Deploy, Part One (Rawlings #1)(6)

“Never.”

Declan shook his head knowing this was not the time to have this debate. A few years ago, maybe. But not now, at this late date.

“Why, f*cker?” Declan asked, just because if he didn’t Nolan would know for sure Justice was his unicorn, the myth that was not meant to be his.

If Declan Rawlings was quiet, he was plotting, plotting to get something he wanted. If he was arguing, he was doing so just to rattle his brothers up. He didn’t care about the outcome because he had already declared he was going to win—and always did. What kind of win he was going for was never truly clear, though.

“Because that girl is right and as long as my ‘take’ is on her no Rawlings will hurt her.”

“Who?” Declan asked, thinking one of his cousins, or worse, younger brothers had their eye on her, and he didn’t know it. Tobias had for real had Declan under his wing since before Christmas. He’d told him it was best to take in the solitude, that it would be easier when he left if he had a degree of separation. So Declan had no clue what high school drama was going on.

He co-op’d out at eleven o’clock every day and went to the garage, and apparently, most drama happened during lunch and after school.

Nolan shook his head as he went back to his task. In his mind, Declan was a fool when it came to Justice. Nolan was almost sure the girl was born loving Declan. He only called ‘take’ when he was a boy because he was always trying to one up his brother and saw his chance.

When Declan figured out he wasn’t getting an answer, he cussed under his breath and went back to work. Then his thoughts got the better of him.

“I said who,” Declan gritted out.

“You need a girl right now? I’m not talking about a hit it and quit it. I mean somethin’ like her,” Nolan said with a tick of his head toward the field.

“What do you think?” Declan snapped.

A slow grin spread across Nolan’s lips. “I think my ‘take’ is going to stay in place until you can give me a different answer.”

“Right, then,” Declan breathed as he shook his head and went back to work. He wanted out of there before he had too much time to think about the possibility of Justice Rose in some far off distant future.

Even if he overlooked the fact she still had a year of high school left and by that time he’d be a world away, and they would both be different people— it wouldn’t matter.

Justice Rose had a special kind of hate for Declan. She had to have; he couldn’t imagine why she would’ve been so terrible to him in the past for any other reason. She had confounded him in ways that couldn’t be legal in his mindset. Say it. Meant it. Move on. The ‘I’m ignoring you’ game did not compute in his mind as fair play.

Nolan whistled when he saw rage alight in his brother’s gaze. Then he chose to push a few more buttons simply because he was one of the few who could get away with it. “I guess it wouldn’t matter considering you’re all good with her and Murdock hooking up.”

The glance Declan tossed Nolan would have killed weaker men, or at least given them the idea to run for their life.

“Do you want me to get twisted up in some assault charges? Is it your goal to make sure my ticket out of here goes up in flames?”

“Now there’s an idea,” Nolan said with a daring glint in his eyes. He was mad as hell when he figured out Declan signed at seventeen.

He’d wanted Declan to wait, at least a year, and just run with him. For them to take a second to figure out who they were without the Rawlings’ name, and Rawlings’ history, who they were outside the corps, outside of Bradyville. It was the first thing the pair of them had disagreed on down to their core, the one thing neither would bend on.

As it stood Nolan claimed he wasn’t mad that Declan did his thing, but he was mad that he didn’t tell him, his best friend, he was going to. Not because they should have agreed on it, but because it was a huge day in his life and he’d shut Nolan out.

Declan couldn’t look him in the eye and deny it, which was half the reason Nolan had been able to convince Declan to help him as much as he had to make sure Nolan got his adventure.

Declan had covered for him, giving him any extra cash and shifts he had, and now apparently he was giving him his truck for a few months. And he still felt indebted to Nolan...and he was pissed at Nolan because he did. “You think an assault charge is going to land me on the road with you? Hiking up some f*cking mountain for the hell of it and looking at sunsets and shit? You’ve lost your damn mind—chill, brother. Stop rattling my cage.”

After a second Nolan said, “Whatever that’s between them is nothing. I think Murdock’s just her way out of the house and she takes it.”

“She tell you that?”

Half shrug. “She never talks about him or home, and is quick to change the subject if I bring it up. But I do know I haven’t seen her outside of school without her daddy unless it’s with Murdock.”

Declan glanced over his shoulder, catching Justice’s gaze once more. He held her stare for a second longer than he wanted to. He was trying to read her eyes. He’d always felt like even though hardly any words passed between them that they spoke constantly.

He could tell you where he’d pass her everyday in the hall and which way he should glance when he walked to his truck as others made their way to lunch. In those eyes of hers she could convey every emotion, even flirt, without expression.