Page 15

“I’ve got something better than Jack,” Pauly says, looking up from his needle and thread. The tremor that often runs through his hands isn’t present, thank God. “Perc, Oxy, Scratch?—”

“No.” Sy’s response is firm. Unrelenting. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“I’m off all that shit.” I reach for my girl and tug down the little skirt she’s wearing. My thumb finds the star, and I brush over it. “But thanks for offering.”

I don’t miss the look between Sy and Nick. Pauly’s stash will be gone before the night’s over. Flushed down the can. Oh well. With the way Scratch has been flooding the streets lately, I’m sure his stock will be back up soon. When my girl blew up her daddy’s house to smithereens, the cockroaches survived and took shelter elsewhere.

Lav holds my hand and feeds me whiskey while he stitches me up. I watch the needle work its way in and out of my skin and shake my head. “I can’t believe I let that kid get me with a knife. I didn’t see it coming.”

“Well, you should have,” Nick says, fidgeting with the supplies on Pauly’s worktable. “He couldn’t beat you fair. That’s the only goddamn reason to bring a knife to a fistfight.”

“Are you saying you couldn’t have beaten Perez?” I smirk.

“Thatwas a message.” He slides over to Vinny and pulls her hair off her neck, bending to suck her skin. “To everyone.”

Her nipples peak from his kiss, hardening under her shirt. I’d call him on his bullshit, but if it weren’t for Nick and his obsessive ways, Vinny wouldn’t be in our lives. His blue eyes are on me, and I feel a shift in his energy. “What?”

“You realize you can’t come in the tower tonight, right?”

“Fuck that.” Sure, the rules say that if you lose a Fury you can’t come in the tower. But I’m a fucking Duke, not some cub. That’s my home. My bed. My girl.

I look toward Sy and his expression isn’t helpful. “He’s right, man. Three days.”

“You’re not serious,” I argue. “He cheated!”

“Those are the rules,” Pauly says, looping the thread and making a knot. He snips them with the scissors and nods at his work. “Always have been, always will.”

“Oh, suddenly you’re the expert?” I snap. Pauly’s history is murky as fuck.

“I got my ass kicked by Daniel Payne sophomore year.”

“Daniel Payne.” Nick’s expression is incredulous.

“Yep.”

“You’re serious?” I ask, bringing up the image of that suit-wearing, scummy business man.

“Back in the day, Payne was like his son, a football player for the team. Not as big as Killian but big enough and that fucker was faster than he looked for a guy his size. I had to spend three nights on a friend’s couch.”

“Girl friend or guy friend?” Nick asks, eyebrow raised.

He smirks. “That information is in the vault, my friend.”

“Whatever.” I’m not interested in Pauly’s sob story. He got his ass kicked by Daniel Payne of all people. I got stabbed by a cheating ex-con. Slowly, I swing my legs over the side of the table, fighting a groan. Jesus Christ. This hurts a lot more when I’m not flying high. Sy loops his arm beneath mine and eases me off the table. “I’m good.” The three of them share a look. “Fine. It hurts like a motherfucker, but you’re right. Three days is the rule. I can do it.”

Vinny steps forward. “I’ll go with you.”

“Yeah?” I ask, feeling a bit of the anger dissipate.

“Come again?” Nick says, already shaking his head. “There’s no fucking way you’re going out there with Remy. It’s fucking dangerous enough for a Duke to be homeless for three days, but you too?—”

“Remy is my Duke as much as you are.” She cuts him off in a way no other person dare speak to him. “He needs my help and I’m trained for it. Won’t be the first time I’ve nursed one of my men back to health.” No one misses the look she gives Sy. “And as much as I hate to say it, probably won’t be the last.”

Sy grabs her by the waist and pulls her against his body. “You’ll have eyes on you every minute of the day,” he tells her, “but if you need anything, call us, okay?”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Nick shouts, “you’re seriously letting your Duchess, basically your Queen, roam the streets with a loser?” He cuts me a look. “No offense.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t pretend like you’re worried. We can handle ourselves. You’re just pissed she’s not sleeping in your bed tonight.”