He bowed his head and wished, quietly and fiercely, that he could see Tristan one last time.
Chapter Eight
TRISTAN
Tristan nursed a mug of coffee, soaking in the peace and safety of being home while Bryce futzed around rearranging the spice rack. Which he’d never done in his life before. He evidently wanted an excuse to stay close. Tristan was glad of his comforting presence, even if Bryce was more subdued than usual.
When Matt walked in, Tristan tensed rigid, his heart suddenly galloping. He was full of hope and fear and about a hundred questions, but he knew better than to blurt them out. Not yet. Matt would speak only when he was ready.
But when Matt’s first act was to pour himself a coffee, Tristan’s nerves frayed, and he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“He didn’t come here with some twisted secret plan or anything,” he said abruptly. “He wasn’t even going to come with me till I made him, and someone had beaten him. Probably Nico.”
Matt and Bryce exchanged one of their looks. It was something they’d done a lot when he was younger, deciding how best to manage him without letting him in on the plan.
Tristan’s stomach knotted. He understood why they were suspicious, but this wasColby. His pulse was picking up again, though he wasn’t sure if it was dread or determination.
“The thing is, Tris,” Bryce said gently, as if Matt had passed the baton to him to reason with Tristan, “in a pack like that, a beating’s nothing more than a bit of local color to sell his story. He manipulated you into believing you persuaded him to leave. That way, you wouldn’t be suspicious of him, which meant we’d welcome him. It would give him free rein.”
“No.”Tristan bristled. “You didn’t see him, Bryce—the look in his eyes. He’d given up.”
That was met with silence. But it was the sort of silence that said they didn’t believe him.
“Where is he?” Tristan asked, his voice roughening. “I need to see him.”
Bryce’s expression tightened, but all he said was, “He’s in the barn.”
The barn.Like an animal. Locked up the same wayhe’dbeen in the brig.
Something tasted sour in Tristan’s mouth, but Matt’s unreadable expression stopped him from protesting. Push too hard, and Matt might forbid Tristan to see Colby at all.
“Can I take him something to eat?” Tristan asked, already grabbing a plate and piling on muffins before they could say no.
Matt gave a short nod.
“And coffee? He should have something hot. He’ll need that. It’s cold when you’re locked up.”
His voice broke slightly on the words, and Bryce made an instinctive move toward him. Tristan stepped back, because heneeded to see Colby even more than he needed Bryce’s comfort right now.
“And what about the bathroom?” He was pretty sure it wouldn’t have occurred to anyone else, but having just been kept locked up himself, he was all too aware of the seemingly small but actually really important things.
“Damn it,” Matt muttered, rubbing his brow like he couldn’t believe they’d overlooked something so basic. “Tell Karl. He can take Williams to his bunkhouse if needed.”
Tristan nodded as he poured a mug of coffee. He didn’t know how Colby took it but figured black was better than nothing.
“Tristan.” Matt’s voice stopped him before he reached the door.
He looked back.
Matt’s expression was somber. “Keep your brain working, okay? Remember what Cale’s pack is capable of. Think about that little girl who could have died, and what they did to Jesse. Just because you think he’s a good guy and you feel like you owe him—that doesn’t make it so.”
Something cold slid into Tristan’s chest as he nodded and slipped out the back door, Matt’s warning pressing on him like a weight he couldn’t quite shrug off.
* * *
Karl padded out from the shadows as Tristan entered the barn and pressed against his legs with a soft whine.
Tristan blinked back tears as he dropped to his knees and hugged Karl, his hands twining tight in dark wolf hair. He was truly home. Back amongst his pack, safe and loved. He knelt there for a long moment, breathing in pack scent, the anchoring familiarity of it settling deep in his bones.
