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Her dark hair fell over her face, and he couldn’t see her expression as she said, “Yes, we all heard. Cal and Lyssa are going to have a baby. But you lost your mind out there, Daniel.”
As she worked on his hand, he almost welcomed the pain as if it were some sort of release.
“He deserved what he got.” His voice was a low growl in his throat.
She looked up with despair in her blue eyes. Or maybe it was disappointment. “You could have really hurt him. Or yourself. Especially when you ended up in the water.”
She was right. For those few minutes, Daniel had completely lost his mind. If Sebastian thought it had been like when they were fifteen, he got it wrong—this had been so much worse.
All Lyssa’s life, he’d looked out for her, protected her from all the terrible things that lurked in the shitty neighborhood they’d lived in.
Then he got cocky, took his eye off the ball, thought she was safe with his friend Cal.
And Cal had done that to her. Instead of protecting Lyssa, it turned out that Daniel had handed her to the big bad wolf.
All the anger, all the insanity welled up inside him again. “You don’t get it,” he snapped. “She’s my baby sister. It’s always been my job to take care of her. I mean, we asked him to give her that job because we thought she’d be safe. And look what he did. He took advantage of his position. He took advantage of her!”
Tasha stared at him as if she didn’t even know him. “Do you even hear yourself? The idea that you asked Cal to give her that job is nuts. It’s like you think you have the right to manipulate her life.”
He shook his head, releasing another spike of pain. “We’ve always taken care of Lyssa. And we always will.”
She made a sound of disgust. “I can’t believe I need to tell you this, when you should be able to see it with your own eyes, but you don’t need to take care of her anymore.”
He growled, “You don’t get it.”
“Of course I do. You’re her big brother. You love her. But you don’t get that she’s an adult now. She can do whatever she wants with her own life.”
“Well, he’s damn well gonna marry her.” Although the thought of having Cal as his brother-in-law made him see red all over again.
She wiped at the blood on his chin with a little more force than before, and he winced.
“What century is this? Whether or not they get married is up to them. And so is where they want their relationship to go. Lyssa is perfectly capable of being a single mom if that’s what she chooses. I get that protecting her was your job when she was a kid,” Tasha went on, torturing him with her cleanup methods, torturing him even more with her words. “But you need to get that she can make her own choices.” She tipped his chin, making sure he was looking at her, even if he could see her beautiful face out of only one eye. “Lyssa is a funny, smart, amazing woman.”
He opened his eye wide enough to see her undistorted. Every time he looked at Tasha, he fell more deeply in love with her.
For one second, he wondered if that was how Cal felt about Lyssa. And for that same brief second, he hoped it was. Until instinctive, protective fury rose up in him again.
“And,” Tasha added as if he needed another and, “she sure as hell doesn’t need you beating up her boyfriend because you think he stepped out of line by falling in love with her.”
He heard footsteps in the living room over the ringing in his ears.
“Oh good, Susan,” Tasha said to his mother. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve just had round one with Daniel over his behavior. He’s all yours now for rounds two through nine.”
With that, his fiancée walked away and left him at the mercy of his mom.
Out of his one good eye, Daniel made out her flushed face, the rigid set of her jaw, and the anguish in her eyes. She’d always been formidable. Even now, with her cap of steel-gray hair, she was fearsome to behold.
He tried to remember when he’d seen her this angry. Probably the last time he’d gotten in a fight. Although this fight had been far worse than any he’d ever had. He understood that, even if he felt that avenging his sister had been justified.
She glared at him, standing close enough for him to see how wide her pupils were, her lips pressed into an uncompromising line, and every muscle in her body tensed.
“Your behavior was unacceptable on every level.” Each word seemed to be its own separate, furious, disappointed sentence. “Not only did you step over every possible line with a man you’ve always called your friend and upset your sister right when she needs you most, but you also traumatized two little boys. Right now, back in the bedroom, their mothers are trying to calm them down.”
