Dusty directed his lethal gaze at her, cocking a brow. “Every night?”
She trembled. “Sure, Prez.”
He gave her a smile with no teeth. “Fucking awesome. I hope you don’t miss one.”
The menace in his voice sent a chill downmyspine. I wondered what it did to her.
“I won’t,” she barely whispered, tears frozen in her eyes.
“I know you wouldn’t.” Dusty stroked my face, undressing me with his eyes. “Chain, Serial, go stand on that roof. Don’t come down until I tell you to.” He didn’t take his gaze off me, studying my expression as he spoke.
There was some stirring. Someone cleared his throat, and Serial asked, “What?”
Yeah, what?
“You heard me, motherfuckers!” He was yelling, but his beautiful eyes were sparkling even brighter than usual at me.I got you, sweetheart, they said.As long as I’m here, no one would hurt you, not even with a word. Whoever dared cross you would suffer. Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re safe now.
I dragged my gaze away from him and looked behind me. Slowly, the two men rose and ambled through the gloomy silence of this room and went through the front door.
CHAPTER 26
Cameron
“Why did you do that to the men?” I tried to tie my hair up with one hand and failed miserably.
Dusty locked the bedroom door and laid the duffle bag on the bed. The hammering had finally stopped. “They were mean to you.”
“I never said that.”
“You said they werecharming and considerate.You thought I wouldn’t pick that up?” He flashed me a knowing grin. “No one dares to be mean to you and gets away with it. They’re lucky they’re still alive.”
“You’d kill someone for just that?” I wasn’t shocked or appalled. The rules were different in the MC world. I was just curious.
He frowned. “I know you don’t like it, but yes, I would.”
That sounded more appealing than it’d have ever had. I laughed at myself, at how naive I’d been before, how good and fucking self-righteous I’d been, breaking up with Dusty for beating the shit out of a bastard that was groping me, feeling so bad about Dusty almost killing him.
My gaze drifted away with the darkness falling outside the window. His big hands landed on my waist. His reflection appeared in the window as he planted a kiss on my neck. “Here, at least. It’s the only language they understand,” he added. “But when we’re out, I promise I’ll never hurt anyone again. Like you always wanted.”
I took his hands off me and backed away from the window.
He sighed. “You have every right to stay mad at me. I’m sorry for what I did to your classmate. It won’t ever happen again.”
“I’m not mad at you, and I don’t care about any of that. I don’t even mind you killing anyone anymore. Some people deserved to die.It’s a necessity.”
A deep line appeared between his brows as I repeated what he once told me. “No, baby. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Everything you said was true. That’s what I came to say that night, hoping you’d forgive me.”
“Why the hell aren’t you listening?”
“Because it’s not you who are talking right now. It’s this place. It’s what it does to you, changes you from the inside out.” He put his palms on either side of my face. “I swear if it was safe to send you somewhere else until I get Beth, I would. But Rosewood is the only place where I can really protect you.”
I looked him directly in the eyes. “I already told you I’m not getting out of here. Not before or after we capture the bitch.”
“Cammie…this is getting ridiculous.”
I shrugged, too tired to argue. I found a chair and sat—I wasn’t going to sit on the bed and give him any signals I was ready for whatever he had in mind for tonight. “Well, I’m sorry if you don’t like the new me or the way I think, but I’ve changed, Dusty. A lot. Everything has changed.”
He sat on the edge of the bed next to his duffle bag, facing me. “What are you telling me?”