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  “What do we do?” Brody asks. I rub my temples as I try to figure this out.

  “I don’t know, man. I think we’re getting in too deep with her.” Admitting that is bullshit. I want her. It doesn’t matter that she pisses me off at every turn. It doesn’t matter that she pushes me, I want her and I don’t care how many demons she has.

  “We can’t just toss her ass to the curb!” Fox growls. I ignore them all and climb back in the car. I don’t know what to do about her. The guys climb in and we take off. I drive out to the lake and park needing to clear my head. Too much has happened in the last week and my head is a mess.

  “What are you thinking?” Brody asks as we walk toward the water.

  “I don’t know, Brody. I just need to clear my head.”

  “I think she’s worth fighting for,” Fox says as he drops down next to us.

  “What’s there to fight for?” Glancing over at him, he shakes his head.

  “Don’t do that, Ace. You care about the girl.” I won’t tell him he’s right. I won’t give him that satisfaction.

  “We all do.” That came from Brody. His words don’t shock me the way I thought they would. I knew he had a thing for her but he isn’t having her. I shake my head when my phone rings. Sliding it out, I see it’s Clarissa.

  “Hey.”

  “Acen? Where are you?”

  “What’s wrong?” I’m shoving to my feet and heading toward the car without even knowing what the hell is happening but I can hear it in her voice. Something is wrong.

  “It’s Layla!”

  “What about her? What the hell happened, Clarissa?” I roar into the phone as we all pack back into the car. Starting the engine, I wait for her to say something. My heart beats erratically in my chest.

  “Someone jumped her. It’s bad, Acen.”

  “Where is she?”

  “They are taking her to the hospital. I’m going with her.” I hang the phone up as I speed toward the road. No words are needed between the guys and me. I speed through the streets with my stomach tumbling. Who would have touched her? This is our turf! No one authorized that.

  The hospital comes into view and as soon as I park, I’m out and stalking toward the emergency room. My hands are fisted at my sides as the doors slide open and I walk in. Glancing around, I spot Clarissa in the waiting area. That’s where I head first. When she looks up and sees me, she leaps from her chair and rushes into my arms.

  “She looked so bad, Ace.” I hold her against me as she cries trying to soothe her the best I can.

  “Do you know who did it?” She shakes her head against my chest. Glancing at Brody, I give him a nod to go call Shadow. He walks back out of the hospital with his phone in hand.

  “Have you heard anything?” Fox chimes in. Clarissa pulls back and looks over at him.

  “No. They said they would let me know but no one ever came out. She was covered in blood, Acen!” Clarissa is nearly hysterical when I pass her off to Fox. Cato moves by my side as I approach the desk. Leaning over it with my hands pressed firmly to the top, I glare at the woman.

  “I don’t think I need to tell you who the hell we are.” She jerks in her chair taking us both in. They know us.

  “What… what can I help you with?”

  “Layla Woodruff. Where is she?” I hiss each word sick of this already. She looks frightened as she looks down and types.

  “She’s in a room. Room three fourteen.” Shoving back, I turn and motion for Fox to bring Clarissa as I storm the hallway. The white walls of the hospital don’t bother me like they do some. I actually find a comfort in the sterility of it all. Maybe that’s from living in complete hell most of my life. I keep going until I find her room. Reaching for the door handle, I freeze. What the hell am I walking into? What am I getting into with this girl?

  “She needs you as much as you need her, Acen,” Cato says resting his hand on my shoulder. I don’t look over, just nod and push the door open. Taking a few steps inside, I gasp.

  “Fuck,” Fox grunts.

  “Oh my God,” Clarissa cries as she rushes to her side. She drops into the chair, grabbing Layla’s hand in hers.

  “Shadow said he di-“ Brody stops midsentence when he sees her lying there helplessly. Shaking my head, I look her over from head to toe. She’s covered from the waist down but from what I can see, they really did a number on her. I’m torn between anger and fury. Fire dances in my heart. Who would do this to her? Why?

  “It’s okay. Everything’s okay now, Layla,” Clarissa whispers as Layla’s eyes slowly flutter.

  “Where am I?” Her groggy voice asks through her split lip.

  “You’re in the hospital,” I tell her loudly. I’m pissed at whoever did this but I’m also pissed at her. She’s the one that ran off by herself. What was she thinking?

  “Why are you here?” That’s a loaded question. The guys all look at me before moving closer to her. Fox leans down and presses a kiss to the top of her head whispering something in her ear. She nods her head before he walks away. The others move in doing much the same. Clarissa moves last, reassuring Layla that she isn’t going anywhere, just out into the hall. That leaves me.

  Chapter 20

  Layla

  I hurt, I ache. I want to curl into myself and just become numb.

  “You need anything?” Ace asks from where he’s been planted since they got here.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, you look great,” he adds sarcastically.

  “Did you just crack a joke?” I try to smile but it hurts.

  “What happened? Who did this to you?” I huff out a painful laugh.

  “Like I would tell you anything.” I shift a little when he walks over, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “This is my turf. No one gets a beat down without us giving the okay, Lala. I sure as hell didn’t okay this!” He growls loudly.

  “Could have fooled me. You don’t like me, Ace. Why do you care?” My body aches but I won’t tell him that. He moves quickly, his hand coming to my swollen face. Even though I’m bruised and bloody, he isn’t gentle with me. His harsh grasp is welcomed. Forcing my gaze to his, his eyes burn into me.

  “I don’t think you know anything about what I feel, Lala.” His tone is low as his eyes sparkle.

  “Then tell me,” I nearly beg him. Why? I don’t know. His eyes stay on mine but nothing leaves his mouth. He leans in slowly, pressing his lips to mine. It hurts but the pain is something I can relate to.

  “Move over,” he says nudging me when he pulls away. I don’t move. Not at first anyway. Ace sits there watching me intently, trying to figure me out. He won’t. I won’t let him. “Don’t make me move you, Lala.” This time I note the authority in his tone so I scoot over in the bed. Ace lies down, putting his arm under my head and pulling it to his chest. I rest there listening to his heart beat.

  “Why?” I whisper. He knows the question without me even asking. Why is he doing this? Why stay here with me?

  “I don’t have a reason for you. I honestly don’t know.” I don’t move an inch. Just listen to his heart as it beats a rhythm beneath my ear. His hand roams over my back slowly and gently. I don’t like it. I don’t know this side of him and it scares me. I know the rude, harsh bully that I met when I first got here. As I lie here, thoughts of what happened run through my mind.

  I was walking back home when Rico pulled up. He got out first to talk to me. I saw the look in his eye and I should have known right then not to test him but I did it anyway. I pushed him as hard as I could because I was angry and confused. He didn’t like what I had to say. He told me that if I didn’t do what he wanted I would end up dead. That this beating was just the beginning. I didn’t care.

  “You’re crying,” Ace whispers when I realize that I am. I quickly move, hissing in pain the whole time as I wipe my eyes and move away from him.

  “Can you give me a ride home?” My ribs ache, my head is pounding but I don’t want to be here.
/>   “The doctor hasn’t released you,” he says as I stand from the bed. The blankets fall, the gown hanging open and yet I couldn’t care less that Ace is seeing me like this.

  “Where are my clothes?” I ask myself as I glance around the room.

  “They cut them off you, Lala. Get back in the bed.” I ignore his words not giving a shit what he thinks right now. I’m not staying here. I rip the gown down my arms while I scream. I scream at nothing. I scream at everything before I slowly break down and cry. I drop to my knees, my face in my hands as my world slowly falls apart around me.

  “Jesus,” I hear Ace before I’m wrapped in his arms. He holds me closely as he stands to his feet and walks to the chair. Sitting with me in his lap, he rocks me like a child.

  “Why is this my life? Why is this all I am?” I cry although I know he doesn’t have answers for me. No one does. This is the life I was given and no matter how hard I try I can’t escape it. Helping Rico won’t get me anywhere. I can’t help him, not anymore.

  “I’ll take you home,” Acen whispers into the top my hair. I cry harder, nodding my head as he moves to set me in the chair. Pulling his sweatshirt over his head, he moves toward me. “I need to get the nurse to take that out,” he says nodding toward the IV in my arm. I shake my head, pull off the tape and yank it out myself. Blood drips down my arm but Ace doesn’t care. He slips the sweatshirt over my head and helps me raise my arms into the sleeves. In seconds, he lifts me once more, carrying me out of the room. As we’re passing the waiting room, I spot the others. Clar gasps and hurries to her feet coming toward us. She grabs my hand in hers while the others fall in line behind us. The nurse tries to stop us but Ace just gives her a dirty look and keeps walking.

  “She wants to go home,” he says climbing in the back of the car. “Fox drive.”

  “I don’t want to go home,” I whisper. I don’t want to be around her. I can’t see her like this. She let this happen to me. Ace pulls me tighter against his chest and I burrow in.

  “My house,” Clar says. No one speaks on the ride. I don’t think or feel. I just zone out and let the movement of the car lull me. I must close my eyes at some point because when I open them, we’re already at Clar’s house. Brody opens the door and Ace climbs out with me still in his arms. No words are spoken.

  “My room,” Clar says. Ace shifts, his body becoming tense when I look up at him. His eyes meet mine when he slowly shakes his head no.

  “She’s staying in my room. Get her pillow.” I don’t have the strength to fight him right now. The weight of all the medicine that the hospital gave me is weighing me down. My limbs feel heavy but as soon as he tries to lay me on his bed, I lose it.

  “No! The floor!” I scream as loud as I can, panic shifting through my chest. Ace pulls me up from the half crouched position he was in. Clar comes in with the blanket and my pillow making me a bed on the floor like she always does. Ace kneels down and lays me on my pillow as the others come in. They all drop down around me, grabbing pillows off the bed.

  “What are you doing?” I ask looking at them. Ace smirks and snuggles in closer to me.

  “We’re staying.” Comes from Brody.

  “Why?” I croak.

  “Why not? You’re ours, Lala. We take care of what’s ours,” Fox says while Cato nods his head. Emotions stick in my throat. No one has ever given a shit about me. Why do they? If they knew what I was supposed to be doing with them, they would all hate me. Clarissa slips from the room as my eyes flutter. The pain becomes more intense and when I open my eyes, she’s standing there again.

  “Take these. I saved them from the last time Cato got hurt,” she says passing me some pills and a water. I sit up slowly and take them, swallowing them down. I’m about to lay back down when I glance up at her. Tears shimmer in her eyes.

  “Clar,” I whisper her name. She reaches up and wipes the tears.

  “I was so scared, Layla. You’re my best friend.” The tears leak down her cheeks when Cato grabs her hand and tugs her down with him. They all scoot closer to me as silence fills the room. I vaguely remember Ace pulling my head to his chest when the sound of his heart lulled me back to sleep.

  Chapter 21

  Acen

  “You don’t have to get up,” I tell her once more watching the scowl on her face. Fuck, this girl has me all tied up.

  “Shut up, Ace.”

  “I mean it, Layla. It’s only been four days.”

  “Four days that I’ve laid on your floor doing nothing. My bruises are fading and I’m sick of laying here. Stop babying me,” she snaps. I chuckle when she turns to face me. She isn’t playing but at the same time, neither am I.

  “We haven’t talked about it.”

  “And we’re not going to,” she snaps once more trying to pull away from me. In seconds, I have her on her back, between her legs, looking over her. I lean down and kiss her bruised lips until she moans into mine.

  “Stop doing that,” she whispers.

  “Doing what? Kissing you?”

  “Trying to seduce me into talking,” she says softly. Smirking at her, I slide my hand between us and find her naked thigh. Her eyes shoot to mine as she watches me.

  “I think I can get you talking if I really try,” I challenge her. My fingers slide over her flesh, right between her legs. Finding her wet already makes my cock hard. I dip a finger inside of her, pulling it out slowly before circling her clit. “Who was it?” I ask watching her breathing pick up speed. She arches against me when I move faster.

  “Ace,” she warns me.

  “Do I know them?” She shakes her head. Now we’re getting somewhere. “Are they from school?” Again, she shakes her head.

  “Please, Ace,” she begs although I don’t think she knows what she’s begging for.

  “Give me a name, Lala. Just one name,” I lean down to kiss her once more. Slipping a finger back inside of her, I angle it just right. Layla’s body spasms around me. I run my lips from hers over her neck. She moans, arching her back further as I fuck her with my fingers.

  “Just…fuck me, Acen!” She nearly growls.

  “You’re healing.”

  “Do it! Please,” she begs with a sad tone in her voice. I can’t deny her. I don’t want to. Pulling my fingers away from her, she whines. I undo my jeans and shove them quickly down my legs.

  “Let’s get on the bed,” I whisper against her neck. She tenses at that.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” My cock is so hard it’s painful. I want inside of her, need inside of her but I also want answers. “Tell me.”

  “No. Just move,” she does growl this time, shoving at my chest but instead of moving out of her way, I raise her leg and plunge inside of her. Her growl turns to moans of pleasure as I roll my hips into her.

  “A name, baby. Give me a name,” I whisper, then suck her earlobe into my mouth. Layla whimpers, wrapping her arms around my back and tugging me closer to her.

  “Rico,” she finally whispers on a sob. That name buries itself deep inside of me at this moment. A moment that I should be sharing with her and all I can think about his slitting his throat. Her nails dig into my back, urging me, tugging me closer to her. Each roll of my hips, she moans.

  “Damn,” I hear Brody behind us but that doesn’t stop me. He stalks into the room, dropping onto the floor beside us, sprawling out and enjoying the view. I want to tell him to walk away but when Layla notices him there, her eyes flash to mine. I lift the corner of my lips into a smirk when I nod at Brody. He doesn’t take a second to question me. He scoots closer as I lean up. His head drops to her nipple, sucking it into his mouth. Layla arches her back, pushing into him further. He flicks his tongue and groans as I thrust into her. His hand moves up, circling her throat. Her eyes open and lock with mine as her pussy clenches around me. She’s so close.

  “Do it,” I say as I grind into her. She stares at me, her lips parted as I feel myself tense. She comes with me and I grunt through my release. Bro
dy lazily licks her nipple as she comes down from her high. When I pull out of her, she climbs off the floor giving me a strange look before grabbing her clothes and heading toward the bathroom.

  “Don’t think you’re touching her again,” I tell Brody as I stand and pull my jeans back up.

  “What’s your problem?” he asks shoving himself up too.

  “Nothing. That was a one-time thing.”

  “Jesus. You are screwed in the head aren’t you?” I turn my gaze to him, anger crawling through my veins but he can see that. He’s one of my best friends. He raises his hands in defeat when we hear the front door close. We share a glance but I already know it was her. It takes us no time to run through the room and out the front door.

  “What the hell is she doing?” Fox asks as we follow along behind her. She’s wearing some of Clarissa’s clothes that don’t look right on her but the way her body is poised and ready, she’s up to something.

  “Lala. What are you doing?” Cato asks when he jogs up next to her. She smirks a deadly smirk at him but doesn’t stop walking. Fox jogs in front of her, walking backwards as I take up my spot on one side of her, Brody behind.

  “What’s going on?” Fox asks her this time.

  “There’s something I need to know. You can either follow along and shut the hell up or you can walk away and let me handle this myself,” she snaps. That sparkle in her eyes is enough to make me follow her. That is until I see where it is she’s going.

  “What is this, Layla?” I ask when she stops and starts sucking air through her nose.

  “This is me getting answers.”

  “What does that have to do with him?” She needs to answer me. I need to understand this.

  “A lot.” That’s all I get before she storms forward. She’s a tornado of her own making, ripping her way through the backyard. The guys and I all share a glance but we’re all shocked at seeing her act like this. I watch her in awe as she grabs the girl that’s on her knees in between Shadow’s legs, ripping her up by her hair and tossing her to the side as if she was nothing. Fox whistles, Cato hisses between his teeth but I’m dumbstruck.