Page 7 of Tarnished Hands (Chained Hearts Duet #7)

Chapter Seven

PIPER

L ucas opens his mouth, and my stomach tightens in irritation.

Here it comes—the usual arrogant garbage.

His smug smirk stretches wider, and my fingers twitch, already itching to reach for my gun.

Maybe I should shoot him again. He can be such a fucking asshole.

Luckily for him, Keir asked me not to. Plus, I like his wife way more than I like him, and that’s saying a lot, considering he and I are related.

“Lucas,” Joey warns.

“What?” Lucas answers, still smirking.

“Payment. Come on, stop fucking around.” If it isn’t Joey or me collecting payments, Lucas does it. Not very often, but sometimes it happens. It pays to be protected here.

“Wasn’t it you telling me about how Piper is finally nice now that she’s being fucked again?” My gaze swings to Joey, and he ducks his head in shame.

I hit him in the arm. “What the fuck?” I yell.

“I didn’t say it like that,” Joey says, glaring back at Lucas. “You’re a real fucking dick, you know that?”

Lucas merely shrugs.

“Just because I was told not to shoot you again doesn’t mean I won’t,” I tell Lucas and reach for my gun. I lift and aim it at him. Lucas and I love to hate each other.

“You’ll be in so much trouble, and we know how much you love to please the boss.”

“That’s disgusting,” I say, shaking my head.

“Only you took it the dirty way.”

“Only you implied it in a dirty way. Keir is my cousin, you fuckhead.” I flick the safety off.

“Piper,” Joey warns.

“Just the ear.” I aim for Lucas’s right ear.

“No, put the gun away,” Joey says.

“You know I’ll shoot you back.” Lucas laughs.

“Not if you’re fucking dead,” I smirk at him.

“Such devoted love between you two,” Joey grunts in annoyance.

“The best kind of love… family love, right? Not the love you have when you fuck Ezra. Did you know he’s out there right now with a cute little blonde with big tits? She’s nothing like you.”

I pull the trigger, but I miss his head on purpose.

He doesn’t even care.

Isn’t even fazed.

Sometimes, I feel as if death doesn’t faze him at all.

“Piper,” Joey scolds as I lower my gun and slide it back into my jacket. I don’t always carry it, but I enjoy using it when I do.

On Lucas.

“Let’s go for a drink,” Lucas pulls me toward the bar’s side entrance like he’s done a hundred times after we argue. The sticky floor and faux leather seats are almost comforting as I glance around.

The old jukebox in the corner plays classics, and several people are drinking, laughing, and having a great time at the bar and the tables.

I spot Ezra by the bar straight away, glass in hand, and two women talking to him.

Lucas keeps pulling me as he walks toward him.

Ezra doesn’t look up at first when Lucas speaks.

“Ezra, how about another drink? My treat.” Lucas leans into my ear as Ezra looks up, his gaze locking on me. “What do you think he screams when he gets shot?” I grind my teeth at his words as he pulls away and looks back at Ezra. “Oh, I believe you know my friend here. Piper.”

“Piper?” the younger man behind Ezra says. I stand there as he approaches me and offers me his hand. I look at it, confused. “I’m Tony, Ezra’s brother, the better-looking one of the two of us.” He winks.

“Take his hand, don’t be rude.” Lucas nudges me. I elbow him in the ribs, and he drops his arm from my shoulders.

“I don’t like shaking hands,” I tell Tony.

He nods and pulls his hand back.

“Don’t worry, man. Piper, here, doesn’t like much of anything.

” Lucas laughs. I look then to the women.

I only recognize one of them. I’ve seen her before at Ezra’s shop in the reception area, but I paid no attention to her.

She sips on some drink through a straw and eyes me, her mouth almost in a sneer.

“Do you two plan to talk to each other or just stare at one another?” Lucas asks.

“Piper.” Ezra nods.

I haven’t seen him for two weeks. I don’t have his number, and he doesn’t have mine. Sailor, Keir’s wife, told me I should get it. However, I’m not sure if I want it. I decided I needed to keep my distance from him, whether I wanted to or not.

“It’s Ezra’s birthday,” Tony says. It’s then that I notice he has the same eyes as Ezra, but that seems to be the only resemblance they have.

Before I get lost in my thoughts, I glance away from his brother to Ezra. “Happy birthday,” I tell him.

“Not really,” he replies.

“Why?”

“I hate celebrating.”

“Aww, look, you two are bonding,” Lucas teases.

“Fuck off,” I tell Lucas, who only chuckles before he walks away.

“Who are they? Damn, that man is hot,” one of the girls says loud enough for me to hear. I glare at her, and her cheeks go red. The blonde, on the other hand, is still watching me.

“Well, I hope your birthday gets better,” I tell Ezra before I turn and follow Lucas.

His hand finds mine, and I hate how instantly I know it’s him. The warmth, the possessive grip—my traitorous pulse answers before my head does.

“Stay. Please make this bearable. It was my brother’s idea, and I’m fucking over it.” I almost want to smile at the pain laced in his voice.

I have to fight a smirk. “I need to work.”

“You always have work,” he grumbles before looking behind me. “Joey, can I keep her for the night?”

“Yep,” Joey says and taps him on the shoulder. “Happy Birthday, man. See you next week.” Then he leaves.

I look back at Ezra, who is grinning at me. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because my night just got a whole lot better.” I roll my eyes as he leans in.

He doesn’t kiss me, but he gets close enough that he could.

“Want to get drunk and let me fuck you in my car?” He wiggles his brows at me.

And I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up.

I try to cover it with my hand, but he pulls it away.

“I’ll take that as a yes. And I plan to hear that sound from you more often, dear.

” He winks and pulls me back to where his brother is standing.

What did I just agree to?

And why do I agree so easily with him?