Page 131 of Resurgent

“That explains why the bartender looked ready to kiss me.” He shakes his head. “I told him the cash was for the food, their tab, and whatever was left over was his tip.” He opens the passenger door for me, one hand braced on the frame as I climb in. “Looks like he’s making a couple hundred tonight.”

“A couple hundred?” I gape at him. “Matt, you seriously didn’t have to—”

He winks, shutting the door once I’m inside the passenger seat of his new pickup—the apparently nonnegotiable purchase he’d made while I was in a coma, convinced he’d need something reliable for all the supply runs into town for things I might want when I woke up.

“Technically”—his grin turns downright wicked as he climbs into the drivers seat—“the asshole you punched did.”

We're barely a hundred yards from the Staggering Ox when Matt's phone begins to ring.

"Hey, sorry, I meant to message you. We're on our way back now."

"We?" I hear a man ask, not quite loud enough to make out who it is.

"Yeah, there were some…complications. I have Annalise with me, we just left the bar."

There’s a pause, and for a minute, I wonder if Matt lost service.

“Is she hurt?”

“No,” Matt answers. “Just…shaken up.”

“I’m fine,” I snap automatically, but his quick glance down at my now trembling hands says he knows I'm full of shit.

“I'm gonna take her back to the dorms,” he adds. “Let her crash in my room tonight.”

“Like fuck you are!" The words are immediate.

Matt exhales. “Korr—”

“Matt, bring her to the house.” It's not a request. Every word is said with absolute authority.

My eyes flick to Matt, but he just smiles sweetly back at me.

"Sorry, Sir. Not what's gonna happen—"

I can hear Hunter making demands, but as the adrenaline from the night leaves my body, I'm more focused on not throwing up than listening to them argue.

Closing my eyes for a second, I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth, trying to force my body to still.

"Stop fucking with him and tell him we're on our way," I say shakily. "Oh! and tell him he better not have eaten the last pickle."

Hunter's standing on the front porch waiting for us when we walk up to the house, arms crossed like he'd been the one in a fight tonight.

“You alright?”

I lift my chin, even though my stomach still feels unsettled and my pulse hasn’t completely come down.

“I’ve been better…but I’ve also been worse, so yeah.”

Something in his expression shifts as he jerks his head toward the door. “Food'll help.”

I give him a quick kiss on the cheek before I remember we're outside and anyone can see us. Shit.

"It's fine, Seiri. Let's get you inside and settled," he says, his hand dropping to my lower back as he gently guides me into the house.

The warmth and familiarity of the house wrap around me instantly, but none of it is enough to calm my anxious energy. Exhaling hard, I drag a hand over my face. I need…something. Movement. Noise. Anything.

“Anyone want a drink?” I ask, already heading for the kitchen.