Now she was even more embarrassed.
“I want to borrow them,” Mia stated.
She looked up at the other woman. Mia winked at her. “Are they at your place? Maybe Maddox and Jaret can grab them when they get your other stuff.”
“Um, most are on my Kindle.”
“Awesome! I need something to read when Alec makes me take a nap.”
“You’re supposed to be sleeping when you take a nap,” Alec stated sternly.
Mia sighed. “How can I sleep during the day when I’m already getting ten hours at night? You make me go to bed at ten and won’t let me out of bed until after seven. I don’t need a nap as well.”
“That so? So that wasn’t you who nodded off on the couch at eight last night?”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t been sleeping that well these last few nights.” Mia sat on the bed and faced her, brushing her hair off her face.
“Enough,” West said abruptly. “Felicity needs care.”
“You’re right,” Alec agreed. “Everyone out. Mia, we’re just outside the door if you need our help.”
They all filed out and Flick turned her gaze to Mia. “Mia, I—” Her apology was interrupted as Mia let out a small sob.
“Oh, Flick. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because I should have gone over to your house to check on you that first day you didn’t answer my calls and texts. I shouldn’t have left it for three days. Can you forgive me?”
She reached over with her good hand and grasped Mia’s. “Listen to me, Mia. You must never, ever go over there. Do you understand me?”
Confusion and a hint of fear entered Mia’s face. “Flick—”
“Promise me, Mia. You cannot ever go near him. It’s not safe. Promise.”
“All right, sweetie. I promise.” Mia placed her other hand on top of Flick’s. “And you don’t have to go back there either.”
Flick eased back. “You don’t know him, Mia. He won’t let me go.”
“Well, if you think we’re gonna let him then you don’t know the Malone’s very well. No one fucks with one of us.”
Mia sounded fierce and determined, but Flick didn’t hold much hope. Spencer wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.
West paced up and down the hall. “What’s taking so long?”
Alec leaned against the wall, his eyes on his phone as he tapped out a message.
“Who you messaging?” West snapped. He felt like he should be doing something. He couldn’t take just stand there, waiting. He should be in there with her.
He should be out there fucking over the asshole who did this to her.
“Jake.”
West stilled at that. “You’re bringing in the cops?”
“Jake is the sheriff of Haven. Flick is one of Haven’s residents and a woman. He needs to know.”
“Why?” Jake was an okay guy, for a cop. But they didn’t get close to cops. Ever. Well, there was Mia’s cousin who was a detective. But they all tried to ignore that when he came to visit.
“Because if he finds out one of his people got hurt and we didn’t tell him he’ll blow a gasket.”
“So? Who cares?”
“So, we’re already off-side with the law considering all the shit Tanner and the others cause, we don’t need to be hiding this from him. You know Haven’s rules when it comes to women.”
“Since when do we care about Haven’s rules?” West asked.
“Since it just became my job to keep that girl safe.”
West disagreed. It was his job to keep Felicity safe. “You’re not acting as her guardian.”
Alec raised an eyebrow. “You heard what I said downstairs. You think I’m gonna go back on that and let her go back to him?”
“Of course we’re fucking not letting her go back,” West snarled. “But you are not going to be her guardian.”
The other eyebrow rose. “Who is then? You want Jake to do it?”
“Fuck, no, I don’t want fucking Jake looking out for her.”
“Then who?” Alec drawled, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall.
“Me,” he bit out.
“You?” Alec raised an eyebrow. “You’re not her favorite person.”
“Then I’ll have to work on that.”
“You hurt her.”
“I know.” And he’d never forgive himself. Not ever. Especially not when he’d sent her back into hell, unknowingly or not.
“She won’t trust you. Not easily.”
“I know all of this, Alec,” West said impatiently. Was he trying to talk him out of it? ’Cause it wasn’t going to work. His mind was made up. And he wasn’t going to think too closely about why he was so adamant about it. Alec would take care of her. He could walk away and know she was safe—but he wasn’t walking away.
He studied him for a moment. “Christ, you better not mess this up, West.”
Triumph filled him.
“I won’t.”
“You’ll guard her soft spot.”
“I will.”
“We do what’s best for her, West,” Alec said in a low voice.
“I failed Lana,” West said quietly.
He saw the way Alec jolted. He didn’t often bring up Lana, and never voluntarily.
“I failed her. I’m not failing Flick.”
“Thought you didn’t have feelings for Flick.”
“No, not like I did for Lana. But I think . . . I think I pushed her away so hard because she reminded me of Lana.”
Lana wasn’t strong. Lana needed protection.
“You think that, do you?”
“You don’t?” His brows came together. Couldn’t Alec see it?
Alec straightened. “I think that girl in there has a backbone of steel. Not so sure Lana had that. Not saying anything bad about her. She was who she was. But she was beaten down from years of living in that family. When Marceras decided to marry her off to that asshole, she didn’t say a word. She didn’t try to find a way out. Didn’t send word to you, even knowing how you felt about her.”
“She was scared,” West countered.
Alec nodded. “She was. Terrified. Too scared to take a leap of faith. To go for what she really wanted. You. To fight for you. That girl in there, she saw something she wanted and went after it. The fact that the man she wanted didn’t see her for the precious thing she is, didn’t hold out his arms and catch her, that was on him. He better not make the same mistake twice. You gonna catch her if she makes that same leap again, West?”
“Yes,” he ground out. He’d let her drop once. He wouldn’t do it again.
“Good.”
The door to the bedroom suddenly opened and West turned to look at a strained Mia. Her fingers tapped nervously against her thigh. “You can come in, she’s decent.”
Alec moved over to Mia and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. “You okay, kitten?” he murmured to her, pressing his lips against her forehead.
“No,” she whispered back. “But I will be.”
She glanced over at West, and he braced himself for her to protest his presence. But to his surprise she didn’t say a word, just moved back into the bedroom. Alec followed. West took a moment to get his rioting emotions under control. He needed to calm down. He knew whatever Felicity told them was going to be bad and the last thing she needed was him losing his shit.
West hadn’t lost his shit since that night many years ago.
But what he was about to hear might just send him crashing back there.
She tensed as they walked into the bedroom then wished she hadn’t. It had been hard enough getting out of her clothes and into the nightgown Mia had brought her. Her body still throbbed with pain and she had a killer headache.
“She needs some painkillers,” West rumbled.
Alec set down the first aid kit Beau had brought up to them before disappearing. He grabbed some Tylenol and shook them out for her.
“I�
�ll go get you some water,” Mia told her. “Anything else? You need something to eat? Coffee? Cake?”
She attempted to smile at her friend, knew it failed when Mia only grew more worried.
“No, a glass of water is fine.”
Mia’s hand fluttered down and squeezed her good one. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Her gaze darted to Alec then West. She wasn’t scared of either man. She knew they wouldn’t hurt her. But still, she gave Mia a grateful look.
The other woman turned and raced out.
“Mia!” Alec warned. “Slow down. No running. And hold onto the railing as you go down the stairs.”
She watched him. She’d done a bit of a study watching these Malone men. Alec was stern and a bit forbidding. West was broody. His looks weren’t as dark as Alec’s. He was shorter by a couple of inches but stockier. Thick with muscle. He didn’t smile. His eyes didn’t ever go soft. She wasn’t sure what had drawn her to him. The others, except for Jaret, were all easy going. Quick to laugh, quick to anger. They had their differences, of course. Raid had a huge appetite, for food as well as women, it seemed. Beau was a big flirt and a complete rascal. Tanner was just plain trouble. If there was a riot, he’d be in the middle of it. Maddox had a darker depth to him. He smiled, but it never quite reached his eyes.
Then there was Butch. She was maybe closer to him than all the others. He could be gentle, sweet almost, but he had a deep, protective streak when it came to those weaker than him. Especially animals and children.
She’d seen his face when Beau had carried her out of the truck. He’d looked like murderous.
“Alec,” she whispered.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
She saw West tense for some reason, but only out of the corner of her eye since she was trying to avoid looking directly at him.
“You need to make sure Mia never goes over to my house. Not without you. Maybe not even then.”
Alec tensed, his gaze was firm on her. “You have my word.”
“Might be best not to send Butch either.” She attempted another smile but failed. “I don’t want to be visiting him in prison for the next twenty years. And he wouldn’t look good in orange.”
That was a lie. Butch had the Malone dark good looks. He would look good in anything.
“Butch is a big boy,” West growled. “You don’t have to worry about him.”
She looked up at Alec pleadingly. He nodded to her once, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“West is right, though, darlin’. Not your job to worry about us. Especially not at this moment, yes?” he asked.
“Yes,” she agreed softly.
By that time, Mia was back, a glass of water in her hand. She set it down on the bedside table and Flick placed the Tylenol in her mouth with a grimace.
“You having trouble swallowing?” West barked at her.
She jolted and hissed as pain shot up her back.
“Damn it, West.” Mia glared at the second oldest Malone brother in a way Flick would never have dared to. Mind you, from what she’d seen these boys didn’t intimidate Mia. Then again, it was obvious they all adored her.
“Sorry,” West muttered, actually looking like he felt remorseful.
She swallowed down some water, taking in the disgusting tablets. “Sorry. Not a fan of pills.”
“You want to tell us what injuries you do have and how serious they are?” Alec asked her.
“It’s not that bad, it looks worse than it really is,” she quickly reassured him.
Mia made a low sound of dissent. Alec sighed.
“Don’t lie to us, Felicity,” West told her in a low voice
What the hell? Why did he think he got to dictate to her? “I’m not lying.”
She sensed, rather than saw, his surprise, since she wasn’t actually looking at him. Maybe if she didn’t look directly at him, she could pretend he wasn’t there.
Yeah, fat chance of that. No way in hell, could anyone ever overlook West Malone.
She knew he was likely shocked as hell she’d snapped back at him. Other than the other night, she’d always kept a smile on her face and had been sweet to him.
Well, the other night had ended all that.
“You’re lying, we can all see the pain you’re in,” West spoke in a low voice. “You’re gonna tell us exactly how you are injured.”
“And if I don’t?” She spoke to him, but she was looking at Mia. The other woman kept looking back and forth between them, appearing more and more concerned. The last thing she wanted was to upset Mia, and, seeing as she was a guest in her house, she figured she better get a rein on her temper.
She never did do well at being sick or in pain. In a few days’ time, when the pain was more manageable, she’d be back to her cheerful self. But, right then, with a raging headache and a body that throbbed, she couldn’t hold back her temper.
“Then, sunshine, I’m gonna have to strip you down myself and check you out inch by inch.”
Mia groaned. Alec shook his head. But she shot her gaze to West.
“I don’t think so,” she told him in a low voice.
“My job is to take care of you now,” he told her bizarrely. “That means in all ways. Physically and emotionally.”
“You?” She gaped at him. “You’re gonna take care of my emotions?”
He stared at her, and there was something in his gaze. Something she knew she should be able to decipher and yet she didn’t have a clue what it was. “Gonna handle you with care, sunshine.”
She didn’t know what that meant. Was pretty sure she didn’t want to know. So she just stared at him.
“Flick, tell us how badly you’re injured before Jake gets here,” Alec demanded.
“You called the sheriff?” Flick gaped up at Alec. “Why?”
Mia gave Alec a surprised look. “You called Jake? You hate getting the cops involved in anything to do with the family.”
“Yeah, well, in this case I think Jake needs to know what’s going on in his town, under his watch,” Alec said darkly. “’Cause we aren’t the only ones who’ve failed Flick.”
Her eyes widened. “Failed me? No one has failed me.”
“How long you lived here, sweetheart?” Alec asked.
West glared at his brother, but she had no idea why. And she really needed to go back to not looking at the broody ass.
“Um, three months now.”
“How often has he beat you in that time?” Alec’s voice was almost gentle.
Her breath caught, but her heart didn’t slow. No, it raced. Strong and fast.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. And Jake needs to know how he’s failed. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“He . . . he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.”
“No, he won’t,” Alec agreed with a dark tone.
“This has happened more than once?” West shot at her.
She jumped at the cold fury in those words. Then groaned.
“All right, enough,” Mia said firmly. She gave them both a look. “She needs Doc. I can tell from the way she’s moving that she’s in a lot of pain. Ribs?” she asked Flick.
Flick nodded reluctantly. “Pretty sure they’re not broken though.” She had enough experience to know that, she could still breathe relatively easily.
Relatively.
“Right,” Alec said grimly. “What else?”
Crap. They weren’t going to give up. “My finger might be broken. I can buddy tape that, not much you can do for a broken finger. Other than that, it’s mainly just bruises.”
She lowered her gaze with shame. She should have been faster. Stronger. Should have fought him off. She should have done something. Useless as always.
“A lot bruises,” Mia said quietly. “The one on your shoulder looks particularly bad.”
“Sunshine?” West asked her in a surprisingly gentle voice.
She knew he could do gentle, she’d seen him that way with Mia when he hadn’t realized she’d bee
n watching.
But he’d never, not once, been gentle with her, so she was shocked. And she wasn’t entirely sure she liked it.
Too little. Too late.
Still, she answered because she didn’t think West Malone was a man to bluff. And she really wasn’t in a position to fight him off if he decided to strip her bare and inspect her all over.
Okay, she really wished she didn’t find that thought incredibly hot.
“He hit me with a cane,” she told them.
She heard Mia suck in a breath. She sounded like she was in pain.
“Your brother hit you with a cane?” The sound of West’s voice made it clear he was in more than just pain. It surprised her he could feel that much emotion over what happened to her, when he didn’t even really like her.
If he doesn’t like you, why is he here?
She had no answer for that one.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. She wasn’t sure if he was asking for more than that.
West swore long and low.
“West,” Alec said in a warning voice. “We haven’t got long until Jake is here, rein it in.”
West shot his eyes to Alec. He didn’t say anything else. However, she couldn’t help but glance over at him, and she saw his jaw was tense.
“And your shoulder?” Alec asked her in a soft voice.
“Years ago, he dislocated my shoulder,” she told him equally as quietly. “Then he wrenched it back into place. So, he didn’t have to take me to the hospital, I guess. He tried never to do things that would land me in the hospital.”
“And was he always successful?” Alec asked.
“No.”
“Fuck. Fuck!” West spun and smashed his fist into the wall, making her gasp.
“West!” Alec turned to his brother and grabbed his shoulders, spinning him around. Her heart raced, her head swimming. But her reaction wasn’t because she was scared of him. No, she was worried about him.
Dark, swirling energy filled the room, coming directly from West.
“Fucking rein it in,” Alec commanded.
West said nothing.
She noticed Mia had moved closer to her. Almost as though she was protecting her.
“West, you have to do better than this,” Alec commanded. He finally moved so she could see West.
How West Was Won (Haven, Texas Book 7) Page 6
