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“God, no!” I say a little too loudly. Since that would be a better explanation than the one about me fooling around in a bathroom with Thane, I decide to go with the lie. “Maybe?”
“Look, I get that you hate him for what he did,” my brother says. “But you can’t hold a grudge with him. Lyla cares about him, and, ah, she’s coming to stay with us.”
“She’s going to stay with us?” I ask for clarification since my mind is still in the hospital room with Thane. “You, me, and Dad?”
“Yeah, if Dad doesn’t have a problem with it. Since he’s never home, I figured he won’t notice or mind. She’ll sleep in my room.”
“Wow. Moving fast yet again,” I can’t help but remark, making him cringe.
“It’s just temporary. As much as you’re at the shop from the crack of dawn until time to hit the sack, you probably won’t even notice she’s there.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Swear to me you won’t lay a finger on Thane from here on out.”
Well, shit. That’s a tough thing to promise when I really hope that when Thane is healed up, he’ll put his hands on me again, and I’ll more than likely end up with my hands on him too.
In this situation, Barrett just means laying a finger on him to hurt him. And that I can promise. “I won’t touch him.”
“Good. If you do anything to upset Lyla, I’ll beat your ass. That goes for both of you,” Barrett says to us.
Jordan holds up his palms. “I wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“You know if you step a toe out of line, all we have to do is tell your mama, and she’ll whoop your ass.”
“No, it’s worse than that,” the kid replies. “She’ll be disappointed in me. That shit hurts worse than my dad’s fists.”
Thankfully, the conversation is over when Lyla walks out of the room and says, “He’s sleeping, so I guess it’ll be okay to leave.”
“There are a ton of Devil Hounds who I’m sure will hang around,” Barrett reminds her. “Your dad can let you know if there are any updates.”
“Okay. Yeah. I don’t think I have much energy left in me after all that’s happened.”
I can’t believe she’s going to leave Thane so soon. What if he wakes up and she’s not here?
“RJ, we’re leaving too, right?” Jordan asks aloud, then whispers, “Getting more suspicious.”
My brother is already suspicious. There’s no reason to make it worse.
“Yeah, we’re leaving too,” I agree, even though I don’t want to go.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Thane
“Hey, you’re awake again,” a voice that sounds like Lyla’s says cheerfully.
I get my eyes to stay open for more than a few seconds, and yep, it’s definitely Lyla staring down at me, wearing a weird white headband around her head.
What is she doing here? And why does it feel like I’ve had a hot poker shoved through my side?
“Are you…in my bedroom?” I ask, my mouth dry and throat scratchy. I reach up to yank at whatever is tickling my nose, but my arm is heavy and uncooperative.
“Ah, no, Thane. I’m not in your bedroom. Are you thirsty?”
“Fuck yes.” She holds up a straw to my mouth, and I suck down the most refreshing water I’ve ever had.
Once my mouth and throat are fully hydrated, I release the straw from between my lips to glance around the room. There’s a chair. A window with blinds. A sink.
