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When they pulled in front of the gym, I was confused. Elias poked his head between the front seats to look at me.
"Don't worry, we live up there," he said, pointing to the windows on the second floor. The curtains fell closed and the door flew open, Tate barreling down the stairs on the side of the building and over to the truck. He yanked open the car door and folded me in a hug, his embrace tight enough to hold me together.
Fuck, why did it feel so right being with them?
ChapterEight
Tate
Macy in my arms was the only reason I wasn't racing across town and searching down the assholes who had fucked with our territory. My mind was racing with the possibilities of who could have done something like this. Most rival teams had enough respect for the game to not cause real havoc like this. We weren't college or high-school kids who took rivalries like that to heart. We were all adults who had careers and lives outside of hockey as well.
She shook slightly and I held her tighter, not bothering to look at my friends as I led her upstairs. How they convinced her to run here was beyond me but I wasn't about to complain. This wasn't about us wanting her, this was about keeping someone we cared about safe.
We could lie and say it was for Slade, but we all knew it was to calm our own tumultuous emotions. Hearing her voice on that phone was enough to snap every ounce of control I had. I'd called to see if she needed dinner when Elias said she was still working. Every day lately, she'd been there late, and the protector in me hated that she'd just forget to take care of herself in those moments.
I knew something was wrong with the first word, her voice shaky and hushed.
Holding her tight could finally convince me that she was here and not in harm's way.
"Let's get her something to eat," Elias said but she shook her head.
"I'm not hungry," she protested. "I'm fine."
"How?"
She tilted her head to the side, nose scrunching as she studied me.
"What do you mean, ‘how?’ I'm fine."
All three of us stood side by side, arms crossed in front of our chests, staring her down.
"There's no way," Elias protested. "You've been through hell and something crazy just happened."
"Agreed. Hell, I'm not okay with this," I protested.
She shrugged. "It was terrifying, but I'm good at compartmentalizing once I'm safe."
That much we couldn't argue with. We'd all expected her to be timid and scared when she got home. Instead, she’d tucked her trauma safely away in the back of her head, likely to never be handled. That wasn't healthy in the least and I knew better than anyone it would find a way to burst free at the worst moments, crushing you under the weight of it all.
"We're here when it hits," Brock said finally. "Come on, let's get something to eat, I'm starving."
"Are you just going to ignore that I'm not hungry?"
She sounded annoyed now and her fire was back, hands on her hip and face set in a scowl that shouldn't have my cock stirring.
"Yes," Brock snorted, grabbing his phone out and sinking on the couch. "Have a seat. Make yourself at home."
When she didn't move I nudged her gently, pulling her along and forcing her to sit on the sectional by me. She huffed again but didn't bother to argue.
"When did you eat last? Was it when you came back from lunch at eleven-thirty with Coach?" Elias asked as he flopped down on the empty space and grabbed his game controller he'd abandoned when we called her earlier. He brought the system back to life.
"Maybe," she hedged. "I had water later if that counts for anything."
We all answered at once.
"Nope. One drink of water isn't nutrition," Elias finished for us.
"It was half a bottle, not a cup," she laughed before tucking her legs under her and settling against me. I don't even know if she realized she was touching me with this level of familiarity but I wasn't about to bring it up and lose the contact.
