Lorenzo nods. “Your brother underestimated what Wilson has built here. The nest, the pack, the fact that Wilson has people who touch him with care. Sebastian walked into a fight he wasn’t prepared for because he assumed Wilson was still the man he broke.”
“Wilson isn’t broken.”
“No. He isn’t.”
A beat of silence passes between us as Lorenzo comes to stand beside me, his shoulder brushing mine, two men desperately needing to find a way to protect our mate. And with Oliver’s heat so close, we need to know that Sebastian won’t be a problem again. Though, it makes me wonder…
“I’m surprised you aren’t more angry that this happened around Oliver.” I twist to look at Lorenzo, confused when he just smiles. It’s like he knows a joke I wasn’t privy to. “What? What did I say?”
Lorenzo chuckles as he folds his arms across his chest. “Nicholas, I would love to make some fucking joke about Alpha-holes and shit but it wouldn’t land right. Oliver is a grown man and he knows to ask if he needs something. I might be his Beta but I am not his keeper.” When I don’t say anything, Lorenzo’s smile grows wider. “Nicholas, do you really think I would have Oliver running a club with me if I was worried about how often someone would get in his way or try to touch him? You haven’tbeen around long enough to know that the entire staff has been trained to watch out for him and that Oliver has a bit of training of his own. He also knows to never go anywhere on his own throughout the club for his own safety except for his nests. If I had any inkling that Oliver had been affected by last night, I would have changed things up immediately.”
I still don’t understand how Lorenzo can be so nonchalant. My instincts have been raging all fucking day when it comes to Wilson. “That…”
“Is something hard to wrap your brain around, I get it,” Lorenzo finishes for me. “We’re all hardwired differently, though, I will say if you start manhandling Oliver, he might like it. Regardless, I’m not worried about Oliver’s safety because I’ve built this place around him.”
I take a moment to sit on that. Vice & Virtue might be both Lorenzo and Oliver’s but it’s a sanctuary in and of itself. There’s so many places for Oliver to retreat, whether upstairs, behind the bar, the offices, his nests… I’m not sure why I hadn’t seen any of that before. Probably because I wasn’t looking.
Dragging a hand down my face, I mull through the next steps. “I’ve already started working on a restraining order that will get filed next week. Hopefully, precedent will be enough. The lawyer has everything and she mentioned it might get us an emergency protective order.
Lorenzo nods. His jaw shifts, a calculation running behind his expression.
“When I bite Wilson—” The words catch in my throat. “When he lets me claim him. If he lets me. I’m not putting it on his neck.”
Lorenzo turns his head, his gaze finding my face.
“Sebastian’s bite was on his neck. Hidden. Something Wilson could cover with a collar and pretend wasn’t there. Something Sebastian could point to in private and use as proof ofownership.” I lift a hand to my mouth, my thumb tracing my lower lip. “If Wilson gives me the right to claim him, I’m putting it here. On his lip. Somewhere he can’t cover. Somewhere that every person he speaks to, every stranger he meets, every mirror he looks into will remind him that someone chose to mark him in the most visible place on his body.”
Lorenzo doesn’t move. His arms remain crossed over his chest while his eyes darken with understanding.
“The opposite of everything Sebastian did to him.”
“Yes.”
When his hand finds my shoulder, his fingers press into the muscle with firm pressure for a few seconds before falling away. “Sebastian won’t get near him again, Nicholas. You have my word on that. Whatever it takes.”
My gaze locks with his as I push off the wall, Lorenzo heading for the door before pointing to the mess I made. “Clean up the gin. Oliver really will make you pay for it.”
“It’s Hendrick’s. That’s like forty dollars.”
“Forty-seven. I stock the good stuff.” His mouth twitches slightly upward. “And Nicholas.”
“Yeah.”
“Your hand needs ice.”
The door swings shut behind him as he leaves me to silence but feeling marginally better than I had all morning. I pull out my phone and sent one text to the lawyer.
File it. Use everything we have. We need that protective order now.
Her response appears within a minute.Filing first thing tomorrow. I’ll need Wilson’s statement eventually.
That’s the part I was hoping to avoid but it’s inevitable. The door swings open, Wilson reaching for one of the tequila bottles before pausing as he catches me there. I hesitate, wondering if I should reach for my Beta before dragging him into my chest.When he completely melts against me instead of flinching, I know I made the right choice.
30
Lorenzo
Oliver's heat is in four days. Maybe three.
