but Erik is right at my side, matching my furious pace.
“We can’t kill them here,” Erik says, just as I grab the guy’s collar, dragging him away from Evie before the fucker gets the chance to taste her. Erik’s already at the door, holding it open as I toss the bastard through without a backward glance.
“Hey!” Tempest shrieks, her heels echoing in the dimly lit alleyway. “What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Sorry, little storm,” Erik answers—not sounding sorry in the least—as he dodges a swing from the guy she’d been with moments ago. I catch the glint of Erik’s smug grin, his fist splitting the skin over the guy’s eye before he picks him up and tosses him into his friend. The two steady each other, squaring their shoulders as if they mean to fight us.
Erik cracks his neck, the crazed glint in his eyes igniting as a wicked smirk tilts his lips. “You’ll thank me in the morning, Tempest.”
“Like hell I will,” Tempest snaps. “Jameson wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want him to do. Neither was Mark. Was he, Evie?”
My little fox shakes her head, but stops when I narrow my eyes. “You plan on fucking this guy, little fox?”
Evie pales, eyes widening as her attention bounces between us.
“You’re not needed here, bro,” Mark sneers, flexing his chemically enhanced arms as the sound of Mavros and Noctis’s boots echo behind us. “And you’re sure as fuck not wanted. Why don’t you run along before I give security something to do.”
His threat washes over me and the world goes still. The sound of the club fades, replaced with a dull ringing, drowning out everything except the smug piece of shit’s flexing fingers and Evie’s wide eyes.
“Fuck,” Tempest grumbles, throwing her head back as she loops her arm through Evie’s. She’s pissed at me, and I’m fully anticipating a lecture in the morning about how she’s a grown woman and capable of making her own decisions—albeit bad ones—but they’re hers to make. But, she’d never side with some one-night-stand asshole over me.
Though, to his credit, Jameson looks a little worried, sensingthe energy shift. While Mark… well, some of us don’t get looksorbrains.
I tilt my head, keenly aware of each shifting muscle in his body as I direct my command to where Mavros and Noctis are hovering. “No interfering.”
10
SILAS
“Shit,” Jameson breathes, eyes bouncing between Erik at my side and my brothers behind me. His gaze widens as he scans my tattoos, finding the coiled serpent at the base of my throat. “You’re them, aren’t you?”
“I don’t give a fuck who they are,” Mark retorts, licking his lips as his eyes drag down Evie’s body. “He put hands on me and interrupted what was bound to be a memorable evening. That’s a challenge of honor, and I’m not one to back down from a fight.”
“Please,” Jameson says, shaking his head as he steps forward, hands raised. “He’s from out of town, visiting from Vegas. My cousin has no idea what he’s saying.”
“Like hell I don’t,” Mark cuts in, shoving Jameson back.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jameson hisses beneath his breath. “Or you’re going to get us both killed.”
“Fucking pussy,” Mark spits, shoving Jameson again before fixing his filthy gaze on my little fox. “Let’s go, sweetheart. I’ll have your knees trembling and my name rolling off your lips in minutes.”
The snap of bone echoes against the narrow wallsof the alley as my fist crashes into his face. Pain blares across my knuckles, the sweet ache sending a burst of adrenaline through my veins, reminding me I’m alive. My heart pounds as I roll out my shoulders, relishing the way his arrogant smirk is wiped cleaned, delighting in the way his eyes roll back and his body crumples to the piss-covered ground.
There’s a squeak of alarmed panic from behind me, and my eyes snap to her. To Evie. Her pouty lips are parted, brows lifted, and eyes wide as she stares down at Mark—the pathetic, roided-up smudge who tried to kiss her. And she’s staring at his unconscious form with concern.
“Is—is he…”
“He’s not dead,” I growl. Though, now that she’s mentioned it… “Yet.”
