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“My brother has never called himself Creed.”
“Your brother? Are you serious?” she gaped at me.
“He’s the man you were supposed to marry,” Luce finally chimed in.
“What?” I whipped my head around and looked at him.
“Are you serious?” Bella repeated with obvious disgust. “Her own brother?”
“You’re thinking about it with your mind in the gutter,” Ice interjected.
I lifted the box Luce had left sitting on the table and flipped up the lid.
As soon as I saw what was inside, a lump formed in my throat.
With shaking hands, I promptly slammed it back shut, dropping the damned thing as if it were coated in poison. I only needed to see the first three numbers to know who the piece of skin had come from.
I felt them watching me, but for once in my life I minded being stared at like sideshow.
“Let’s go get some air,” Luce suggested.
He didn’t give me the option to protest, and for that I was grateful. I wasn’t sure what he said to the others. We wound up going through the door that led straight into the backyard.
We sat down on one of the outdoor wicker sofas that was partially beneath an umbrella of sorts. I plopped my head on his shoulder, watching him thread our fingers together.
Philip came walking over and brushed against my leg. I reached down with my free hand to stroke his head.
“What do we now?” I asked after I’d taken a few more minutes to process, feeling another piece of my heart chip away. When Luce didn’t respond, I lifted my head so I could see his face.
“I didn’t know if I should speak now or wait until you vented. If I stay quiet you can’t get pissed at me.”
Despite the situation, I smiled. “I can get mad at you for not saying anything.”
“That’s fair, but if I have to be your confidant, you have to let me hold you.”
I instantly tucked myself into his side, pulling my legs up onto the sofa and placing my head back on his chest.
“Expected more crying than this, to be honest.”
“I’m not real big on tears. Every minute I sit here and fall apart is another I’ll have to spend piecing myself back together.”
“Are you purposely leaving out that I’m fucking right here with you?”
I sniffled, using the back of my hand to wipe my face. “I know we’re together, but I don’t expect you to help me solve all my problems.”
“It’s more likely I’ll fucking solve them for you. A king and queen are meant to be a united front. The Badlands is full of bloodshed, betrayals, and carnage. I’ll do my best to keep the ugly from touching you any more than it already has, but you have to do your part in return.”
That was deep. Not only because he’d just expressed more emotion than he had since we’d gotten tangled up in each other, but because it was true.
I wasn’t sure what the role he’d given me entailed, but I would do my best for him. For Cam and the rest of the Savages too.
I owed him a lot. He didn’t have to take me in, and he surely had no set-in-stone reason to make me his even if we were hopelessly drawn to one another.
“I’ll try and be what you need, okay?”
“No. Not okay. You don’t have to try to be anything. Just be yourself.”
Be myself? I liked that. There were other things to worry about aside from my personal dilemmas, though.
