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“Well, you…”
A commotion broke out near the door. A couple of vampires faced off with two wolves, the air crackling with static electricity as Nina and Lucius rushed to the area. Within a few short minutes, the tension eased and the vampires left, the tavern teeming with only the scent of wolves.
The bikers standing in every corner visibly relaxed. Even Rose who seemed so calm and collected slumped as if she had been holding back the entire time.
I frowned while staring at my hands. These fingers had caused more harm than help. I withdrew them from Rose, tucking them shamefully into the pockets of my jeans. “I need to go.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “What?”
“I’ve been putting you in danger this whole time.”
“Matty, I didn’t need your help to be in danger before.”
I shook my head, lowering my voice as the others began chatting around us. “You’re not safe around me.”
“I’m no safer with you than I am anywhere else.”
That sliced me deeper than one of the knives used in that ambush the other day. My frown deepened so hard that I didn’t think a smile would ever surface again. Not without serious intervention.
I sucked air into my lungs and said, “Then, it’s agreed. I’ll seek to solve the mystery on my own.”
“Whoa, where the hell didthatcome from?”
“Rose, he threatened you. He threatenedme.”
Her lower lip shuddered, but she didn’t betray her emotions. At least not in a tangible way. Her heart, it seemed, was breaking by the second, hairline fractures ripping through the muscle the longer we stood there and argued.
I could feel it.
And I didn’t like that one bit.
“Yeah, he threatened you,” she agreed. “Nothing he said threatened me.”
“That’s bullshit.”
She scowled. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“You don’t seem to get it, do you?” I gestured to the surrounding wolves. “Every single time I’m around a crowd, they die. That means you, too.”
“You need help. I want to help.”
I shook my head. “You should stay here with your sister. You need to be somewhere that I know you’re safe. And that’s not with me.”
Her scowl shifted into a betrayed grimace. With the information we were given by Domingo, I could easily scout out a fortress on the coast. Whether it was this coast or the west coast didn’t matter. As long as Rose was safe, then I would be content to carry this burden on my shoulders.
“You’re being so stubborn,” she hissed. “Do you think I’m not capable of handling this? Is that it?”
I shook my head. “No, little boxer. I didn’t say—”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then, what should I call you?”
Her frown turned into a sorrowful pout. “The thorn in your side. Since that’s how you’re treating me.”
“Rose, please—”
“Whatever.”
