He rolled his eyes. “Now you’re pushing it. She’s seventeen not seven.”
“She did it for me. If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at me.” I stalked forward until my forehead was almost touching his chest and poked him there. “I dare you.”
He smiled, and I tried not to get caught up in how much sexier he was in these rare moments. “You never cease to push me, girl.”
Then he did something completely unexpected. He shoved his fingers in my hair, pulled me against his chest, and kissed me. I pushed against his chest, but he only wrapped his arm around my waist and tried to coax my lips open. When I wouldn’t budge, he finally pulled back. “You can pretend I’m Angel if it helps.”
My mouth opened to call him insane, but the words died when he stole my lips again. His tongue swept inside. I swallowed his groan and allowed him to kiss me since it was clear he wasn’t going to let me go until I did.
When he finally broke the kiss, he stared in my eyes. I grew uncomfortable while wondering what he was thinking.
“The things I did to her…”
If it was any girl but my friend I would have been insulted that he’d been kissing me and thinking about another. “Is she the real reason you kissed me?”
“Yeah,” he croaked.
“You’re insane.”
“Maybe.” I stepped away from him before he got any more ideas. Lucas was incredibly hot and a damn good kisser, but we both knew I wasn’t going to be the outlet he used to erase Anna. “Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Is she turning eighteen soon? Like maybe tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “‘Afraid not. She turned seventeen three months ago.”
“Fuck!” He shoved his hands in his hair and stormed past me.
*
I waited up for him in his bed. I knew he would come looking for me, to ensure himself I kept my promise, before coming to bed. I gave Caylen to Anna for the night to keep her mind off Lucas. From the look on Lucas’s face when he stormed away from her room, he wouldn’t have trouble staying away. I spent the rest of the day hoping to uncover secrets while Angel was away. I needed something to tip the balance in my favor. I promised Angel I’d stick around and accept his protection, but that didn’t mean I had to trust him completely.
After an hour of snooping, I found something better.
I found a gun.
Chapter Fifty-One
She plays well.
ANGEL
I gritted my teeth to keep from tearing the entire house apart.
She was gone.
I came home weary, pissed, and horny after a long, stressful day knocking heads. Now, I was just pissed and horny. I went to her room with the intention to climb in bed and pull her under me so I could fuck her long and hard. But she was not in bed waiting for me. It didn’t help that when I checked the nursery, I found the crib empty.
She played me.
I wasn’t even as pissed at her as I was at myself. One taste of her pussy and I crumbled. I found Lucas in the den, lying on his back, and staring at the ceiling. It pissed me off that he allowed her to slip through his fingers and then appear so laid back.
I had his shirt in my hands and lifted him off the couch before he even knew I was there.
“What the fuck, man?” He easily dislodged my grip on his shirt and shoved me back.
“Mian’s gone, asshole!”
“What?”
“She’s gone,” I repeated impatiently. “Her bed is empty and so is Caylen’s crib.”
I wanted to break his jaw when he laughed and shook his head. “Dude… you’re fucking whipped.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She isn’t in her bed because she’s in yours .” He shook his head as if it should have been obvious.
“Then why is Caylen’s crib empty?”
“He’s sleeping with Anna.”
“Why?”
“Because your girl is using him as a repellent to keep me away.” I ignored his reference to Mian being mine and focused on the part where Mian knew about Anna.
“She knows?”
He sighed, grabbed two beers from the mini cooler, popped the tops and then handed me one. He had already downed half of his by the time I could lift mine to my lips. “She knows,” he finally confirmed and then dropped down on the couch.
“How?”
“I forgot to lock the door so she walked in on Z and me with Anna.”
I did punch him then.
His head flew to the side, and I watched his jaw work as his fists bunched in his lap. Despite it, he remained seated, but the look in his eyes told me I was pushing it.
After a few moments of tense silence, he blurted, “She’s seventeen.”
“Who?” I was distracted by the fight I had waiting on me upstairs.
“Anna.”
I knew she’d been lying, but I was too focused on keeping my dick down and one finger on the trigger. I fucked up.
“You okay?”