Barking out a laugh, I set my basket on the counter beside the stack of boxes and wander around the store again to see if I missed anything. At this point, I may as well go for broke and embrace torturing my resident cockblockers. With the assortment of bright colors and patterns, it's practically like an Easter egg hunt, but for grown ups. Go to grab a snack? Jar of peanut butter’s been replaced with a bottle of lube. Brush a curtain aside to check the weather? Bam, dildo on the windowsill.
If I'm not getting fucked, I might as well take the edge off by fucking with them a little.
Carina gives me space to explore without hovering, hopping up to sit on the counter. The atmosphere slowly shifts from content and relaxed, to somber, and I frown, rubbing my tongue on the roof of my mouth. It’s like an itch that I can’t quite scratch, coating my tongue until I can practically taste that there’s something wrong.
Glancing back at Carina, I find her watching me nervously, and it ramps up my anxiety. “What?”
Lips pressed into a thin line, she holds her tongue for a minute before coming to a decision and sighing heavily. “Can I ask for another favor?”
Out of habit, I come to a stop near the door. “Depends, is it going to make me an accessory? Because I’d like to avoid a jail cell.”
“Nothing like that, don’t worry. It’s just... be patient with my brother. Please? I know he develops tunnel vision when he’s obsessing over something, and ignores everyone around him for a while, but it's only because he cares. Too much, actually. He’s so worried about protecting everyone else that he forgets to take care of himself.”
Looking incredibly guilty, she explains, “He’ll never bring it up, so pretend you don’t know unless he tells you, okay? He’s always had a tactical eye, and it wasn’t long before he rose through the ranks to become a military leader a few centuries back.” She drops her gaze onto her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. “The recon team brought back bad intel, and because of it, he lost an entire squadron of men. It wasn’t his fault, but he’s never stopped blaming himself. So now he’s obsessive about looking at things from every possible angle to the point of making himself sick.”
My stomach flips. “That’s why he doesn’t sleep much on the best of days, isn’t it?”
She swallows and nods. “Nightmares. They used to be a lot worse, so be grateful you missed those dark times.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, replaying all of the signs I missed because I was too caught up in my own life blowing up. Feeling a little nauseous, I head to the register.
“Let's bag this stuff up, I think I'm ready to go home."
Chapter 11
Stone
––––––––
This is stupid, I don'tknow what I was thinking.
With Amara out for the day, it was a good opportunity to make a store run and finally get this place stocked up for her. The idea struck me while I was there and seemed perfect at the time, but now I’m second guessing myself. An alert chimes on my phone as Carina’s car passes the sensor at the end of the driveway, and I shake off my nerves to meet them in the foyer.
No turning back now.
The door is just being pushed open when I arrive. She’s caught up in conversation with Carina over her shoulder, a massive grin on her face, and color high in her cheeks, a far cry from the woman I stitched up a couple of months ago. Catching sight of me, the smile doesn’t fall even a fraction of an inch, and it does dangerous things to my battered heart.
