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"Good enough."
"Not quite." My brother’s voice overrode Beau’s authority. Nash pulled the ring off his finger, the one that matched mine with our family’s crest and my father’s initials and extracted Wrenlee’s hands from Beau. He pushed the ring onto her thumb, the only finger it came close to fitting and closed her fist over it."I am sorry. But you never would've fallen, and I wouldn't have let him hurt you. I promise."
Wrenlee nodded, sinking into my shoulder and curling her hand into her chest. A soft sob escaped her as she burrowed in and my arms tightened protectively about her.
Nash rose and backed up, though I doubted the boys would let him leave, just yet. In case I still wanted my pound of... Blood.
But I had to say that I was impressed with my little brother. Perhaps there was an underestimation there on my side, or on both. I couldn't say we're friends, but – he saved my life when I probably couldn't have. And they came for her because of me. He had my gratitude.
Maybe I wouldn't claim he was adopted after all.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NAPOLEON
Trees thickened as darkness fell over the forest beyond Rippton U. Shadows whizzed by in silence. Wrenlee curled in the passenger seat of my car, staring out at the darkening spaces between the trees as I headed up into the mountains.
My brother held his acceptance party at the Kingsman house. Beau dealt with the cops and paid them off as usual, and Reid took on the dean. A shit job, but it needed doing. All to keep my brother on campus and away from the Blackstone crew who would come for their own pound of flesh.
The sort Beau promised we would pay back in blood.
I wasn’t ready for a war just yet, and the boys could handle this next part by themselves while I took Wrenlee away from everything and tried to help her. Even her housemates didn’t get a look in before I whisked her away. Coops managed to head them off, taking plenty of time with Isla and generally ignoring Effie.
That was an explosion in the making right there and one I didn't want to be around for the outcome. Cooper could take one for the team, or maybe two. I had my hands full with the girl who bore my family ring that she hadn’t taken off, twisting and twirling it on her thumb the entire drive.
I pulled sharply off the road onto a track half overgrown, but visible all the same. I hit my high beams that cut through the shadows beneath the twisted canopy above, letting the back of the car drift out lightly on the dirt track I’d driven a thousand times in my freshman year.
Wrenlee twisted to look at me, but she said nothing. On a straight section, I eased off the gas enough to offer her my handwithout taking my eyes off the road. Tonight wasn’t getting more fucked up if I embedded a deer in the engine bay of my coupe.
A strained moment passed where I nearly took my hand back, but hers curled into my cold palm, her touch warming me. I wound our fingers together, squeezing her tight. The sound that ripped from her throat spoke of all the unresolved trauma of the last days, of how alone she’d been.
I yanked my hand free and wrapped it around her shoulder. She fumbled the seatbelt, scooting over the gear shift to press her body into my side, sharing the seat I filled. I didn’t care if she climbed me to get what she needed.
“Nearly there,” I murmured into her hair, kissing her and holding her to me as I took a hairpin turn at speed up a hill.
The drive opened out into a circle of pines that ringed a gabled house–the place was too big to be called a cabin. A few other residences were spotted along the mountains that ranged north-west from Rippton, though mine was one of the closer.
I pulled up, turning to her with an apology on my lips but I never got there. Her mouth crushed mine, her kisses frantic that mingled with the tears that stopped for a period and restarted the moment she kissed me.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have walked away. I shouldn’t have left you. Or opened the door. Or–”
“Stop,” I said, gently pressing my fingers over her lips, waiting until her frenzied words, the fear of loss underlining them, petered out. “I love you. That never changed. I’m not going anywhere, kitten. I want you as much as I did the day you picked me up on the side of the desert thinking I was roadkill.”
“I never thought you were roadkill.” She sniffled. “A bit smelly, maybe. But not that bad.”
I kissed her slow and deep, cradling her head gently. “No one will hurt you out here. You’re safe, and you’re with me. For as long as you need.”
Her brow creased. “You have games to play.”
“Fuck the games. You’re more important.”
It wasn’t a line; the moment the words fell from my mouth I knew they were true. I fucking loved my team, my boys. My frat. The game and the career I spent years building. They were important as hell to me–but not more so than the girl perched on my lap, sobbing because I put her through hell.
“You shouldn’t say that. They’ll have your ass,” she whispered.
“They can have it.” I shook my head, gathering her in my arms and slipping out the driver’s side door. “I just want you.”
She mumbled something into my shoulder, standing on trembling legs with her arms wound around herself while I grabbed the single duffle bag I packed for both of us from what I could find that was useful in her apartment and a clean change of clothes I always stocked for after a game.
