Fire & Ice (The Locklaine Boys #1)

by Jessica Prince

  At the sight of Griffin standing next to my hospital bed, I felt renewed tears building behind my eyes. God, I missed him, but I refused cry in front of him. So instead, I resorted to my typical response when feeling backed into a corner—or just pissed the hell off—sarcasm.

  “Well, at that moment I was thinking, ‘Hmm, what can I do that would piss Griffin off enough to give him an aneurism today? I know! I’ll get mugged!’”

  “Not wise to be a smartass right about now, sweetness,” he said in a low, growled warning, those icy eyes of his flashing with something that made me swallow audibly. I’d never seen Griffin so wired in all the years I’d known him. Turning away from me, he looked at the two uniformed officers standing near the bathroom, both looking like they were trying their hardest to contain their laughter. “Do you have everything you need from her?”

  “Yeah, Griff, we got everything,” one of them answered. Of course they knew him.

  “Okay, good. You think of anything else, you can call me tomorrow, and I’ll get you whatever answers you’re looking for. For now, she needs her rest.”

  “Uh, excuse me!” I snapped as Cop 1 gave Griffin a chin lift and Cop 2 muttered, “You got it man. Take care.” Then they both just left.

  “What the hell, Griffin? You can’t just come in here and—”

  I didn’t get any further in my rant before he leaned down and bit out, “When someone holding a goddamned gun demands your purse, you do not fight back! You give them the fucking purse! It’s a material possession, Pepper, not worth your fucking life. Buy a new one! ”

  Gritting my teeth, I counted to ten, trying my best to get control over the riotous emotions flooding through me. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t seen Griffin in four days after he’d ripped my heart to shreds, maybe it was because I was overly emotional from the stupid mugging, maybe it was because there was some serious head trauma going on or a massive adrenaline rush, but whatever the reason, I felt warm tears brimming in my eyes. And to my abject horror, as Griffin continued to rage, the tears fell free and I broke into huge, trembling sobs right there in front of everyone.

  Son of a bitch!

  “It wasn’t about the purse, okay?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, sending sharp bolts of pain through my aching head.

  “Then what was it about?” he continued to yell. “What could possibly be so important you’d do something so stupid?”

  “Your note was in there, all right? You happy now?”

  “Uh… I think maybe we’ll give you guys a minute. We’ll just be out in the hallway,” I heard Dex murmur uncomfortably before the sounds of everyone shuffling to the door filled the room. My big brother never was one to handle women’s tears very well.

  “Oh, hellz no,” Tomas declared. “This, right here, is better than my stories. No way I’m missing it, honey child.”

  “I’ll grant you five uninterrupted minutes of staring at Rowan if you don’t make a scene,” Navie offered.

  “Deal,” Tomas said with a clap of his hands.

  “Fuck my life,” Rowan mumbled under his breath. Then everyone was gone.

  I probably should have kept my mouth shut once the two of us were alone, but I was too far gone to stop and think about what I was saying. The flood gates had opened. It was verbal diarrhea at its worst.

  “I know it’s pathetic, but I’ve been carrying that stupid fucking note around for four years. At first it was just to remind me how much I hated you—but then you told me the truth about that night and it started to mean something different. I know I should have just given the asshole my purse, okay? Rationally, I know that, I mean, look at my face, for Christ’s sake, do you have any idea how painful it is to be pistol-whipped? That shit hurts! But all I could think was that note was all I had left of you and you’ve already broken my heart twice. I didn’t want to lose that, too.”

  I was out of breath by the time I finished my long winded, and utterly humiliating, rant. I could feel the heat in my cheeks underneath the bruises.

  Griffin’s voice had lost all of its harshness as he said, “Pepper,” in a quiet tone.

  “What?” I snapped, looking anywhere but at him.

  “Sweetness, will you look at me, please?” I felt his fingers under my chin when I didn’t grant his request. He applied gentle pressure, forcing my head up until I was looking directly into his eyes. His face had grown soft, concern replacing the earlier fury that had been etched into every line. “Christ, you’re killing me, baby,” he whispered as he brushed the tears from my face with his thumb, leaning in so close I could feel his breath whisper against my cheek.

  “Yeah, well, I could have died over a fucking note, so screw you and your skanky new girlfriend.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted when the hospital room door swung open and an older man in a white lab coat comes through, his eyes scanning the charts in his hands.

  “Well,” the doctor declared lightly. “Good news is you only strained the muscles in your shoulder. My guess is it happened when the man tried to snatch your purse and you held on, the exertion wrenched your shoulder, causing the muscles to pull. It’s going to hurt for the next few days, but there won’t be any long lasting damage.”

  “That’s good.” I sighed with relief. “So when can I get out of here?”

  The doctor lowered the charts and met my eyes. “That’s the not so great news. The scans show that you definitely have a concussion, which is expected considering you were hit in the head hard enough to be knocked unconscious. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue. We’d send you home with instructions for someone to check on you every hour, but since you explained to the nurse that you live alone, I’d feel more comfortable that we keep you overnight for observation. It’s strictly precautionary.”

  “I just want to go home,” I whined at the same time Griffin said, “She’s coming home with me.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, fantastic,” the doctor said. “In that case, I’ll get your discharge papers ready and get you out of here.”

  I felt myself growing hysterical, my voice getting more high-pitched with every word. “I’m not staying with you!”

  “Ms. O’Malley,” the doctor spoke. “If you don’t stay with your boyfriend, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here overnight. Those are the only options I’d feel comfortable leaving you with.

  “He’s not my boyfriend!”

  “I am,” Griffin added casually, “We’re just having a little spat at the moment. Everything’s working itself out. You can get those discharge papers ready, Doc.”

  “A spat?!” I shrieked, able to ignore my pounding headache because it was obvious I’d woken up in an alternate universe, and that took precedence over a measly little headache. “Have you lost your fucking mind?!”

  “It’s the red hair,” he told the doctor with a shit-eating grin. “Makes her feisty. Gotta say, it’s always been a turn on for me.”

  I gasped so hard I began choking on my own spit.

  “Um…” the doctor drawled out in concern. “Maybe it would be best if she were to stay here tonight. She’ll need a stress-free environment.”

  Griffin waved him off as he patted my back while I coughed and sputtered uncontrollably. “Nah, it’ll be fine. She gets like this all the time. She’ll just burn herself out and be asleep before you know it. She’ll be in good hands,” he finished with a wink.

  “Okay, well. I’ll just go finish that paperwork.” With that, he was gone before I’d managed to suck in enough air to object.

  “You dick!” I yelled as the door swung back open and my brother’s head peeked through.

  “All good in here?”

  “No!” I shouted at the same time Griffin said, “Yeah.”

  “So, the doctor just said she’s going home with you…” This was good. Really good. No way in hell Dex would allow that to happen. “Wendy and I will go to her place and pack her an overnight bag. Text me if you think of anyth
ing she might need, brother.”

  What in the ever-loving fuck?!

  I was stunned speechless. Unfortunately, Griffin was not. “Will do, man. Be sure to pack for more than just a couple days.”

  “What? No!” I cried.

  “You got it. See you in a few.” Then his head disappeared and we were once again alone.

  “What the hell just happened?” I said quietly to myself.

  “Oh, just a head’s up. You’re brother’s totally on board with us being together.”

  “There is no us!” I insisted. “We broke up!”

  He simply shrugged. “Eh, tomato, to-mah-to. I’m gonna go fill the others in. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try and get some rest in that time.”

  After placing a quick kiss on my stunned lips, he exited the room, leaving me wondering what the hell was happening.

  “I DON’T THINK THIS is a good idea,” Navie spoke in a hushed voice. Rowan and Richard were with us. Tomas, having discovered that there would be no drama for the foreseeable future, headed back to close up Fire & Ice. Dex and Wendy were already on their way to Pepper’s apartment to pack her a bag that, hopefully, held at least a week’s worth of clothes. I’d just filled them in on the current situation when Navie voiced her concerns.

  “Maybe she should come home with us,” she said, looking up beseechingly at her fiancé.

  “She’s not staying with you guys. She’s staying with me,” I declared in a voice that brokered no argument. Unfortunately for me, my cousin was engaged to one of the only two woman on the planet—Pepper being the other woman—that couldn’t be intimidated in the slightest.

  From the way her face scrunched up and her fists clenched, she was about two seconds away from attempting to pound me into the ground. “Listen here, you as—”

  “All right,” Rowan cajoled, pulling his little hellion back against his chest. “Let’s just calm down.”

  “Fine,” Navie finally relented when she saw I wasn’t going to cave to her attitude. She might be able to bring my cousin to heel, but there was only one woman I’d be willing to roll over for, and the mini-dynamo wasn’t it, not matter how much I liked and respected her. “But so help me God, Griffin, if you make her cry again, I’m gonna play whack-a-mole on your franks and beans. You understand?”

  “Jesus,” I flinched, my hands coming down over my crotch protectively. “What the hell do they teach you down in Texas?”

  Rowan and Richard both laughed as she gave me that Robert De Niro double finger eye point thing before heading into Pepper’s room and closing the door.

  The little psycho.

  I was just about to turn and head out of the waiting room when a flash of something caught my eye. “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled as I made my way out of the waiting room and into the hall, my cousins hot on my trail.

  “What? What is it?” Rowan asked in curiosity.

  “Ah, fuck,” Richard cursed, knowing exactly what the problem was.

  Chance fucking Hoffman.

  I almost felt bad for the poor guy as he made his way slowly down the hall, scanning the room numbers, an unopened box of oatmeal crème pies in hand, completely unaware he was just seconds away from death. I might have let him off with just an ass kicking if it hadn’t been for those damn pies. Why hadn’t I thought to bring some?

  “Lookin’ for someone?” I asked, widening my stance and crossing my arms over my chest as I narrowed my eyes on the guy.

  “Uh, yeah. Room 503,” he muttered as he continued to look around before finally giving us his attention, recognition sliding across his features as he looked at Richard. “Hey man, how’s it going?”

  “Good,” Rich replied lightly. “You’re here to see Pepper?”

  His forehead creased. “Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

  “Pep’s in room 503. I’m her boyfriend,” I cut in bluntly, eager to put him in his place. I didn’t know who the fucker thought he was, but he wasn’t getting within ten feet of my girl.

  “Ah, I see,” he smiled. That’s right. He actually smiled. I felt my smug expression morph into one of confusion as he nodded his head. “You’re the complication.”

  “I’m sorry?” I ground out, my hands clenching into fists, ready to hit him if he said one word I didn’t like.

  “I asked her out before. She turned me down, said it was complicated. I’m assuming you’re the complication?” His tone didn’t hold a single ounce of animosity. It was as if the guy was genuinely curious. To say it threw me for a loop was an understatement.

  “Uh… yeah, I guess. But we’re back together now,” I added, just in case he still had any ideas.

  “No worries, man,” he chuckled. “She friend-zoned me right out of the gate. I’m just here ‘cause Tomas texted to tell me she had an accident. Just one friend wanting to check on another, that’s all.” He raised his hands in the air, the box still clutched in one of them. “Here, I’ll just leave these with you to give to her.”

  A strange mix of relief and bewilderment came over me, replacing my earlier need to pound the guy into the ground as I reached out and took the box. I wasn’t prepared for him to be a decent guy… to actually like him.

  “Uh… thanks.”

  “No problem. Make sure she gets well, yeah? And good luck,” he offered authentically. “Hope it all works out for you guys.”

  Before I could thank him again, he turned on his heels and headed back down the corridor.

  “Yeah,” Richard chimed. “Forgot to mention earlier, that Hoffman’s a pretty cool dude.”

  “Think you could have mentioned that before I tried to get you to convince him Pepper had Ebola?” I grunted, shooting him a wilting look.

  “I’m so fucking lost right now,” Rowan muttered. “But I think I’m better off not knowing.”

  “A SPAT?” NAVIE ASKED, hilarity shining in her eyes as she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “He told the doctor it was just a little spat?”

  “I fail to see the humor in this, Navie,” I informed her drily.

  “Then you’re not looking hard enough, honey,” she giggled.

  Flopping my head back on the paper thin hospital pillow, I let out a loud, beleaguered huff. “He said he’s my boyfriend, that we’re back together and everything was working itself out. Aren’t delusions like that a symptom of psychosis? Maybe you should talk to Rowan about having him committed.”

  I felt the bed dip as Navie climbed up beside me. I scooted over the best I could to allow her enough room for both of us to be comfortable. “I gotta tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Griffin so furious before. I didn’t even know he was capable of exhibiting those kind of emotions.”

  “What can I say, I bring out the best in him,” I offered sarcastically.

  “I think you do, babe,” she said in a soft voice as she reached out to take my hand. “People don’t react like that unless they have serious feelings for the person.”

  “Navie, don’t,” I warned. I couldn’t take it, not again. I was physically sore, emotionally drained, and worried about whether or not my instinct of self-preservation was strong enough to keep me from falling at Griffin’s feet if he so much as crooked a finger at me. “I don’t want to hear that he cares about me, okay? If you care for someone you don’t keep hurting them. You protect them. Griffin is the only person who’s ever hurt me this badly and I’m not going him to do it again. Ever.”

  She studied me for a few seconds, compassion flickering across her features as she asked, “Did you ever stop to think that maybe he’s the only one capable of hurting you because he’s the only one you’ve ever let in? Sweetie, you hold everyone at arms’ length—”

  “That’s not true!” I argued.

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Really? So you’re saying there’s a totally different reason why you kept the truth about you and Griffin from me? Why you never planned on showing me that gorgeous wedding dress? Why you disappeared on me instead of telling me you were hurting so I could be t
here for you?” I felt myself deflate at her pointed look.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered brokenly.

  “It’s okay, Pepper. I’m not mad about any of that, I’m just trying to make you see that Griffin is the only one who’s ever gotten that far in. I’m not telling you to forgive him or take him back. But look at it this way. He’s the only one you let in. He’s the only one with the power to hurt you. Maybe it’s because he’s the only one. Period.”

  My breath caught on a strangled gasp as the full effect of her words hit me right in the chest. Before I could formulate an answer, the door opened and Griffin came walking in.

  I gasped again at what I saw in his hand. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Got you a little something to lift your spirits,” he grinned, waving the box of oatmeal pies in front of me.

  “Gimme!” My hand darted out to grab them, but he pulled away too quickly.

  “Ah, ah, ah, not so fast.” I couldn’t be sure, but there was a strong possibility that I growled at his refusal to give me my favorite snack cake. “Are you gonna give me any more shit about staying at my house?” He raised his eyebrows arrogantly as I cursed him under my breath. “Then I guess you don’t want these.”

  I reached out and clutched his arm like a lifeline as he moved to toss them in the biohazard bin. “Wait! Okay, damn it! I won’t give you any more shit. Just… not the pies,” I whispered.

  “There,” he replied, setting the box at the foot of my bed. “Was that so hard, sweetness? Dex and Wendy just got back with your clothes. I’m gonna head down stairs and pull the car around.” His face grew soft, is voice low as he leaned in closely. “Just a little while longer and I’ll get you home and comfortable. Just hang in there, baby.” With that, he leaned all the way in and pressed a long, slow kiss against my lips before pulling away and walking out the door, leaving me light headed.