It’s not surprising that he said that. I couldn’t bear to have one of them take off. But it’s not an option, so I make that clear. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t,” Wells insists. “Home is where we all are, so that’s the end of that. But we’d be looking over our shoulders forever. KORT and her brothers.”
“I know,” I sigh, dragging a hand down my overgrown scruff. “I’ve thought about it. Neither would stop hunting us until we were dead. I can’t do that to any of you. Especially Felicity. That’s no way to grow up. But even if we went alone, it would shatter Rena. She’d be lost without her brothers.”
Wells hums. “Ty, if you’re even considering running with her, you’ve made a decision whether you see it or not.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I argue. “This pressure is so fucking twisted. No one can make a lifetime decision after a night. I can’t ask her to do that.”
KORT doesn’t budge on that rule—it’s either one-night stands or till death do us part. No in-between. They consider pillow talk to be too much of a risk once you venture into night two.
“That’s the way it works,” Well states. “We all knew that, going in. I could’ve bought you time, like I did with Liam. Let the two ofyou explore this more under the guise of her visiting. But her brothers … Axel is beside himself. I’ve never seen him such a mess. None of them have slept. Jax is barely functioning. We need to make a decision soon. Whatever it is. It’s not right for us to know she’s safe while they’re frantic.”
“I know,” I concede. It’s exactly what was running through my mind last night when she was telling me how much they’d done for her. “I’ll talk to her about it. The longer we wait, the worse it will be, but then again, everything will crash down on us. So …”
“It’s not one night, Ty,” Liam chimes in. “You’ve known each other for years. And you cared about that girl long before you flew across the country for her. Those sidelong glances you cast in her direction weren’t your best-kept secret. We had this same conversation about Celeste, and all we’d had were passing fights. Not even close to the history you two have.”
“I hear that. I’m just torn and need to make sense of this.” That concession leaves my mouth at the very moment my line of sight drifts to the massive wet spot on my boxers.
“Keep it fucking PG-13 then,” Wells snipes. “If you fuck her—”
How the hell does he do that?
“Of course,” I snap back, “I’m well aware of the ramifications.”
“I was already fucking at thirteen,” Liam overshares, to which Wells hisses his typical expletives while Liam expounds, “So, the PG-13 rule is subjective. Lay it out for me. You haven’t been balls deep in her yet?”
I can’t contain my chuckle. “Seriously, Graves, how does Lettie deal with you?”
“Oh, I have my methods of persuasion,” he boasts. “And I’m happy to extend some techniques, but more importantly, answer the goddamn question. I’ve got money riding on this.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I scoff. “Money on what exactly?”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Tytan. Since I am so confident in your game, I bet Ace that you’d seal the deal in the firsttwenty-four hours. But she, Ivy, and Gage were all about how you’d pussy out and be a gentleman or some shit.”
“Note that I didn’t bet, Ty,” Wells throws in, but it’s through a stifled laugh.
“Well, here I am, stressing about hownotto get myself and my girl killed. Good to know you’ve all got your priorities straight,” I deadpan. “And, Liam, you can tell your wife, no matter what game she plays, she dominates.”
“Fucking Christ,” Liam barks, understanding that he lost this one too.
“I need a full check-in, Ty,” Wells interrupts. “Flashbacks? Nightmares? How’d you find her? Any issues when you got to her?”
Cooperating with this is the only way other than removing my tracker that I can ensure he won’t show up here. “Not full-fledged losing-myself flashbacks, but seconds here and there. Yes, to nightmares. I woke from one about an hour ago. And she’d texted me sketchy info that had me club-hopping all over the city. When I finally tracked her down, I noticed she had a bruise on her cheek. As luck would have it”—my jaw clicks, my temples pulsing in unison—“I happened upon the guys and overheard their plan to gang-rape her.”
“Motherfuckers,” Liam snarls.
My fist clenches in my lap. “Yeah. That was about my reaction and then some. Both are neutralized.”
“I’m assuming everything was neat and tidy. Any idea why she was their target?” Wells probes.
“It was quick. I’d already tampered with the cameras, so there was no issue with a trail. I questioned her. It looks like the guy who hit her had been expecting more, and it pissed him off that she’d struck him and gotten away. She broke the asshole’s nose.”
“I love that feisty girl!” Liam shouts in the background with a resounding clap.
“I second that.” Wells chuckles. “In fact, off topic, please informher that she’s turned me into a butterscotch addict and that I’m livid it’s taken her this long to share.”
You and me both, Chief.“Will do.”
