Page 46 of The Villain

This was absolutely unacceptable.

I charged forward. “You’re just going to leave me here, alone and unchained? What if I swallow a whole bottle of pills? What if I stab Rhys with a knife? I can do a lot of damage here alone.” My lips curled into a sneer as I fisted my hands at my sides. “Or did you forget who I am?”

He finally met my gaze head on. I’d expected him to shout. To wrap those inked fingers around my throat. To get the chain out and make me behave. Instead, his eyes tore through me like claws as he let out an amused huff. “I see.”

“You seewhat?” I spat.

He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and began tapping it against his palm. “You want attention. Boundaries. You want me to keep my boot on your neck.”

Did I want that?

Yes. No. Yes.

I didn’t know how to respond. My anger had me twisted up and confused. I couldn’t even remember the point of my outburst anymore. All I knew was that the thought of him leaving me like this, without a leash, left me feeling unstable.

Cian let out a long sigh as he pulled a cigarette from the pack and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go.”

I froze. “What?”

“Let’s. Go.”

“Go where?”

“Don’t question me, devil. You don’t want me to leave you, so I’m taking you with me.”

By the time we walked into the main room downstairs, it was late afternoon. Mads and Dylan were on the couch playing Mario Kart, with Jeremy sitting between them, his little legs dangling off the end of the cushion. Cian whistled, and Mads’s head popped up. He gave Jeremy’s hair a quick ruffle before heading our way.

Mads looked me over from head to toe as he approached, and Cian shifted closer to me—almost protectively. I wondered if he even realized he’d done it.

“Everything go okay last night?” Cian asked.

“Yeah. Jeremy and Dylan slept in my bed, and I slept on the floor.”

Cian frowned. “We can get them their own room. We have the space.”

“It’s fine. Dylan will probably head back to his apartment soon. We just wanted to be together last night.”

“All right. But let me know. We can make space, and Dylan doesn’t have to pay us anything.”

Mads smiled, and his dimples popped. “Thanks, boss.” Then he looked back at Jeremy, and his smile faded. “When we went to pick him up, he was alone. The place was a mess. This is Dylan’s visitation time, and we’re spending this week fighting for full custody. This whole situation is bullshit.” His voice had begun to rise. “The kid hasbruises!”

“I saw them,” Cian gritted out. “Keep your voice down.”

Mads clenched his jaw. “I need Rottie.”

I had no idea who Rottie was, but I assumed he was a lawyer when Cian assured Mads that, while Rottie didn’t do family law, he could find someone who did.

Mads’s attention shifted to me. He was quiet for a long moment, then blew out a harsh breath and ran a hand through his blond hair.

“I don’t know why you did it, but thanks. For the food. And for the frog. He loves that stupid thing.”

I could see the keychain ring looped around Jeremy’s middle finger from here. I didn’t want to get into this again, especially not with Cian’s eyes boring a hole through me. So I nodded.

Mads narrowed his eyes. “I don’t get you.”

I shrugged. “No one does.”

Cian and Mads exchanged a few more words before we headed for the front door. The second it shut behind us, Cian grabbed my chin and dug his fingers into my cheeks.