Greer nods, but the moment stretches thin, an awkward silence settling between us. I don’t belong here.
“I should just, uh…” I let the words trail off as I gesture vaguely toward the stairs.
I make my escape quickly, heading to the front door left open by Kai and Butcher as they maneuver the chair into the back of the ambulance.
Leaving the door open doesn’t matter much, considering the giant, window-shaped hole in the living room wall letting in far more cold air.
But as I reach the threshold, a truck slows at the curb, and my pulse skitters.
It pulls onto the wide driveway, and just when I’m about to scream for Kai to be careful, Grudge jumps out. His shoulders are hunched against the cold as he moves to the back of the truck and removes two large sheets of plywood. Smoke follows, and together they take in the shattered window, the glass that glitters in the porch light, and then me.
“Fucking assholes,” Grudge says when he takes in the shattered glass. Then, his eyes turn to me. “Evenin’, Isla.”
“Shit, they really made a fucking mess,” Smoke says. Then: “Hey, Isla.”
My throat goes dry and tight. I don’t know why they’re both being nice, but I feel the automatic smile appear on my face, even as the sight of them…boots, patches, leather…makes something in my stomach flip.
My palms sweat, and I realize they’re trembling when I try to rub them together.
“Came to secure the window,” Grudge says. “Doubted they’d have a big enough piece of wood to board it up.”
Smoke sets the toolbox he’s carrying down with a heavy thud, and on instinct, I flinch.
And Ihatethat I flinched. It was a source of pride I had amongst the other girls, that I was one of the ones Smoke liked best for his kinks. But being fucked in front of other people was never romantic, or sexy, or caring. It was about Smoke finding what he needed in the physical shell of me.
“You alright, Isla?” he asks. “You look like you’re about to puke. Or bolt.”
Before I can answer, Kai jumps down out of the back of the ambulance and comes over. Exhaustion is carved into every feature of his face. He moves to my side on instinct. “It’s been a long day for everyone,” he says.
Grudge looks closely at me. “You sure you’re doing okay, Isla?”
“I’m fine,” I say, but all the men around me can tell by the waver in my voice it’s a lie.
“She doesn’t need the third degree,” Kai says, stepping forward just a footstep, while nudging me behind him a fraction. Thoughts race. I feel safe, protected by him. The very feeling I’ve been looking for my whole life. And, yet…upstairs is his boyfriend, partner, or husband. I don’t know which.But whatever the definition of their relationship is, it means I shouldn’t be thinking about Kai this way.
Grudge has the audacity to look hurt, but I can’t think about that now, while my knees shake.
“I wasn’t—” Grudge starts, but whatever he sees on Kai’s face causes him to shut up. “Fine. We’ll just handle the window. And then, we’ll figure out who did this, and who the fucker was who ran you off the road. Could they have been the same person?”
He was run off the road?
My heart tilts. I assumed he skidded.
“Thanks, brothers. I don’t think so. We saw the alert that someone had broken the window, not sure they could have done it and then make it to where we were in time to knock Garrett off his bike. We appreciate it. And I sent Wren the video footage. It looked as if whoever it was thought about going across to Isla’s but changed their mind at the last minute. If they find any clues, where the fuckers came from, all that shit—let me know.”
Grudge nods.
I want to thank them for looking out for Kai and Garrett. Or tell them that I’m fine, that I’ve moved on with my life. Or even to not look at me and expect answers, because I still don’t have any to give them. Instead, I wrap my arms around myself, and Kai stands close enough that the heat of him slows the shakes.
Kai thanks Greer as she makes her way to the ambulance and waits until it pulls off the driveway.
“Come with me,” Kai murmurs for me to hear.
Something buckles in me at the instruction, and I follow the reassuring steadiness of his voice. I want his presence and his stupid warm hands, even though I shouldn’t want any of it.
Smoke hoists the first sheet of plywood, and Grudge begins hammering as I follow Kai into the kitchen where no one can see. There’s a large open-plan family room off it with a largefireplace. Like the other rooms in the house, there isn’t a ton of furniture or furnishings.
“You don’t have to be here for this,” Kai says. “I was being selfish when I asked you to stay.”
