Seamless by R. L. Griffin Read Free Book Online Page B

like a frisbee and laughed. Stella stared at him.
    “You’re weird.”
    “Of course I am,” George agreed with a grin. “Aren’t you?”
    Stella’s arms motioned all around the garage. “I think that’s clear.”
    “Get me another plate,” George demanded.
    “Hey, you don’t get them all!” Stella mock-pouted.
    “You don’t pout well. I’m just as angry as you are.” He threw the plate she handed him and looked at her. “Okay, maybe not just as angry, but pretty fucking angry.”
    “I should’ve killed him when I had the chance,” Stella said remorsefully through clenched teeth as she flung another plate against the wall.
    “Doesn’t matter now.” George threw the next plate with all his might and it shattered into a million pieces.
    “Well, I guess you’re right. We need a plan.” Stella finished her wine with one last slug.
    “Let’s work on it,” George agreed, taking the empty wine bottle out of her hand and launching it at the wall.
    They both flinched, for the first time, at the sound of exploding glass, and stared at the broken shards of glass and ceramic that were scattered all over the floor of the garage. Stella sighed. George wanted to help, but she knew from experience that wanting to do something and actually doing it were two different things. She had to finish this herself. Honesty .
    “George, I think I have to finish this myself.”
    “No,” he said shortly, and turned to her, determined. “We do everything together from now on, remember?”
    “Not this,” she whispered and shook her head. “Not you.”
    “El,” George pleaded with her, looking her directly in the eyes, “you’re not doing this without me. I can’t fucking understand why you keep pushing me away from you. We’re in it together. You can’t kill him; I will.” He shrugged like taking someone’s life would be easy.
    Shock coursed through her body in waves and spurts. “No,” she breathed. “No, George. I won’t let you do that for me.”
    “I don’t need your permission for shit, El.” His eyes clouded over with an expression she hadn’t seen before. It was indignation.
    “What the fuck are you going to do, George? He will kill you. And if you get hurt because of me, it will end me. Do you hear me?!” she yelled. “END ME!” She started shaking involuntarily and wrapped her arms around herself, retreating inward.
    “El,” George pulled her into him tight. “It’s okay, Love. It’s okay.”
    It’s not okay. “Please promise me you won’t do anything stupid. I can’t…” her voice broke.
    He held her, not giving in, not letting her go.
    She used the one skill she knew always worked when it came to George and pushed him back against the hood of her mother’s car. He stumbled and looked at her with a mix of concern and amusement. She quickly unbuttoned his pants.
    Argument over.

    The press was more manageable than last year, but was ramping back up. Even two weeks after his fight with Jamie, there were still pictures of George, his face beaten and bruised, everywhere, coupled with speculation on it. He tried to stay out of it, but everything from
#dominatrixstellamurphytakesitoutonboygeorge to #jessevsgeorge to #falconfistsfly was splashed all over the media.
    He was hiding in his office at the bar filling out paperwork, as usual, when his sister called for the third time, ostensibly “to see how he was doing.” Bullshit . She was digging, just like the media was, and he hated it. Why couldn’t everyone just leave them the hell alone?
    “Hey.” He didn’t want to answer, but he did. He’d been avoiding his entire family, waiting for his face to heal.
    “Will?” his sister, Kara, said in a question.
    He and his older sister had always been close. He was closer to her than his other sisters and she was like his other half growing up. They were only a year and half apart and thicker than thieves as kids; they rode the bus together and, more often than he’d like to admit,