“What? How? Why aren’t your alphas protecting you?” he growls.
“She had a gun,” Lore says. “That’s protection.”
Tommy finally glances at Lore before paling. “Why are dead men walking?” he asks. “Is there a new epidemic I should be aware of?”
Lore snorts, shaking his head. “If you weren’t such an ornery fucker, you might actually be likeable.”
“This from a biker,” Tommy says. “That’s very cute. She knows how to use a gun because of me.”
I blame the pregnancy hormones for turning on the baton and pressing it up his thigh.
“Argh! Fuck a duck. Marie!”
He shoves back in his chair so hard to get away from me, it topples over. His legs are tied to the chair, as are his arms, which means he’s still just as stuck, now he’s a turtle stuck on his back as well.
“You taught me in the worst fucking way,” I say over his yelling. “I can’t stand when people yell around me. I lock up and shut down, even when it’s my own pack talking to other people. It has fuck all to do with me, but I still can’t handle it. I don’t want you around my family if you aren’t able to control your temper.”
“Marie,” he says, blowing out a breath as he looks up at me. “Look, I’m working on my temper. When I look at you, it’s hard not to see my kid sister. You have your entire life ahead of you, and I want you to be able to live it. I was glad when you didn’t date anyone in the mafia, but this new direction feels worse.”
“You caged Marie,” Lore growls. “You’ll never see your niece or nephew if you don’t pull your head out of your ass.”
“I don’t want that,” Tommy says, no longer struggling against his bonds. “Marie, I fucked up alot with you. Mom’s a shitty parent, and I somehow decided I could do better.”
“I didn’t need a parent, I needed my brother,” I mutter. “I can never call you because all you do is judge me. I’m not a child, Tommy. If I fuck up, then I’ll own it, but I want to have the space to do that.”
“You’ve had months of space,” he sighs.
“And maybe I need more!” I scream, kicking him. “Every time I talk to you, I end up feeling bad about myself, even if I didn’t fucking do anything. Stop doing that!”
I’m breathing hard as I glare at him, and Tommy is shocked into silence for a long moment. It’s so long, I almost decide to leave in frustration.
“You always do the right thing,” he finally says. I’m so fucking mad, my eyes are tearing up, and I blink them away so Lore won’t break his legs. There’s only so long he’ll allow this to go on. I can feel the rumblings of his own anger that’s simmering. “It doesn’t matter what the scenario, you always just know the right move to make, Marie. I checked on that doctor who got you fired. He was fired and arrested for killing two people.”
I flinch, not having expected him to say that. “What? Oh my god, Tommy.”
“My point is, you were right to stand toe to toe with him and call him out on his shit,” he says. “The man had a lot of power, but not enough in the end. No matter what it cost you, that hospital never deserved you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. “I hate that someone had to die before anyone took the allegations that he was unfit to practice medicine seriously.”
“Playing by the rules does take longer sometimes,” he admits.
“Yeah it does,” Lore mutters.
“The point is, I’ve always been really fucking proud of you. I just suck at showing it. You’re going to be such a good mom. In fact, you already are because you’re fiercely protective. Good mothers say they’ll kill for their children, and here you already have.”
“I still hate guns,” I say.
“You don’t have to like them if you’re still willing to pull the trigger, Marie.”
Knowing he has a point, I begrudgingly nod in agreement.
“I’m really stubborn, and we all know that. I only shoot my mouth off with you. I force myself to think before I say shit witheveryone else, which means I still have a lot of growing to do,” he says. “Please don’t give up on me, Marie, okay?”
His emerald green eyes glimmer with passion and unshed tears, so I do the only thing I can. I shove the baton into his thigh again, holding it until I can stop crying. The tears started falling at some point during our conversation, and refused to stop.
He’s unconscious when I lift my arm, and I sigh heavily.
“I love you too,” I say.
