Page 9 of The Masks We Wear (Satan’s Angels #1)

I can hear the doubt in her voice. “Go ahead. But good luck finding a new manager because if you do that I quit. And also good luck staying out of jail because if I leave, I’m taking your attorney’s with me because they’re my friends from law school.”

And there’s the ultimatum. The only reason I haven’t yet sent Harvey fucking Taylor on his way. At the end of the day, as angry as I am at Selene for doing this, she’s still my best friend. I can’t do any of this without her and she knows it. “And if he quits?”

“He won’t.”

“But if he does?”

She grumbles, “I just said he won’t.”

I sigh, “I’m over this convo. You’re boring me and I’m still pissed at you. I’m hanging up now.”

“Brody, I-” I hang up on her before she can finish and exit my bathroom with a cocky expression on my face. I’m getting those drugs and just as they enter my system, the mask will slip on with them and I’ll be Sticks again.

The drugs, parties, and lifestyle help me be who they want me to be and without them?

I can’t do any of it. I change into a pair of ripped baggy jeans and sneakers before finishing the outfit with a Dolce little does he know I’m undefeated. “Rocco’s house. You know who that is, right?” Let’s see if he did his homework on me like he thinks he did.

He tilts his head at me as if in thought but stays silent.

I grin, “Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t know Rocco. I thought you did your homework on me, Boy Scout.”

“I did.” His voice is dark.

I take a dangerous step towards him and then another, stopping only when I’m two feet away.

I can read his eyes like a book for the first time since I met the guy.

Usually, he’s a little hard to read but he’s wearing it all on his face right now.

He doesn’t like the idea that he missed something one bit.

He thrives off his knowledge and the idea of not knowing something angers him.

I’m using that to my advantage. “Well, if you did you would know that Rocco is my fuck buddy and I was sneaking off to see him.” I tease him.

His brows crease in the middle and his jaw tightens. “Too bad Rocco’s house isn’t on the list of places you’re allowed to go.”

My nostrils flare in annoyance. It seems like I won’t be going to Aria’s today after all.

But a new thought occurs to me and I smile at him, the fakest smile I’ve ever formed.

“Okay.” I walk past him with a pep in my step and bask in not only his confusion over my lack of argument but in what I have planned.

––––––––

FOUR HOURS LATER, I lay sprawled out on the leather couch in the living room, scrolling through Instagram on my phone and keeping my expression bored.

Harvey watches me closely from the kitchen as if he thinks I’m gonna try to ditch him again.

I keep my body language relaxed so as not to tip him off for what’s to come.

Harvey Taylor will rue the day he took this job when I’m through with him. Hell, he’ll rue the day he met me. I fight back a devious grin at the thought. A knock raps on the door a moment later and I toss my phone aside to answer the door. Harvey’s eyes narrow, “Who’s that?”

I smirk and ignore him as I walk towards the door and open it to find Rocco on the other side.

“Hey, Babe.” He greets and my stomach churns.

I’m not a fan of his word of endearment but I ignore it, instead focusing on how angry his presence will make Harvey.

Harvey is a man that is obeyed and I disobey him.

He didn’t expect me to undermine him and find a loophole in his outrageous rules but here Rocco is.

I step aside and let Rocco enter and catch a glimpse of Harvey storming down the entry hall.

“What’s this?” Harvey’s brows pull together as he takes Rocco in.

The sight of the two of them in the same room is an anomaly.

Harvey is all rigid muscle and height in a pair of slacks and a button down while Rocco wears baggy jeans and a Gucci t-shirt that’s even baggier than the jeans.

And of course, how could I forget the thick Cuban chains that are diamond encrusted around Rocco’s neck, emphasizing his chocolate colored skin.

I lean in close to Rocco’s side and grin at Harvey. “You said I couldn’t go anywhere but you never said anything about anyone coming here.” I bat my lashes at him because I know it’ll piss him off more.

His nostrils flare as his eyes leave mine and rove over Rocco. “Who’s this?” Rocco points toward Harvey with his thumb.

I shrug, “The babysitter Selene hired to keep me sober and miserable.” I wait for Harvey to say something but he doesn’t. I look up at Rocco, “Ignore him, he’s rude and has no manners. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

I grab Rocco’s hand and begin to lead him out of the room when Harvey finally speaks. “Absolutely not.”

I ignore him and continue walking with Rocco at my back.

I lead him all the way up the stairs and to my bedroom door all while Harvey follows us with loud protests I choose to ignore.

I shove Rocco into my room and tilt my head at Harvey.

“Next time you want to tell me what to do, make sure there aren’t any loopholes in your stupid ass rules.

” I’m about to slam the door in his face but then another thought occurs to me.

“Oh and don’t wait up. We’ll be awhile. Bye, Harvey.

” I feign innocence as I slam the door so hard in his face the entire frame rattles.

I turn to face Rocco who’s made himself comfortable on my bed as I mutter “motherfucker” under my breath.

Rocco raises a confused brow, “What was that all about?”

“What do you mean?”

He laughs, “You used me to make him mad.”

I smirk, “It worked, didn’t it.”

He chuckles, “Girl, you are lucky I like you otherwise I’d be out the door right now for how awkward that whole situation was.”

I plop into the bed next to him. “Did you bring what I asked for?”

He gives me a look of doubt. “When have I ever not delivered?”

“Good point.”

Rocco slips a hand into his pocket and pulls out a baggie of blow and some edibles in another baggie.

My eyes light up at the sight and relief washes through me.

He hands them to me and I immediately start with the baggie of blow.

I open it and pour some on my nightstand, making quick work of forming two lines.

Rocco watches me with a relaxed expression, “What’s the deal with him anyway? You guys fucking or something?”

I whip my head at him. “No. He’s a prick and I can’t stand him. He wouldn’t let me go see Aria or Ivory today and he talks down to me like I’m a dog he’s doing obedience training with. I can’t stand the guy.”

He looks at me as if he doesn’t believe me. “What?” I ask.

He snorts, “No guy gets mad at another guy’s presence unless he’s jealous and that man downstairs is jealous.”

I sigh and let out a pent up, irritated breath. “I don’t want to talk about Harvey. Do you want a line or not?”

Rocco leans closer to me and places his hand on my thigh, “You thought I was gonna let you have all the fun?” He grins as his head dips past mine and down to the nightstand.

He snorts the first line and wipes his nose after.

He gives me a look of expectation and I grin.

This is who everyone knows me to be. As I lean down to snort the second line, my shoulders relax and the tension in my body eases.

All the stress and anger I’ve been holding in these last two days dissipates and once I sit up and wipe my nose with the back of my hand, I exhale.

I throw my body back onto the bed and Rocco does the same.

We don’t have sex every time we hangout.

I’d consider Rocco a friend and I enjoy his company as much as I enjoy the sex which is a fair amount.

Aria had the right idea about needing to get laid.

I think it would really relax me to have a good orgasm but for some reason I’m not interested in going there with Rocco right now. He isn’t on my mind like that.

Once the blow kicks in twenty minutes later. Rocco and I are silently staring at the ceiling. “You sure you haven’t fucked him?” He asks doubtfully and I know immediately he’s talking about Harvey. “There’s too much sexual tension there.”

“I didn’t fuck him.” I answer but for some reason I wish it weren’t true.

I blame the drugs but even sober there’s no denying that Harvey Taylor is a God brought to life.

From his broad shoulders to his chiseled muscle and jaw, he’s most women’s wet dream.

Hell, he may even be mine. A mental image of him shirtless and on top of me, pounding into me with sweat dripping down his body and his hair sticking to his forehead creeps into my mind and I feel a pulse between my legs and warmth in my lower belly.

He’s the last person I should be turned on over for so many reasons.

The first is that he’s off limits to me and the second is that he’s an asshole.

But why then can’t I get him off my mind?

Especially when Rocco is laying on the far side of the bed.

I’m so in need of release right now I’m almost ready to put my hand between my legs which also confuses me since I have access to a man who’s already in my bed and more than willing to have sex with me.

“But you want to.” He assesses.

I bask in the happiness flowing through my veins in the form of cocaine, mixing with my blood and filling my head with silly and happy thoughts. “I do.” I laugh at the ceiling.