Page 67 of Mutual Obsession (Rivals of Blackthorn #2)

“Don’t get any of us killed,” he snarls, fixing Jake with a hard look. “Keep quiet if you feel like you’re going to say anything inappropriate.”

Jake waves him away, muttering under his breath as the door opens. A blond man with a bright smile on his face stands in the doorway, looking almost excited. I don’t have a chance to take all of him in before the men crowd towards him, but it’s long enough to tell he’s bloody gorgeous.

“Welcome!” he shouts, standing to the side to let us in.

“Hi, Kian. Thank you for meeting with us,” Miles says politely, shaking hands with the blond man who looks like he’d fit in as part of a boyband.

Miles walks in first, with Marcus following behind him. I’m too busy staring to realise I need to move my feet. I feel a hand against my back, snapping me out of my frozen state, as Jake leans in close enough to whisper into my ear.

“Stop drooling over Kian, Baby. I don’t want to have to kill anyone today and start a war,” he growls for only me to hear.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder, seeing the deadly serious expression on his face, and I quickly shake my head. “I-I… I wasn’t…”

His lips lift into a smirk, his brows wagging as he no doubt sees the blush spread across my cheeks. “It’s okay. I’ll tell Miles tonight and he can punish you.”

Before I get the chance to respond, he uses his hand to push me forward, and when Kian says hello to me, I mumble my response, whilst keeping my eyes down on the floor. I don’t need to start a fucking war right now, just because Jake’s a jealous arsehole.

I let him lead me until we reach another door, Kian sliding past us to get to it first. We pause when he doesn’t open it for us straight away. “Do I need to go over the rules with you again? Have you got any weapons?”

Marcus takes a small step forward, speaking on behalf of us all.

“We know the rules, so you don’t need to go over them.

Miles, Jacob, and I have the same weapons we declared at our last meeting, and Indie is unarmed.

If you’d like to search us to confirm this, you can, but we will not be giving up any of our weapons. ”

Kian fixes his gaze on me, and despite his clearly important and dangerous role, there’s something about him that sets me at ease. Even though I’m sure he’s just as deadly as all the men surrounding me, there’s a softness to him that settles my nerves.

“I should probably search her.” He nods towards me, but before he can finish one step, there’s a rush of action.

Jake pulls me backwards, sticking his arm out in front of me to shield me with his body, as Miles steps in front of Kian, blocking him. Kian looks startled, his gaze flicking between the two overprotective men in confusion.

“You’re not touching her,” Jake growls, looking more menacing than I’ve ever seen him.

Marcus lets out a frustrated groan beside me, exasperated by the situation he finds himself in. Kian, on the other hand, starts to laugh, shaking his head, as he continues to flick his gaze between them both, before settling on me.

“Well, now I’m much more interested in this meeting,” Kian says, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “Are you sure you’re unarmed?”

I nod, not sure I can find my voice.

“She’s not armed,” Marcus confirms again.

Kian says nothing more, he just turns and unlocks the door using a pin code on the wall beside it. As the door springs open, he leads us into a large white room. It’s not at all what I expected, with bright white walls and a white-tiled floor that’s so bright it almost hurts your eyes.

In the centre of a room is a large rectangular wooden table, with matching chairs on each side. The four chairs on the side closest to us are empty, but most of the ones opposite are occupied.

My eyes are immediately drawn to the young woman in the middle seat, with hair as red as fire. She doesn’t look to be much older than me, but she holds herself in a way that leaves no doubt she’s the most important person in the room.

Even if I didn’t know this woman was the feared mafia leader, Brianna Doughty, I’d know she was important by the relaxed, confident way she seems to present herself.

Her piercing silver eyes assess us all as we enter, and I can feel my nerves crackling with tension, as we step further into the room, into the unknown. Her gaze lands on me, and after only a couple of seconds, her expression softens, and she smiles at me, relaxing me straight away.

There’s an empty chair on her left side, which I can only assume is for Kian, but to her right, sitting close enough that he’s almost touching her, is yet another fucking gorgeous man.

Even sitting, I can tell he’s the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, with ruggish good looks.

Though there’s an air of danger about him that suggests he’s more than just a pretty face.

Next to the dangerous-looking guy is yet another ridiculously hot man, though this one looks less like a model and more boy-next-door gorgeous. He’s more lean than muscular, making him a bit smaller than the other two men, but I’m sure he’d still look impressive without his shirt on.

This man seems more interested in the laptop in front of him than the people in the room. He’s got the same rugged good looks as the man beside him, though there’s a softness to his piercing blue eyes that make him appear much less dangerous.

The woman with red hair clears her throat, grabbing our attention. “Welcome, please, take a seat.” She gestures to the seats opposite, and we move to sit down.

I take the seat opposite her, with Jake to my right and Miles to my left, while Marcus takes the seat on the end next to Miles. We all shuffle around uncomfortably, waiting for someone to be the first to speak.

Once Kian is sitting down, the woman begins the introductions. “Since there’s some new people here, I’ll introduce everyone, just to be polite,” she starts. “I’m Brianna Doughty, but everyone calls me Bree. This is my husband, Liam.”

The dangerous-looking man to her right gives a brief nod and Bree continues. “This here is my second, Kian, who I believe you just met.”

Kian gives me a wave, a big dimpled smile on his face, and I can feel Jake tense beside me. Underneath the table, I reach over where nobody can see, and place my hand on his knee, squeezing reassuringly.

Jake places his hand over the top of mine, and I feel him relax beneath my touch. Bree hasn’t seemed to notice our distraction, and continues with her speech.

“The guy on the end is my brother-in-law Kellan. He’s our technology expert.”

Kellan looks up from his laptop at the mention of his name, though it’s clear he hasn’t been listening. “Hey,” he mumbles, flashing us an incredibly sexy grin, before turning back to his screen.

Marcus leans forward, looking every bit the professional as he speaks on our behalf. “Thank you for that, and for agreeing to meet with us. You obviously know me, and my Head of Security, Miles. Jacob is back from his recent leave, and this is Indie, a…friend…who is the reason for this meeting.”

I have to bite my lip when Marcus stumbles over the word friend . He knows there’s something more between me and Jake, and that I have a history with Miles, but summing that up to a stranger isn’t exactly easy.

“Thank you for meeting us,” I mumble, feeling like I have to say something.

Bree gives me a reassuring smile, putting my nerves at ease just a bit. “You are very welcome.” She then turns to face Jake. “Jacob, I was very sorry to hear about your health problems recently. Forgive me for being blunt, but I have to ask…how are you coping after your stint in rehab?”

Jake’s hand, that is laced with mine, becomes tense, his grip tightening as he freezes, clearly startled by Bree’s blunt question. I stroke my thumb over the back of his hand, trying to reassure him.

He takes a shuddered breath before responding. “It’s not been easy, and I still have a long road ahead of me. I am still sober, and I’m working hard to stay that way. I have a lot of support, and a great team helping me.”

He casts a glance down the table as he says the last part, looking at the three people beside him who are helping him.

Although Miles is his sober companion, the one who helps him when he’s at his worst, both me and Marcus help him when we can, and I know he appreciates the support he’s received from everyone.

I just wish he could see that he’s the one doing all the hard work!

“You should be very proud of the achievement. Even with a great support network, you are the one fighting every day to be a better version of yourself. Never diminish the work you have put in,” Liam tells him, his voice deep and almost hypnotic.

As if the man needed another thing to make him even fucking hotter.

Kian adds on to that. “We’ve heard a lot of good things about the way you and Marcus are running Blackthorn. You both have reputations as good leaders, and the partnership you’ve formed appears to be working better than it ever has in the past.”

The smile that spreads across Jake’s face, at the praise, is almost blinding, and I’m so proud of him. “Thank you. It helps that we are friends,” he says, looking over at Marcus with a nod.

Marcus keeps the blank mask on his face that I’m so used to seeing, not wanting to drop his professional image even for a second, but I catch the way his lips twitch just slightly, like he’s fighting back a smile, before he quickly turns back to face the others.

Bree speaks again, pulling our attention back to her. “Honestly, with all the great reports we’ve been hearing, I was a little surprised when you requested this meeting.”

Marcus looks like he’s about to speak, but the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”