Page 29 of His to Keep

As Colt stood in the shadow of the bar, trying to enjoy his smoke break, his thoughts kept turning back to his time with Liam.

Closing his eyes, Colt let the memories wash over him. He could almost feel Liam's warmth, taste him. The night they'd shared was seared into his memory.

He wanted Liam. He wanted to see more of him — from the challenge in his eyes when he pushed back against Colt, from the shock in his expression when Colt actually wanted him, to the way those eyes fluttered shut when he came, pretty and vulnerable.

Liam was bossy when he needed to be, calling shots that had to be made. But underneath that front was a deep vulnerability. A loneliness, despite everything.

And Colt wanted to fuck that loneliness away.

But it was all over. Everything between them was just a bit of tit-for-tat: a debt repaid, a promise fulfilled.

There had never been anything else to it. Liam was a doctor, for christ's sake. With a promising career ahead of him on the straight and narrow, why would he ever want to get entangled with a Thorne man?

Colt knew the answer. He'd just been a dangerous liaison, someone there to hand out a little rough treatment for Liam to enjoy.

A bad mistake.

Even if the way that Liam looked at him, longing and needy, said the opposite…

Colt's peace was shattered by the insistent vibration of his phone. Zane. "Yeah, boss?"

Zane didn't mince words. "Someone's after Rowan and Eli. Get to the hospital, now."

The hospital. Colt's muscles tensed. "The same guy who shot you?"

"We'll find out." From his hospital bed, Zane had seen the tension between Colt and Liam — and, after their encounter in the supply closet, he'd seen the disheveled way that Colt had returned. "Your pet doctor saved Rowan."

There were a hundred questions that Colt could have asked. He didn't have the time.

He'd find out for himself.

"Be there in five."

In the back of Zane's call, Colt could hear the sounds of an engine — Zane was already on the move. "Meet me there."

He cut the call, leaving Colt once again in an empty alleyway.

Liam.

Shit.

Colt stormed back into the bar, his presence commanding attention. His gaze swept over the collection of Thorne menwho were there. They were drinking and shooting the shit, some easing into the start of their days, some tired and about to knock off.

Colt didn't give a shit. "Get ready," he barked, his voice a sharp whip-crack that spurred them into action. "We've found the bastard who tried to take out the boss. Follow me."

The Thornes trained their men well, and Colt was proud of that. Despite being thrown into it with no notice, they moved with the precision of well-trained hunting dogs, each one understanding the gravity of the situation.

In a seamless flurry of activity, the men geared up, their movements fluid and practiced. Weapons were checked, expressions hardened.

Good. This asshole wanted to hit Zane where he was weakest? Colt would bring an army down on him.

The raw, simmering protectiveness he felt toward Liam radiated from him like a palpable force. Every muscle in his body coiled with purpose.

Hold on, Doc. I'm coming for you.

The fury that churned within him was a storm, waiting to be unleashed on anyone who dared threaten Liam.

You'remyreward.

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