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“You’ve been wonderful since you were a kid,” I corrected.
“I’ve been weird. But maybe the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
I took his hand, and he squeezed mine. I couldn’t always make sense of Liam, but I knew one thing.
He was on my side, and I was safe with him.
CHAPTER14
Cole
I wokeup in an unfamiliar place with a pounding headache. I rolled over onto my side, trying to remember what I’d done last night. Maybe I had a hangover for the first time since I was nineteen—a time that I blamed largely on Shaw and his ability to charm almost anyone into some bad decision making—or maybe I’d been…
I groaned as I fell back into the bed, remembering.
Or maybe I’d gotten my ass kicked by the pack’s tender-hearted pacifist.
And then… realization slowly dawned on me…he’d tucked me in.
Under the same sheets he’d had since before he was sent to the Longroad pack. I was sleeping on Pokemon sheets.
I tried to find the last shreds of my dignity, but they must’ve blended in with the yellow Pokemon.
I heaved myself out of bed, my head aching, and made my way into Liam’s ensuite bathroom. I took a shower and stole one of his t-shirts, since mine was covered in blood. He owed me and he wouldn’t mind, anyway.
Although I was trying to sneak my way downstairs, I was halfway to the door when Stone walked into the foyer.
“There you are,” he said. “We’re heading out to Longroad territory.”
“Yeah?” My brain couldn’t quite keep up. It was still dark out the windows, but night or day meant nothing to Stone.
“I doubt Nathan Longroad rose from the grave. He couldn’t be further from Jesus. But we’re going to make sure.” Stone’s hatred shone from his eyes, which had gone icier than usual. “Either way, I wouldn’t mind talking to some of those Longroad assholes.”
I nodded. “All right.”
Teresa let herself in the front door then. She squinted at me. “What happened to you?”
Liam had enough of a headstart that I didn’t have to worry about torn loyalties. I could just tell Stone the truth.
“I got between Liam and his bright ideas,” I said.
Shaw sauntered in just then, hands in his pocket, and he grinned—rudely, in my opinion—as he took in my slightly-busted face. “My sweet-tempered big brother did that to you?”
“He wasn’t feeling so sweet-tempered at the time.”
“Where exactly is my brother?” Stone’s voice was cold.
“He was talking about going after Amelia.” Those things were all true, but Stone fixed me with a look. He was always able to see right through people.
“You knew my brother was leaving pack territory, and you didn’t tell me. Is this revenge for me losing Amelia?”
“No.” I missed Amelia like crazy and I was furious that Stone drove her away, but I’d never betray him. “I couldn’t tell you. Liam knocked me unconscious.”
Stone’s anger at me was tight and controlled, but I could still feel it radiating from him in tight waves. “You got knocked out by… Liam?”
“Maybe he got the jump on Cole,” Teresa said to Stone, but her encouraging gaze was on me, trying to give me an out. “Maybe he hit him with a baseball bat or something.”
I wasn’t going to lie to Stone, but I didn’t rush in with the truth. I’d spent all those years patiently training Liam, who never wanted to fight, only to get my ass handed to me.
