“Wait,” Marcus called, taking a panicked step toward the males as they grabbed Dante’s arms roughly, all but dragging him toward the door. “You haven’t even listened to what he has to say!”
“His excuses are irrelevant.” Hadn’t Murphy already heard them? Dante had told Tank his reasoning months ago, and Murphy’s brother had relayed that information to him.
The truth was too little, too late, and now Marcus was caught in the middle of this fiasco.
In a way, Murphy blamed himself for this outcome. He’d known better than to allow Marcus to be the one responsible for bringing Dante to justice. But he’d ignored his intuition in favor of Marcus’s sorrow, hoping to appease the male who had seemed so determined to make things right. Hoping to show his friend that, although Dante had done something unforgivable, Marcus was still an ally. A brother.
But what was he now?
“What about me?” Marcus rushed back to Murphy as Colter opened the front door, hauling Dante outside and out of sight. A tear rolled down his cheek. “I went behind your back today. Aren’t you taking me, too?” A small whimper left the male’s throat. “Please, Murphy. What do you want from me? What can I do?”
Murphy turned away from Marcus, a heavy weight pressing in on his chest each time he breathed. “The only thing I want is for you to be out of my sight until I’m ready to deal with you.”
Chapter 34
Hunny followed Nessa down the front hall and into the kitchen, letting out a small, delighted gasp. “Oh, Nessa, I love it!”
“Thank you. The kitchen is the main reason I bought the house. The view of the woods is breathtaking.” At least, she’d thought it was breathtaking until she’d seen the view from Murphy’s living room. While she loved her home, his cabin was a work of art.
Nessa moved toward the fridge, opening the door. She peeked inside. “Does anyone want a drink? I can offer you some bottled water or some tea.” She looked back at the small group, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, I don’t have anything else. I wasn’t really expecting guests.”
Plus, she’d forbidden Murphy from bringing a coffee machine in here earlier in the week, insisting that he’d love tea if he just gave it a chance.
Turns out he didnotlike tea, no matter how many chances he gave it.
The thought of Murphy caused an ache to form in Nessa’s chest. She hoped he was okay. She didn’t have all the facts just yet, but from what she’d heard, it sounded like Marcus was hiding Dante’s whereabouts from everyone.
And by Murphy’s reaction outside the restaurant and the haunted, wounded look in his eyes when he’d left, she knew the revelation had struck him hard. Who wouldn’t be upset after discovering something like that? Especially after everything her mate had been through?
She’d wanted to go with him, if only to offer him comfort, but he would have just turned her down.
He wouldn’t want her anywhere near two potentially dangerous shifters.
“We’re good.” Hunny’s sweet voice startled Nessa from her thoughts.
She shook her head, closing the fridge before making her way toward the small breakfast nook on the other side of the kitchen. Hunny and Tank sat on one side while Zeke leaned back against the wall across from them, arms crossed and a tired, pinched expression on his face.
She passed Zeke, a small fissure of anxiety balling in her stomach as she sat down, facing away from him. She turned on the bench, angling her body so she could keep him in clear view with everyone else. He seemed like a good guy, but she instinctively felt more secure with him in her line of sight.
“Wishing you’d gone with them?” Tank asked the man, his gravelly voice loud in the otherwise quiet room.
Zeke nodded. “I’m happy to stay here and keep a watch over things with you, but Marcus is my friend. If he’s really stabbed us all in the back, I want to hear it for myself.”
“We don’t know anything, yet,” Hunny interjected, pressing a hand to her belly. “This could all just be a big misunderstanding. Maybe he still has no idea where Dante is.”
“I don’t know why you’re so adamant about defending that male,” Tank growled, his brows furrowing in irritation. “Dante almost got you and Nessa killed, little rabbit. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”
Hunny sighed. “He was only trying to protect his own mate. Did he do something stupid? Yes. But Nessa and I made it out of that situation alive.”
Nessa looked across the table at her friend. “Barely.” Instinctively, her hand went to her shoulder, lingering over the scars hidden beneath her shirt. Memories assailed her, a flicker of panic twisting her insides until she felt nauseous. “We barely made it out of that, Hunny,” she added in a low voice.
Nessa willed her rising panic back down, dropping her hands beneath the table and drumming her shaky fingers absentmindedly on her knee as her breathing stuttered. Her lungs felt tight, and a chill raced down her spine, the room threatening to close in on her.
Shit.Not now.
Nessa slammed her eyes closed, determined to quell her anxiety before it got any worse.
Deep breath in.
