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Sebastian
Asickly combination of fear and anger snaked through my body. I hadn’t talked to Ella about seeing other people, so I had no idea if she was or wasn’t.
“You’re making me cranky, mate. Do you know something or are you just asking me if Ella is dating around?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “All I’m saying is, has there been a conversation and a commitment, or is there a possibility she might be seeing someone else?”
A low, guttural growl slipped from my throat and echoed through the kitchen. “She mentioned that she wasn’t, but that was a few weeks ago, and I didn’t pry at the time. I trust her. You should, too, unless you’ve seen her with someone.”
“Nope. I’m just watching out for my brother. I think she’s great, and I’d love to see the two of you together long term, but it’s never safe to assume she’s not dating anyone until there’s been a conversation. Besides, she’s young. Your rules aren’t her rules.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Kip was right. There was an eleven-year age difference. I was old school as far as relationships went. I’d planned on speaking to her after I got home from moving women and children to a safe environment, but then the car accident fucked up my plans.
“Just talk to her, man. Ditch any preconceived ideas and have that conversation, then you’ll clear any doubt there might be on either side.”
Picking up my fork again, I continued to eat. The thought of Ella being touched by another man had nearly sent me into a toxic rage, and I had to rein in my temper fucking fast. It was definitely time to change the topic. “This is good.” I jabbed the fork at my food. “Maybe Dope will bring us some more.”
Kip grinned at me. “It’s nice to see your appetite is returning.”
“What about you? What were you up to when I was laid up in a hospital bed?”
“Nothing new. I took care of the bar when I wasn’t with you.”
“Have you met anyone new lately?”
He laced his fingers behind his head. “Nah. Same ol shit, another day. Chicks throwing themselves at us, but nothing serious. I was interested in Ella’s friend, Cami, but she showed up at Velvet Vortex with a cop as her date.”
My entire body went ramrod straight. “And you didn’t think to mention that to me?”
“I just did.”
“Sooner?”
“Bass, dude, you were laid up in a hospital bed barely hanging on by a thread. Cut me some slack, for fuck’s sake. I was waiting for the right time to tell you about it. At this point, it doesn’t seem like it’s serious between them. If it is, then we’ve got plenty of practice keeping the Safe Horizon Society under wraps. It’s all good. I think your pain meds are making you irritable. Maybe see if you can dial it back before you hurt someone.”
“We don’t hang out with cops. End of discussion.” I blew out a sigh. “I didn’t mean to give you shit. It just surprised me. If Ella’s best friend is dating someone on the police force, it could be problematic. Hopefully Ella realizes that and won’t ask us to go out with them much.”
“If she does, we’ll deal with it. Just be sure to direct the conversation and watch your body language. This is normal for us, though. I didn’t tell you about Cami to stress you out, just to be cautious.” He gave me a slight shrug. “Hopefully, their relationship will be short-lived.”
Kip seemed confident about the situation, and I decided it wasn’t worth wasting my energy over unless it became an issue. I would definitely be careful around them in the meantime.
“Thanks for having my back. You’re a good bloke. You keep me on a good path.”
I ate slowly, brooding about Ella. Kip and I had grown up together, and he carefully chose his conversations. At times he walked on eggshells around me. Hell, Dope did too. Usually I was pretty chill, but my temper occasionally got away from me.
Guilt drowned me like a tidal wave, and it finally hit me that I’d almost died. I had to stop being an asshole and make some changes. Kip and Dope were innocent bystanders of my rage, but I was really only angry at myself. When my parents had passed away, the world had ended, and my anger had seeped into every corner of my life. I could control it most of the time, but that wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough for Ella. I had to find another way to release my pent-up aggression without returning to underground fighting.
Whether I liked it or not, Kip had a point, and I relaxed a little, realizing his intentions were in the right place. There was one quick way to get to the bottom of Kip’s, and now my, concerns with Ella. Once she was home for the evening, we needed to talk and get on the same page. I wasn’t interested in having my heart ripped out of my chest.
Chapter 45
Ella
My hope folded in on itself with Dope’s correction. “Keep going,” I whispered.
“Bass kept talking about how the man found him hiding and jerked him out from beneath the stairs. Bass assumed he’d be killed next, but clearly, he lived. Anyway, Bass continued in that fucked-up character he was pretending to be and said the man dragged him to the kitchen where he saw his mom—dead. His father was tied up on the floor next to her, still alive. The stranger had duct taped his dad’s mouth so he couldn’t yell for help. The guy forced the knife into Bass’s hand and ordered him to kill his father.”
My world tilted on its side, and I gripped the edge of the table. The cold, rough cement bit into my palm. Choking out a cry, I focused on the ground and tried not to scream in agony.
