“What is it you think you know?” His voice is clipped. “Just say it.”

“Rumor at the house is your parents ran in the same circle, but only your biological dad made it out of a deal gone wrong. He became a father to all of you, but got locked up a few years later.” I tell them the rest of what Victoria told me, about the moms and Maybell caring for them.

“You were just waiting to use this as ammo?”

“Ammo for what, Maddoc?”

Royce flips open the top and starts rummaging, brows furrowed.

“Everything is in here, Maddoc. Birth certificates, hospital records, staffing reports.” He looks to me, but the anger is gone and something I can’t read covers his eyes instead.

Captain and Royce rush from the room with the binder, but Maddoc only stares.

When I start to walk away, he darts to the side to block me.

His eyes burn with an intensity I’ve never seen. I take a few steps back.

“You have had that this entire time and didn’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t sure I should.”

“No.” He creeps closer, shaking his head. “You’ve had that, all our fucked-up secrets, our fucked-up pasts and problems in your hands and you didn’t say anything.”

I can’t argue, it’s true. I should have given it to them the day I got it, yet here we are.

“You didn’t blackmail. You didn’t expose.” His chest is touching mine now. He tilts my head back with a knuckle under my chin. “You held on to it. Why?”

“Nothing in there is anyone else’s business.” My eyes shift between his when he pulls his lips between his teeth. “It’s your lives.”

He tilts his head, his thumb lifting to brush across my bottom lip. His voice is so low I almost don’t hear it.

“Why you always protecting us?” he breathes.

I inhale a choppy breath, shaking my head lightly. I whisper back, “I don’t know.”

He drops his hand and steps back. “I believe you.”

With that, he goes to meet his brothers.

And I stand there, wondering what the hell I’m doing here.

I head for my room.

Pulling the blanket from the bed, I grab my stash from the drawer and drop in the recliner in front of the window. I unlock it and push it open.

I put the joint to my lips and light the tip, puffing lightly as I spin it in my fingers to get a good burn going.

I run over to my door and flip off the light, the moon giving me more than enough light to be comfortable. I plop into the chair again and close my eyes, letting the early December breeze wash over my face as I take a hit.

The joint’s half gone when my door swings open and Royce steps inside.

“Told you no drugs in the house.”

“It’s an herb. And technically it’s legal so, not necessarily a drug.”

He scoffs and moves to sit across from me.

He stares at me a moment too long so I pass the goods and after a second of hesitation, he grabs it and takes a hit.

We sit like that, in the semi-dark, smoking weed, without saying another word.

When it’s too small to grip with our fingers, he puts it out in the soda can we’ve been ashing in.

He steps in front of me and I offer a small smile.

He nods his head, drops down to kiss my hair and walks out.

I watch him go and the second his feet pass the door frame, Captain steps into the doorway. He looks the way Royce disappeared and back to me.

He stares just the same.

“Night, Cap,” I call out, giving him the okay to not say a word. It’s not necessary.

When Cap looks behind him, I know who is coming next.

Captain steps into his room but leaves his door open and Maddoc steps toward mine. He stops to lean on the frame.

He glares at the soda can.

“Come here,” I tell him, and his eyes snap up. “Shut the door.”

He’s slow to move but does as he was told, even doing one better when he bends to scoop me from the chair and deposits me on the bed.

He climbs up, nudging my legs apart so he can rest his between mine, his hands planted near my head to hold him above me.

His eyes are more forest green than jade as he stares down at me.

“Talk,” he demands softly.

“I don’t want to talk, big man.” I run my hands up his biceps, over his shoulders, and into his hair. “I want your mouth on mine. Now.”

A deep rumble makes its way up his throat and his hips lower to meet mine.

When I take a deep breath, the corner of his eyes tighten, and his elbows bend, bringing him closer. He runs his lips across my jaw until he reaches my ear.

“Ask nicely, Raven.”

A chuckle escapes me.

I yank his hair making him growl, bringing his scowl to me. “You’ve got a lot to learn.” I plant my feet flat on the mattress and grind my hips up into him, loving the way his eyes darken by the second. “There’s nothing nice and sweet about me. If you won’t give it...” I whisper, forcing my eyes not to roll back when I swirl my hips against him. I lift my chin. “I’ll just take it.”

With that, I lift to meet his mouth.

He pretends to deny me for a moment, but big man snaps, his need to be in control taking over and in the next second, my hands are removed from his hair and locked beside me.

He pushes into me, rubbing the zipper of his jeans against my thin sweatpants.

My legs fall open wide, hoping more of him will fill the gap.

His mouth moves to my neck where he sucks and nips as he travels down until the fabric of my T-shirt blocks him.

His mouth comes back to mine.

Fucking finally he releases my hands, his need to touch me overtaking his want to keep me still.

His hands push my shirt up slightly, his grip on my ribs almost too much to stand.

I slide my hands over his shoulders, squeezing at his muscles there, before helping guide his mouth over mine.

He bites my lip when I try and turn his head, making me laugh.

Okay, he’s not ready to give me a say.

When his fingertips dig into my back, my legs wrap around his hips, pushing him into me more.

One of his hands curves around me, skimming down my back until he can slip into my bottoms. His fingers spread across my ass cheek and he grips me.

I swallow his groan.

My hands move down to push his shirt up and he lifts for a split second so I can yank it over his head.

When he drops back down a shiver runs through me as his heated skin hits the exposed skin of my stomach and he smirks, his hand moving to slide down the underside of my thigh, adjusting me just the way he wants.

This time, when he grinds into me, my eyes close, my head pushing against the pillow.

“Maddoc,” I pant and he growls, grinding into me, and then the bastard pulls away.

He throws himself beside me and my hands slap against the sheets.

I jerk my head to the side to glare at him, but he’s covering his face with his arm.

“Are you serious right now?” I complain, and he lifts his arm slightly to glare at me before dropping it back down.

I growl and shoot from the bed.

I pull out another joint I pre-rolled and throw myself into the chair.

When the lighter sparks he jerks upright.

“We said no drugs.”

“Yeah, well...” I inhale, turning toward him to blow it out. I glare. “Oops.”