AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I expected him to swat my ass as he turned, but he paused before making contact, then rubbed gently.Is that because of the scrapes?
I smiled as he left, charmed again by that kind side of him. He seemed so surly, so rude, but then he did things like that which reminded me that he was always looking out for me.
So I hurried and changed, both because of the thought of food and seeing the others.
Ten minutes later, I sat in the backyard along with Hayden, Tor, Vance and Char. They all looked safe, which let me breathe more easily. Even though I didn’t think anything had happened to them during our run in with Lorien, I couldn’t have been sure.
Seeing them let me rest easy.
I had a large plate balanced on my lap, and despite the fact it was two in the afternoon, it turned out breakfast was delicious any time of day. “Seriously, Tor, how do you cook this well?” I took another bite of the perfectly cooked omelet, the cheese inside warm and gooey with pieces of mushroom and onion throughout.
He shrugged and gave me a smile, one that said he was glad I liked it.
“So,” I said, ready to ask finally about what had happened after I’d passed out. No one had brought it up, which struck me as weird.
Maybe it had been because they didn’t want to upset me? Maybe they wanted me to relax and not think about it? To be fair, they didn’t have a full idea of what had happened, did they?
“Don’t worry about that,” Hayden said, cutting me off before I could get more than one word out.
“But, don’t you think it’s sort of important?” I pressed.
Tor reached out with his phone, which made me realize I hadn’t brought mine with me. I took it, then read the note typed out on the screen.You were in different clothes. We found the ones you were wearing before.
My breath caught as I recalled the way I’d shaken when I’d changed clothing, when I’d stripped out of everything I’d had on before then changed into the dress he’d given me. The fear that had swamped me there wasn’t like when I’d faced off against my father, when he’d held a gun pointed at me. Instead, it had been like a glimpse into my future that I hadn’t wanted.
I held my breath to steady my voice, then let it out slowly and handed the phone back, looking him in the eyes. “He didn’t do anything. He just made me change in case I had a tracker on. He even turned his back.” I snorted softly, despite knowing the sound wasn’t all that convincing. “A weird time for him to be caring, huh?”
A hand rested on my shoulder, and I turned to find Vance there, offering me a smile as though to tell me it was okay. He reached up and swiped a finger beneath my eye, which was when I realized that I’d been crying.
Great job being tough,I thought, scolding myself.
A movement to my other side made me shift my gaze just as Char stole one of the small pastries from my plate. “Hey!”
He shrugged before popping it into his mouth with a wide grin. “Look, you can cry or you can eat. If you choose to cry, well, you miss out on your food.”
Hayden sighed, leaned over, then dropped a new pastry from his plate to mine.
When Char reached again, a snap drew all our attention Tor’s way. He lifted one eyebrow, then took a knife from his pocket and rolled it over his knuckles in a smooth motion that implied he wasfartoo familiar with that particular weapon.
Char laughed then pulled his hand back. “Lucky little pastries, defended by Tor.”
I stuck my tongue out to taunt Char, surprised by just how relaxing the afternoon felt. There was a strange tension in the men, one that implied something was on their minds.
I’d ignored it because, well, who could blame them? After what had happened with Lorien, it had to weigh heavily on them. They were often protective—especially Hayden—and I’d ended up hurt and nearly abducted on their watch.
I had to assume they weren’t taking that well.
Which had me ignoring the tension and smiling wider, trying to get them past it, to reassure them that everything was okay.
After we ate, I went to gather the plates. When I reached for Vance’s, he waved me off and took mine instead. “I’ve got them.” He took the plates from the others as well, then walked in toward the kitchen, leaving the rest of us there, in the yard.
The sun felt wonderful, and the loose dress I wore helped not to pull at the scrapes that still ached when I moved too much. It wasn’t the same one Lorien had gotten me, of course, which made it all the better.
In fact, I hadn’t seen the one I’d worn from him. I’d bet after they changed me out of it, they’d destroyed it. Part of me wondered if they didn’t have some ceremony where they burned it like an effigy. The idea alone had me chuckling.
“What are you laughing about?” Hayden asked.
“Nothing important,” I assured him, not wanting to ruin the mood. “So what now?”
