by Tate James
"We're not there yet," I said quietly, staring out my window. "Not even close. Besides, we built this version of the Timberwolves ourselves, Zed. We personally selected every single one of them for the first three years; I'm fully aware that loyalty is strong within the Wolves. But... I wouldn't have expected Reggie to be a traitor."
He'd been one of the security guards at 7th Circle, not in my upper ranks, but not all that much lower. He'd been with us since the beginning... but maybe that was the problem. Maybe he’d had ties to Chase that I hadn't picked up on in those early, blood-soaked days of my rule.
"Do you want to stop by the hospital and check on your boy toy?" Zed offered, changing the subject.
I scowled. "Don't call him that. You're hardly in a position to judge, given the dubious ages of your prior conquests. Pretty sure Seph told me one of those girls only recently graduated Shadow Prep."
Zed smirked. "At least she'd graduated."
I bit my lip to hold back my smile. He did not need encouragement. "Yes, let's stop by quickly. We need to let him know what's happening with his mom."
"You got it, boss," he replied with a nod, taking a turn that would take us toward the private hospital Lucas was being treated in.
The closer we got, the more I worried at my lip with my teeth. For all my tough talk with Zed this morning about refusing to back down and let Chase win... I was second-guessing myself. It was selfish of me, no two ways about it. I wasn't holding Lucas close out of some altruistic sense of protection for him. It was because I liked him and didn't want to let him go.
Like Zed had pointed out, I was no heroine.
"We'll keep this quick," I told him as we parked.
"If you say so," he murmured, walking beside me into the hospital. We bypassed the nurses’ station and headed straight up to the floor Lucas was staying on. "I've got some calls to make. You go ahead."
I jerked to a stop a few feet away from Lucas's room. "What calls?"
Zed gave me a deadpan glare. "Are you being a chicken right now? Quit being such a girl, and get your ass in there. Gumdrop took a knife to the chest for our shady history; you at least owe him a personal visit."
My lips parted in surprise. "Zed—"
"Dare." He all but growled my name at me, and I couldn't keep pretending things hadn't drastically changed in recent weeks. Not only was he talking to me with casual disrespect, he was frequently using my nickname. Somehow, Chase rising from the dead was bringing Zed and I back to each other... and I wasn't even slightly mad about it.
So when he pointed at Lucas's room, I just flipped him off and made my way inside. He was right. Lucas deserved to see me, even if it was just to tell me he never wanted to see me again.
Deep down, though, I knew he wasn't going to say that. So when I entered his room and a smile like fucking sunshine lit his face, I wasn't shocked.
"Hayden, you came back," he croaked, then cleared his throat and winced. "I wasn't sure you would."
"Neither was I," I admitted, crossing over to the chair beside his bed.
He struggled a bit to sit up straighter, then used the mechanical bed remote to do the rest of the work. "Well, I'm glad you did," he told me with a wide smile.
It was making me all kinds of squirrely, having him so damn open with his emotions. Who the fuck was so confident in their own skin in this day and age?
Lucas was. That's who.
"I had your mom moved to a care facility," I blurted out, sidestepping the awkward, unfamiliar feelings that he was stirring up in me. "Just temporarily, if she doesn't like it. But figured it was better for you to know she was being taken care of while you heal."
His brows had shot up with my first statement, and for a moment he seemed speechless. Then he let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you," he whispered, running a hand over his face. "Thank you, that was... you didn't need to do that. She is still semi-mobile and would have been okay on her own for a couple of days." He cringed as he said that, and I knew he didn't believe what he was saying. Not to mention how worried she would have been when he just didn't come home.
"Well, it's done. Zed's got some of our guys finishing the renovations to your place, but it might take a couple of weeks while they wait on parts." I'd had several conversations with the freshly appointed contractor while we'd been at Anarchy and approved all the costs.
Lucas gave a small frown. "The ramps were completed last week, though."
I gave him a long look. He'd had ramps installed over any steps or ridges between doorways, but that was it—which was understandable when money was tight. But the work my guys were doing would mean his mom wouldn't just be making do, she'd be comfortable.
"Has your doctor given you any updates on when you'll be discharged?" I asked instead of explaining myself. He'd only protest what he’d undoubtedly see as charity, I could already tell.
He gave a small nod. "Maybe tomorrow. He just wants to make sure the, uh, the burn on my chest isn't getting infected." He wrinkled his nose, and my shoulders tightened with tension.
"Lucas..." I trailed off with a sigh. Out of habit, I bit the edge of my thumbnail as I searched for the right words, but Lucas reached out and gently tugged my hand away from my mouth.
"Don't bite your nails," he told me with mock scolding.
I stared at him a moment, stunned, then gave a sharp laugh and shook my head. "Fucking hell, you just perfectly imitated Zed for a second there. Anyway, I was going to ask what you remembered about the man who took you. The one who did all this." I waved to his hospitalized condition. "You weren't super lucid when I saw you last night."
He grimaced but didn't let go of my hand. He just linked our fingers together over the stiffly starched bedclothes. "It was Reggie that attacked me at your place," he said, confirming what I'd already guessed. "I checked the video monitor like you told me, but I recognized him from 7th Circle and assumed—wrongly, of course—that it was okay to open the door."
Fury burned through my veins, and I once again wished I hadn't killed Reggie so damn quickly when we'd found Lucas last night.
"Was he there for you?" I asked, swallowing past my anger. "Or Seph?"
Lucas gave me a firm nod. "Definitely for me. The eye-patch dude who came in after Reggie had beaten the shit out of me spouted some crap about how I deserved it for daring to put my hands on his woman." He quirked a bruised eyebrow at me, and I blew out a long breath.
"I'll tell you," I whispered, answering his silent query.
He gave a small nod. "But not here. I can accept that. Is Seph okay?"
I groaned. "She's fine. Safe. But... kinda pissed at me. Or us."
Lucas's brows shot up. "She knows?"
"It was unavoidable, so yeah. And she's far from happy with me right now, but she'll get over it. Eventually." Or maybe she wouldn't, and she'd hate me forever. But I could live with that, knowing she was still safe from the sins of our family.
"Fuck, I'm so sorry, Hayden," Lucas murmured, his eyes full of sincerity and guilt. "I should have said something from that first moment..."
I just shrugged. "Can't change the past, Lucas."
"I have to confess something," he said, then bit his lower lip in a way that was far too distracting. There was a scabbed split on one side, but it did nothing to detract from how lush his mouth was.
A flutter of dread spawned inside me. "Is this the part where you tell me you're some kind of double agent working for my enemies?" I said it like a joke, but part of me still wondered if it might actually be the truth. It was such coincidental timing to have met Lucas the same night Chase triggered his first attack on my business... Before he’d been attacked and nearly killed, all signs had pointed to Lucas being more than he seemed.
His brow dipped at my suggestion. "Uh, no. Is that what you think? No, I was gonna admit that I’d guessed you and Seph might be related before I got into your car that day. That first night at 7th Circle? I thought I recognized you from school, but before you even spoke, I’d known I
was off the mark. Then... I dunno. You looked at me and I was just... gone. That sounds stupid, huh?"
My mouth had gone dry, and I needed to swallow before I could respond. Our fingers were still linked together, and suddenly I was hyperaware of every place our skin touched.
"Not stupid," I finally managed to say. "Just... unfamiliar. I'm not used to people in my world being as good as they seem, and you..." I trailed off with a small laugh, shaking my head as his thumb trailed a pattern over my inner wrist. "You seem better. It scares me that you're gearing up to rip my heart out." I whispered that confession so quietly it was barely audible, then instantly panicked that I'd given away too much of me.
I tried to pull free of his hand and stand up, but Lucas wasn't letting me get away so easily. His fingers tightened on mine, and he tugged me forward. It was a move I hadn't been expecting, especially considering his injured state, so I lost my balance. Only quick reflexes saw me hit the bed and not land my entire weight on top of him.
"Lucas!" I protested, trying to push myself up again. He just grinned, though, threading his hand into the back of my hair and kissing me. I mean, kissing me like I was his entire freaking world. Like my lips were the only thing sustaining him.
Fuck it. I kissed him back. After all, he had taken a hell of a beating thanks to me and my mistakes. I owed it to him. Not just to kiss him, but to stop lying to him about how I felt. Short story, I liked him. I liked how I felt when I was with him. I barely even recognized the girl he brought out of me, and that was a good thing. So I kissed him back until we were both hot and bothered, our breathing rough when we broke apart.
"Dammit, Lucas," I muttered, our faces still just a scant inch away from each other. "That's not what I came here for."
His grin spread wide. "Are you sure, though?"
Unable to help myself, I smiled back at him as I reluctantly straightened up and untangled myself from his hold. "Pretty sure. I just wanted to see that you were okay, that's all."
"Because you care about me," he whispered, teasing.
I rolled my eyes. "You're not bad, I guess. Anyway, I've got guys keeping an eye on the hospital, so you're safe while you're here and your mom is safe at Sunshine Estate."
His brows rose. "Sunshine Estate? That place costs—"
"Lucas," I growled, giving him a firm headshake. A soft knock on the door announced Zed a second before he entered the room. "Just rest up and get better. I'll sort out a safe place for you to stay after you get discharged."
"He's already got one," my second offered, folding his arms over his chest. He'd rolled his shirtsleeves up at some point during the afternoon, and his strong, tattooed forearms looked all kinds of incredible. "He can stay in one of my guest rooms until Chase is dealt with."
My jaw hit the damn floor.
"Uh..." Lucas was just as speechless as I was.
Zed gave a small shrug. "You're a weakness for Hades, Gumdrop. We can't risk Chase snatching you again to play bait in a trap. So you'll stay at my place, and for the love of liquor, you'll learn how to protect yourself better. Clear?"
What in the fuck was happening?
"Um, yes. Clear. Thank you, sir," Lucas stammered, giving Zed a wide-eyed nod of thanks.
Zed gave him a small nod in response. "Good. We’d better go, boss. Our errand boy is almost back to my place with your things."
Still stunned, but not totally hating this idea, I gave Lucas a quick kiss and told him to rest, then followed Zed out into the hall. He walked beside me out of the hospital like nothing weird had just happened, and I pinched myself before we got into his car. You know, just in case I was trapped in some weird fever dream.
I wasn't. It was just my life, for better or worse.
9
Zed's so-called errand boy was already waiting at his front gate when we pulled up, and I couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped me when I saw who it was.
"Errand boy, huh?" I commented.
Zed shot me a smirk. "What? He wanted to be useful." He unlocked the gates, and Cass followed us up to the main house on his bike.
"Did you get what I asked for?" Zed barked at Cass as we got out of the car.
The big biker swung his leg over his bike and shot Zed a scathing glare. "I'm not an idiot," he growled back, unclipping some tightly packed bags from the sides of his bike. "Not exactly a hard request."
Zed didn't elaborate on that, just led the way into his castle-ish home. Giving Cass a curious look, I started to follow. He cocked a brow at me in response, then ran his dark gaze over my outfit, lingering appreciatively over my tight leather skirt, before he gave me one of those micro-smiles that made me all hot and bothered.
"After you, sir," he gestured for me to cross the threshold ahead of him, and I rolled my eyes. I'd definitely lost my scary edge around these men. And I didn't totally hate it either.
I brushed past him and threw a little extra swing in my step as I led the way into Zed's foyer. In fairness, I was wearing stiletto heels, so it would have been hard not to walk with at least a little sexiness.
We headed through to the open-plan kitchen-living area where Zed was already grabbing drinks from the fridge for us all. Cass dropped the bags he was carrying, then took two steps closer to me. He dipped low, brushing his lips across my ear.
"Tease," he accused in that graveling rumble that set my nipples tingling.
"Food should be here any minute," Zed announced, tossing a bottle of beer across to Cass. The grumpy fuck caught it easily, then popped the cap off with his teeth. Ugh. That was so bad for his enamel but also so damn sexy.
"Dare," Zed said, jerking my attention away from the way Cass's lips were wrapped around the mouth of his beer. Cass shot me a wink, knowing damn well I was staring.
"Hmm?" I focused on Zed and tried really hard to pretend Cass wasn't smirking at me.
Zed rolled his eyes, seeming exasperated. "I've got pinot noir or malbec. What's your poison tonight?"
I wrinkled my nose, considering the options, then shook my head. "Neither, unless you want me to fall asleep on the couch. Just give me some whiskey."
"Yes sir," he replied, putting away the wine glass and exchanging it for a rocks glass.
I gave the bags Cass had brought in a curious glance, then tilted my head toward him. "What's with the luggage, Grumpy Cat? You moving in, too?"
He raised a brow at his nickname, then gave a slight headshake. "Nope, those’re yours. Zed told me to pick up your clothes and shit so you wouldn't need to go back to your apartment. I could only fit so much on my bike, though, so I'll grab the rest tomorrow when I've got my car."
Surprise rippled through me, and I gave Zed a confused look.
He shrugged. "You didn't want some rando going through your shit, and I didn't trust Alexi not to steal your panties or something. Cass seemed like the logical choice."
"How's the kid?" Cass asked, changing the subject as he sat down on one of Zed's barstools with his beer in hand.
Zed slid my drink over to me, and I took the stool beside Cass. Somehow the whole area seemed to shrink, though, because there wasn't enough space to sit without our knees touching.
"Stop calling him a kid," I chastised after a sip of my liquor. "Next time I have to remind you, I'll deliver the message with a right hook. Clear?"
Cass looked awfully like he was about to smile but swiped a hand over his mouth instead and gave a small nod. "Fair enough. How's Lucas then?"
"Gumdrop," Zed muttered under his breath, and I threw a piece of ice from my drink at him. Damn. That only left me two cubes, and I really liked three. Odd numbers sat more comfortably with me than evens.
"He seems to be doing well," I said, replying to Cass's question, "getting discharged tomorrow and in pretty good spirits."
Zed scoffed. "That's one way to put it. He looked like he wanted to fuck you right there in the hospital bed after nearly dying yesterday. Gumdrop has stamina, I'll give him that."
I shot him a sly smirk. "Yo
u don't know the half of it."
Zed choked on the sip of beer he'd just taken and coughed violently for a moment. Served him fucking right.
The gate buzzer sounded, and Zed took the opportunity to escape and answer it. If he'd ordered us food, I was willing to bet it was wood-fired pizzas from Massimo's. Zed's heritage was Tuscan, and although he'd never actually been to Italy, he always seemed to find the authentic eateries wherever we were.
"Let's head out to the patio," Zed called out to us as he headed for the door to collect our food.
I didn't question his suggestion, just slid off my stool and carried my drink outside. Zed had an impressive outdoor lounge area set up with a gas firepit. It was cold enough out in the night air that I paused to flick a switch on, and a moment later the fire was crackling away with a warm glow. For all Zed's love of medieval architecture, he was a sucker for conveniences.
Cass sat down closer to me than he might have a month ago, and I didn't shift away. Fuck it. I liked him showing his hand... even if I was still stubbornly refusing to make another move on him. Let him do the chasing. It was about damn time.
But then... there was still Lucas. He said he didn't care that I had something going on with Cass... but did he mean it? Or was he just saying what I wanted to hear?
Ugh. This wasn't me. I wasn't the girl who second-guessed her actions. I was the woman who took what she wanted, and consequences be damned.
"Here," Cass murmured, pulling a leather pouch from his pocket. He unzipped it and took out a rolled joint, then handed it to me and tossed the pouch on the table between us and the open flame of the firepit.
I eyed the joint, then quirked a brow at him. "I don't know if this is the best idea under current circumstances."
He leveled me with a hard stare. "I know that you refusing to take painkillers is a pretty fucking bad idea, Red. Your body needs a break. This or meds, your choice."
