Page 26

Chapter 26

Frankie

I almost killed Troy Godwin today.

How dare he fucking threaten Ari like that? Say what he wants to me, but to threaten to kill her, too?

I attacked the punching bag with a fierceness I had never known before. My muscles screamed in protest, but I didn’t care. I needed to release this anger, this burning rage that threatened to consume me. I could still see Troy’s face as he made the threat, the smug satisfaction in his eyes.

But Ari, sweet, innocent Ari, didn’t deserve any of this. She didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of my mess, didn’t deserve to have her life threatened because of some stupid mistake Bones made in the past.

“Someone piss you off?” Bones asked from behind me.

I spun around, my fists still clenched at my sides. “Troy Godwin,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous.

Bones’ eyes narrowed. “What did he do?”

“He threatened Ari,” I spat.

Bones’ face darkened. “That son of a bitch. I’ll kill him.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll handle it if need be, but what you do need to do is keep your fucking nose clean. We met with him about Heathens Hollow and he’s not pleased you’re our choice. Ari put her neck on the line for you, asshole. So you better not fuck up.”

Bones nodded, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Good,” I said, my voice still low. “Because if anything happens to her, I will fuck you up in ways you can’t imagine.”

Before either of us could say another word, Ari screamed from her office. It was a cry that sent ice through my veins. I pushed past Bones and sprinted toward her muffled cry.

Another cry followed as I stormed into Ari’s office where she was bent bare ass over her desk. Lotto stood behind her whipping her with a leather belt.

Homicidal rage swept over me.

I didn’t think; I acted.

With a bellow I barely recognized as my own, I lunged at Lotto, tackling him away from Ari with all the force my adrenaline-fueled body could muster. We hit the ground hard, with Lotto taking the brunt of the impact beneath me.

His breath whooshed out, but he was quick to recover, a viper in human clothing, already twisting underneath me and aiming a savage punch to my side. I grunted in pain but held on, trying to pin his flailing arms. All around us the office was chaos, papers fluttering to the floor and Ari shouting for us to stop.

“Frankie! Stop. Stop! He wasn’t hurting me. I was letting him. I wanted it!”

Her voice, strained with a blend of fear and an inexplicable thrill, cut through the fog of my rage, but it did little to stem the flow. My blood roared in my ears like a maelstrom as I turned to glare at her. Ari’s eyes were wide, her face flushed, and there was something undeniably wild shimmering in those depths that made no sense to me then.

Lotto used my momentary distraction to his advantage. With a guttural growl, he bucked upward violently, dislodging me enough to slip a knee up between us. The sharp pain shot through my abdomen as his knee connected, and my grip slackened just enough for him to shove me off. I rolled away, gasping, trying to regain my composure.

Ari scrambled to grab her scattered clothes, clutching them against her lower half.

Lotto staggered to his feet, lips curling back over his teeth in a snarl. “I wasn’t abusing her, you fucker.”

I pushed myself up off the ground, glaring at both Lotto and Bones, who up until now had remained out of it.

“You stupid motherfucker,” I said to Lotto. “How dare you touch her like that. I don’t care what little sex games you’re into, you do not ever. Lay. A. Hand. On. Ari.”

Ari stepped toward me. “Frankie, calm down. He wasn’t hurting me. Not like you think.” She swallowed. “I know it might have looked that way but, it wasn’t. I’m fine. I promise.”

Her voice was pleading, her eyes imploring me to understand, to accept a truth my brain refused to compute. The protective fury that had fueled my initial outburst had not fully abated, and it left a rank taste of anger in my mouth.

Ari reached out toward me, her fingers trembling with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. “It’s just how we... how I cope. It’s an escape,” she whispered, as if the words pained her to say them.

Lotto rubbed his jaw where I had landed a solid punch, still eyeing me warily. “You think you’re some kind of knight in shining armor, Frankie? She’s not your fucking damsel in distress.”

Bones finally moved from his spot against the wall, an unreadable expression cast across his face. “Enough,” he said in a flat tone that brooked no argument. His gaze focused on me. “Frankie, you need to step back. Take a second and cool off.”

My breaths were shallow, each one fighting against the boiling blood that demanded action. I pointed at Lotto. “You ever bring a goddamn belt to her again, and I’ll fucking kill you.”

Ari cautiously approached me to rest her hand lightly on my forearm. Her touch was both calming and confusing. “I liked it,” she said softly, “And you can’t be standing here dictating the rules.”

“Why the fuck not?” I shouted, looking at each of them. “Someone needs to. What the fuck is going on between all of us? Maybe it’s time we actually discuss this madness!”

Ari locked eyes with me, then turned to face Lotto, then Bones. Nodding, she added, “Maybe you’re right.”

The room fell silent, the tension between us thick enough to slice with the discarded belt abandoned on the floor. Lotto straightened his shirt, a careful mask slipping over his features to hide whatever thoughts were churning behind his eyes. Bones didn’t move, but the intensity of his gaze told me he was calculating every possible outcome of this confrontation.

Ari gathered her resolve like a cloak around her, pulling her clothes back on with a sort of defiant grace. She took a deep breath and addressed us all, “I don’t think any of us are rule followers but... Maybe we do. I don’t know.”

Lotto’s eyes darted to Ari with an unreadable flicker before he faced me again, his posture relaxing marginally as if acknowledging her words held weight. “Okay,” he said grudgingly, “let’s lay it all out then. No more secrets. No more surprises like this one.”

“Frankie,” Ari said, her voice steadier now. “You came in here thinking you were protecting me, but you’ve got to trust that I know what I’m doing with my life. With my... desires.”

The word hung in the air, thick with implication. The idea that I was out of touch with Ari’s needs gnawed at me, left me feeling both protective and excluded.

“You’re mine to protect,” I bit back.

“She’s ours to protect,” Bones countered.

Ari shook her head with a mixture of exasperation and affection. “No one owns me. I’m not a thing to be protected or possessed. I’m my own person, and I’m telling you all that what happens between me and with any one of you—is my choice.”

Silence followed her declaration, a challenge hanging in the balance.

Then Lotto, with a subdued fierceness, broke the silence. “You’re right.” His eyes softened as they met Ari’s. “It’s your choice, always has been. But understand this, we’re all one now.”

“The three of us revolve around you, Ari,” Bones added. “We need to acknowledge that. It’s not ownership. It’s devotion.”

“I don’t expect to be the only female,” she started. “If you all?—”

“I only want you,” I snapped. “No other women.”

Both Lotto and Bones agreed.

“Okay,” Ari said. “If we’re going to do this—if we’re going to be involved with each other on any level—we need clear lines. No lies. No fights like what just happened.” She glared at the three of us then added, “And we all go get tested. I’m on the pill, so that won’t be a worry, but since I’m pretty sure we’re having that awkward exclusive talk right now, I think this needs to get done as well. And then after that… well, we figure it out as we go.”

“Agreed,” Bones said, a finality in his voice that suggested he wouldn’t tolerate any backsliding on the matter.

Lotto nodded, the hardness in his gaze softening into something that almost resembled vulnerability. “First time I’ve ever agreed to anything like this,” he admitted with a half-grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But for you, Ari... Yeah, let’s do it right.”

I swallowed hard, the weight of the moment pressing down on my chest like a physical force. “Fine,” I said, a gruff affirmation that sealed the strange pact between us. “But if you fuckers ever hurt Ari, I’ll kill you both.”