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For all our fucking bullshit and chaos, my wife was still the strongest fucking woman I knew.
I tuned out the others while I watched Genevieve squeeze her way between two bikers and do her best to get the bartender’s attention. A dark growl built in my throat as one of them swooped in to help her. His hand was too fucking low on her back, and I didn’t like how he leaned in too goddamn close to talk to her. I didn’t give a fuck how loud the room was. He didn’t need to be that fucking close. She didn’t need anyone’s fucking help. There was no way to overlook Genevieve—no matter how busy the room was.
Drink in hand, Genevieve weaseled her way between people until she found a small spot on her own. Her gaze caught mine across the room but only for a second before it snapped back down to her drink.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I didn’t miss the way Raven went rigid from her spot.
“You know,” she began loudly and swiveled to stare at my brothers. The absolute glare in that woman’s eyes. It rivaled Mom’s. Fuck, I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that. Glad it was them she was glaring at and not me. “I’ve decided you’re all assholes. You, in particular, Nolan.”
“Raven,” Declan cut in quickly.
“Don’t worry, baby,” she dismissed him with a wave of her beer. “You’re an asshole too.”
“Fuck me,” he muttered.
“Yeah, I don’t want to,” Raven snapped. Hot damn.
“Why am I being singled out?” Nolan asked.
“No, no. You’re all assholes. It’s a collective Byrne title tonight.” The table grew uncomfortably silent as she continued. “You all knew he’d be here—”
“Stay out of it, honey,” Declan interjected.
“I will not!” she exclaimed. “How is any of this fair to her? Nolan brought her here because why? You were lonely driving? Drive with your brothers. You have an obscene amount of them. No, instead, you drive to the middle of fucking Colorado with Ginny, and now she’s standing in a corner over there instead of spending any time with you. And why? Because you’re the mean girls now?”
“Amen,” Cade muttered into his beer.
“This table is for pack leaders, right? For Byrnes and Ironwoods and Stones?” she demanded, waving her hand to the entirety of the table. I glanced around, watching their uncomfortable expressions as no one said a word. Not that I blamed them. How many years had I sat at this exact table with Genevieve? Raven pointed her beer at Cade. “Well, you know what? I’m not a fucking Byrne, and you’re not a pack leader yet.”
“Nope,” he agreed and got to his feet.
“Take care of her, please,” Declan called after them as Raven stormed away with Cade.
“Always do!” Cade replied.
“Well, that was fuckin’ awkward,” Alice said. “More beers?”
The over-enthusiastic response wasn’t lost on me. No one wanted to touch the topic with a ten-foot pole. We’d been dancing around it ever since I’d let Cole know I planned to attend. Beer was a good way to pretend the problem didn’t exist. At least for them.
“Am I really an asshole?” Nolan asked softly.
“No, kid.” I sighed. “This is my mess.”
“No, we’re all fucking assholes,” Declan stated. He pulled off his hat and fussed with its frayed bill. “We all knew that coming into this. We have to deal with it.”
He could say the words all he wanted, but his body language indicated otherwise. He stared after his fiancé, where she pulled Genevieve out onto the dance floor with Cade. Every move Raven made, he tracked it. I realized he was done having fun for the night. He’d spend the rest of the night watching over her from a distance—wanting to be with her—but stuck here with us.
Goddammit. I hated this divided shit.
“Fuck,” I grumbled. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you owe an apology to,” he replied. Yeah, I fucking knew that. The problem was that I didn’t know where to begin apologizing.
Chapter 17
Killian
Ifollowed her outside. I shouldn’t have, but I did. And I wanted to say I wasn’t there to fucking start shit or get involved where I shouldn’t, but I would’ve been lying. Because she wasn’t alone.
