Abel (Sabine Valley 1) - Page 22
“But—”
He shakes his head. “I gave my word. The Herald witnessed.”
She blanches but finally nods and yanks a radio off her hip. “Stand down.”
Eli sighs. “Get everyone here.”
Marie’s still glaring daggers at me, but she relays the order. It takes fifteen minutes for everyone to appear. I study the crowd, matching names with faces. Nearly everyone is here. Good enough. “You have an hour to clear out your shit. When you leave, pass the word on. The Paine brothers are back. The Raider faction belongs to us in truth again. You don’t fuck with us, we won’t fuck with you. Try some shit, and we’ll make examples of you.” I meet several of their gazes in turn. “You do not want to be made an example of.”
Silence greets me, but it’s got a mutinous quality. They don’t seem to give a fuck that if they attack us, they’ll undoubtedly take out some important people to the other factions. Violence broils in the air, and I glance at Broderick. We figured we might have to fight our way through those loyal to Eli, but we’d hoped to avoid it. Nothing gets people up in arms like killing a few dozen of their friends and family. We can’t afford a civil war within the faction.
Harlow steps forward. She should look ridiculous wearing my shirt, but she just looks sexy as fuck. She glares down at them. “Are you going to dishonor your leader? Are you going to dishonor our faction, your vows? The laws are there for a reason. I don’t like this any more than you do, but I will keep my word. Will you do anything else?”
One by one, they drop their gazes and the possibility of violence dispels. I catch Eli looking at her like he’s never seen her before, and I have to wonder what the fuck he expected. How can he have this woman in his bed and at his side for five years and not realize what an asset she is? It doesn’t make any fucking sense to me, but then Eli stopped making sense to me the moment he betrayed my family.
Harlow stares at them for a long moment. “Don’t bring shame on us. Do as you’re told.”
I glance at Cohen. “You, Ezekiel, and Donovan go with our people to monitor things and start moving our shit in the second it’s clear.” And then at my brother, Finnegan. “Take Gabriel and find the security shit and change the codes. That takes priority over anything else right now.” And finally at Broderick. “Get the Brides gathered up and inside. We’ll figure out living arrangements shortly.”
Everyone scatters, but I grab Eli’s arm before he can follow Broderick and the rest of the Brides into the house. “Not you. You’re with me.”
Eli hesitates but finally nods. I start walking, and he falls into step next to me as I circle the perimeter of the house and walk along the wall. I wait. He’s been stewing since I left him in the bedroom and joined Harlow in the bathroom. It doesn’t take long before he boils over. “Let Harlow go.”
“She doesn’t want to be let go.” It’s the truth, and I take great delight in using it as a weapon. “She’s exactly where she wants to be.”
He stares straight ahead, jaw clenched. “She deserves better than to be used as a whipping boy when you’re pissed at me.”
“No argument there,” I agree easily, just to see what he’ll do. “But I like taking out my frustration on that hot little body.”
He lunges for me, but I’m expecting it. I grab his arm, using his own momentum to shove him face-first into the wall and pin him there with a hand on the back of his neck. I step closer until I can speak directly in his ear. “She wasn’t faking it when she came all over my cock, and you know it. I thought you were smart, Eli. You never used to be the kind of man to let an asset like her go to waste.”
“She’s not an asset. She’s a person.”
“Semantics.”
Eli curses and tries to shove off the wall, but I use my body to keep him in place. We’re as close as lovers now, and it’s a fight not to let myself react physically. I laugh in his ear. “You’re so determined to protect her from something she doesn’t want protection from. No wonder she’s ready to jump ship.”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, she will. Repeatedly.”
Eli goes still. “You never used to be this cruel.”
“I don’t know why you’re surprised. Betrayal has a way of burning out all the good in a person.” I take a slow breath, fighting to keep my tone moderate. “You’d throw yourself on a sword for her, wouldn’t you? Would you let me fuck you to spare her?”
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