A silent message passes between us and as if sensing his resignation, the others back down. I close my eyes and the relief completely takes over but when I open them again, Nic’s eyes are black as night and focused heavily on Colton’s. “If you fucking touch her or even think about fucking with her again, I’ll come for you and I’ll fucking end you. Mark my words, Carrington. No one messes with what’s mine.”
Colton scoffs behind me and I silently beg for him not to mention what happened last night, otherwise, it’d be a bloodbath in here. Colton seems to understand that though and can clearly see that he’s outnumbered. So, while he obviously has balls of steel, he’s not fucking stupid.
Nic takes a step back and I go with him, peeling my back away from Colton’s strong chest. We only get two steps before Nic pulls the gun from the waistband of his jeans and presses it into my chest. His eyes remain on Colton as he speaks to me. “He touches you. You take him out.”
I swallow as I take the gun from his hands and nod. It’s not a stubborn demand from an overprotective and jealous ex-boyfriend and best friend, but it’s an order from the top, from the man who’s going to be the leader of the Black Widows one day.
Nic leans in and presses a hasty kiss to my temple, one where I don’t feel the love. “What have I always told you?” he questions, pulling back to meet my eyes.
I roll my eyes and can’t help but feel some of the tension dissipating from within me. “Don’t be the bigger person—slash their tires.”
“That’s my girl,” he murmurs, looking broken at the thought of having to leave. This really isn’t the goodbye I was hoping for but if he doesn’t go now, I’m not sure how this night will end.
“Hey,” I say, reaching up and slipping the bandana off the top of his head and bunching it between my fingers as I’ve done a million times before. “I love you.”
His eyes soften. “Love you too, O. Call me when you can.”
“I will,” I promise.
I meet the boy’s eyes and they all give discreet nods. Despite going against everything they know and challenging their most basic instincts to protect me, they walk away, leaving me here with an amused Colton at my back.
A shit storm brews inside of me as I turn a ferocious glare on Colton. My finger curls around the trigger, knowing Nic wouldn’t be carrying an unloaded gun. This thing is more than ready to go, just like I am, but I’d never make a stupid mistake like that. I hold the gun down by my side with Nic’s bandana scrunched in my other hand and I don’t miss the way Colton’s eyes flick down to it.
He’s more than aware that he’s crossed some invisible line and right now, he’s ready to test the limits. “Fucking with me is one thing, but involving my boys is a low fucking blow.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he murmurs, his eyes dancing with the challenge. “I just came out to say hello.”
I step into him, somehow managing to make my glare worse than anything Nic could deliver. When my boys are fucked with, I’m one pissed off bitch. “You need to back off, Carrington. You don’t know what kind of bullshit you’re getting yourself involved in.”
“You don’t think I know exactly who you are and what you’re involved in? What the fuck do you think you’re doing hanging out with trash like that anyway?” he demands, his lips pulling up into a disgusted sneer.
I scoff, smirking up at him. “Oh, haven’t you heard? I am trash, just like them. They’re my people, Colton, and if you fuck with my people, I’ll fuck with you.”
With that, I turn and walk back toward the pool house, dipping the gun into the waistband at the back of my jeans. “Hey,” he calls after me. “Don’t fucking walk away. I wasn’t finished with you.”
I turn back around but keep walking in the direction of the pool house, opening my arms out as I stare back at him. “What can I say? I’d love to stay and chat but this conversation is boring me to death and my survival instincts just kicked in. So, yeah … I’m out.”
I give him a sickeningly sweet smile before flipping him off and disappearing into the pool house, hopefully somewhere that I won’t be bothered by Colton Carrington ever again.
Chapter 12
Saturday night rolls around way too quickly.
Colton and I have somehow managed to avoid each other and completely stay out of each other’s way so it’s actually been an alright couple of days. To be honest, I didn’t know Colton had it in him to leave me the hell alone. I guess I have my boys to thank for that. Had they not come and moved the old bag out of the pool house, I’d probably still be suffering the same old bullshit day in and day out.