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“Then stop holding her to you when she tries to leave.”
“It’s not that simple. Every time she walks into the room, I come to life. Every time she leaves, I fucking fall apart. I’m not trying to hurt her.”
“But do you really think you can order her to stay at Shadows after this? You said yourself she’s impulsive. You told me that she left her home when she was barely more than a babe. You think she won’t do it as a woman grown? And before you let your temper talk, think for a moment about a Shadows without Raine. Honestly, how would you feel?”
He couldn’t fucking breathe. Hammer clenched his fists as panic surged through his bloodstream.
“This will blow over. In an hour, she’ll be fine.”
“Is that what you’re telling yourself? Bloody christ!” Liam shook his head again. “Not this time. You’ve kept Raine on a leash so tight, she’s all but strangling. She’s done with that, I tell you. She’s more than half out the door.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Then how badly do you want her to stay? Because I guarantee she’ll be leaving before the sun’s even up.”
Hammer drew in a rough breath. He hated Liam for butting in and confronting him. Mostly, he hated his friend for being right.
“Goddamnit.” He swallowed the scream inside him. Raine leaving Shadows was never going to be an option, at least not one he could live with.
“Use your head,” Liam urged. “If you let her leave, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. The pain of Juliet might well pale in comparison.”
Liam voiced his worst fear. Hammer swallowed.
“What the hell do you want me to do?” he demanded, tossing his hands in the air. “Since you have all the answers, tell me how I unwedge myself from this rock and the hard place I’m in?”
“Well, if you’re not able or willing to help her down the submissive path, I guess I could.” Liam shrugged nonchalantly. “She’s pretty enough.”
“Don’t you dare!” Hammer saw red. “You’re far more than Raine can handle, too.”
“And Beck isn’t? You said that giving her a red ass wouldn’t fix her. Changed your mind, then? You think a sadist would do better?”
No. But Hammer wasn’t trying to fix her…just make her hate him. “Maybe.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Give her to me to straighten out. I understand she’s got under your nettle and deserves discipline, but for christ’s sake…What in the hell possessed you to bring that sadistic son of a bitch into the equation? He’ll break her for sure.”
“No. Raine deserves punishment for her deplorable actions this morning. I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“And what about your behavior? Raine was dead on the money when she told you that you’d never allow Beck to touch any of your usual subs. Yet the one you’ve protected and nurtured for years, you’d toss her to him like a goddamn bone to a Rottweiler?”
He tried not to wince. “I’ve already handed down the punishment, and I can’t go back on it. She’s undermined me enough. Raine spends a session with Beck. That’s final.”
Liam turned a scrutinizing gaze on Hammer, as if trying to read his soul. “Very well. But if I can persuade her to stay, I insist on being there. Neither of us should risk Beck losing his head and drawing blood, or forgetting to heed her safe word.”
Liam and Raine’s lack of trust made him fume. Did they both think he’d simply turn Beck loose to do his worst on her? “Fine.”
With a nod, Liam turned away abruptly, striding down the hall to find Raine. Hammer just watched. How the hell had everything turned to shit so quickly? With a sigh of disgust, he watched his friend disappear into the bedroom with the woman who’d consumed his soul, hoping Liam could work a miracle.
Liam entered his darkened room. Raine twisted around on the bed to watch him. The lighting from the hallway illuminated her big eyes as they fell on him. The silvery paths of tears stained her cheeks. Her nose was a bit red. Her little-girl lost expression made him want to stride across the room, take her in his arms, and soothe her. But he couldn’t yet. She was nervous and distressed. First things first. He had to calm her, then find out where her head was at.
“Are you all right?” he asked, shutting the door behind him, then lighting a candle on his nightstand.
“I said I was fine. I’m sorry we woke you. What happened with Hammer? Is he mad at you? Or me? Yeah, that’s who he’s really mad at. Damn. Sorry, I’m nervous.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “I didn’t mean to babble. I’ll shut up now. It really won’t take me long to pack up and be gone.”
“Stay, Raine. I’d like to talk to you.” He put just enough command in his voice to induce her to respond. “I would hold you, listen, help if I might. Tell me what happened.”
