“Thorne made his choice,” Matt muttered as he held his jaw in his palm. “He’s my best friend, but he doesn’t listen to reason sometimes. He struggles to regulate his emotions?—”
“Because that’s all he knows how to do!” I yelled, a tattered sob escaping me. “He’s only ever been betrayed?—”
“Ifuckingknow that!” Matt screamed, standing to his full height. “And yet, I fucked up. I messed up and drove him farther into a tunnel he can't escape from. I’m not you, Oren. I don’t…”
“Don’t what?” I countered, my lips pulling into a scowl.
“I don’t understand him to the depths you do. We miscalculated, but once a mistake this big has been made, Thorne can’t recover. I’veseenit before, and only time heals it.”
“That’s a fucking lie.” I turned to Simon and Liam. “Doyouagree?”
“We don’t know Thorne well enough to take a side…” Liam muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I’d agree with you though, Oren. I think we fucked up and may have pushed him too far.”
“Fucking hell.” Simon rubbed his shoulder, glancing between Matt and me. “I think we acted from a place of good grace, but it definitely derailed from what we’d anticipated.”
“Then you’re all coming with me to fix him,” I snapped. “Especiallyyou, Matt. You owe him a fucking apology, or are you too much of a pussy to admit when you’re wrong?”
His jaw tightened, but he gave a simple nod. “Fine, but all of us leaving to go get?—”
“None of you are talking to him except for me,” I corrected. “I need you to make sure that when we find him, he can’t leave. I need him to take his anger out on someone, and I want it to be me. I promised him, and no matter how heated it gets, youletit happen.”
“What the fuck?” Simon snapped, his attention landing on me. “We aren’t just going to stand by if he elects to beat your ass.”
“Guys—”
“That’s an absurd order, especially considering all Thorne is capable of. If we allow him to fully unleash, then what happens to the mission? What’s the point of everything?—”
“Guys!” Liam yelled, cutting through Simon’s onslaught. “I’m not sure how great that will go, not only because of that, but because I watched him grab his bike keys before he left. And considering we are all fairly acquainted with the two ways he likes to cope…”
“Talking isn’t an option,” Matt muttered, standing to give a nod to Liam. “I tried to before, but if he left for the club, we just need to get him back here safely. He’ll be wasted by this point.”
“Alcohol or a blade,” Simon sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Seems he elected the former this time.”
Liam punched him, the force of the blow enough to earn a sharp hiss. “Un-fucking-necessary.”
“Am I wrong?!”
“You’re not wrong,” I said, the fury dissipating as I glanced at them. “We need to go now before he rides back here, because if he gets on that bike, he’s not going to make it back to base.”
“I think that’s his goal…” Liam clenched his jaw, his eyes sweeping between the three of us. “I’ve seen him hurt before, but this? This is something completely different.”
I nodded, the ache in my chest amplifying. “He’s been broken, but now he’s defeated with nothing to reach out and hold onto. He thinks even his best friend betrayed him.”
He needed saving, and this time, I’d make sure he didn’t end up alone. That he would make it safe to base, even if he broke me in the process, because I deserved it.
The club lightsmatched the beat of the bass, each flash of light increasing my need to find him, to make sure he was okay.
He wasn’t sitting at the bar top, but the bartender reported him drinking all night, which meant I’d probably find him on the floor somewhere. Simon, Liam, and Matt waited by his bike as a safety precaution, which left me to search inside for him.
I wanted him safe, and I wanted him happy, even if that never involved me again. I’d destroyed our trust and broken him beyond the limits I thought capable.
Weaving in and out of the crowd, I knew it shouldn’t be hard to find him, but the anxiety of the situation was making it difficult to focus. Losing track of how many sweat-laden bodies I’d slithered between, I felt the concept of hope slip from between my fingers, the incessant drum of regret beating in the hole my betrayal had left in my chest. That was until I rounded the corner to where the bathrooms were, where Thorne had taken me, and found him pressed up against the wall with another man’s tongue down his throat.
I faltered as his fingers threaded into the blonde’s hair, a switch happening as the man twisted him against the wall. He was… He was kissing another man. He wasallowinghim to dominate him, a side that had been reserved only for me and me alone. A promise he’d made to me, and with another blonde?
A man who barely noticed the tempo of his tongue or allowed Thorne the grace to push away, tochasehim?
Stepping forward, I yanked the blonde frommylove, a snarl ripping through my throat. “Get the fuck—You.” It was the blonde from the first fucking night I’d gone clubbing.
