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“All things considered. Mom called this evening to tell me she couldn’t breathe. When I asked how long that’d been going on for, she said ‘a couple of months.’ A couple of months! I was thinking, for how many hours or something, you know?”

My mind goes back to my mother’s stroke. She’d tried to call me but wasn’t able to talk.

It’s a reminder that people are counting on me. Brennan and Liam are right. Now’s the time to be cautious. People need me to stick around.

All over again, thinking of Dean and Ella make my gut clench. “That sounds like a lot. I’m sorry.”

“You and me both. I’m going to have to drive up and see her for a little while, I think. Will you tell Dean? Ella was looking forward to going to the water park with me next weekend.”

“Uh, I’ll try. You might want to shoot him a text, though. We still haven’t really talked.”

“Oh, Mike.” Her voice is a little too understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I can’t get into that right now. “What was it you didn’t want to say in writing?”

“Right. Sorry. Well, given what it sounds like the situation is, I thought maybe you didn’t know that Dean’s dad showed up on our way to the salon this afternoon. Doled out some threats where Ella was concerned.”

“Shit.” Now I’m wishing I’d pressed Brennan for that gun after all. Nobody’s allowed to threaten Ella. Or Dean.

“Exactly.”

“How did Dean seem?”

“Agonized. Pissed. I think he…” Her voice lowers to a whisper I have to strain to hear. “I got the impression he’s thinking he needs to do something about it, you know what I mean?”

My racing pulse threatens to blow sky-high. If Dean’s father pushed him like that, it means he really threatened Ella. “You’re sure?”

“Well, I wasn’t there for a lot of what happened. He had me take Ella out of there. But when he came back? I’ve never seen him that way, Michael.”

I press my lips together. That argument with Dean rings in my ears. The one where I told him he was on his own.

It’s probably the worst thing I could have said to him. In all the times Dean and I have gone in circles, all the toxic history between us, I’ve never abandoned him like that.

And I won’t now.

Dean would do anything in the world for Ella, but this thing with his father? He’s too guilt riddled. Even if he hit back at his father, I’m not sure he could handle the fallout.

I need to help him, even if he thinks he doesn’t want me to. “Thanks, Eve. I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay.” She sighs. “Whatever’s going on between you two, I swear I’m not trying to meddle. But anyone can see how much you need each other. It’s not right, the two of you not speaking.”

She’s right. “I know. I’ll take care of it,” I reassure her. The same way Liam tried to reassure me. Maybe I don’t know what I’ll do to fix things with Dean, but I know I won’t leave him alone again.

The sound of arguing grabs my attention. There’s a petite brunette sitting on the lap of a man in a tux who looks like he’s got a foot in height and plenty of pounds on her. Not a huge guy, but bigger than she is. She’s scrambling to get away, but he’s got his arm around her waist like a shepherd’s crook, with his other hand gripping her wrist. Hard enough to bruise, if I’m seeing things accurately.

And here I am with no place to put all my recent frustration. How convenient.

“Eve, I’ll have to talk to you later. Let us all know how your mom is doing, okay?”

I’m already halfway across the room by the time she’s said her goodbyes.

“Must feel good, overpowering someone half your size. Does that make you feel like you’re worth something, big man?”

Stopping myself short of making physical contact, I glance around to see a lot of curious eyes on us. People have stopped mid-scene. Daniel Corvus is a powerful guy and I have zero authority here. But I can’t simply ignore this girl scrambling for safety.

The man stands, keeping his hand on the woman’s wrist. “Feels like none of your fucking business.”

“Okay. Sure.” I tilt my head to look at the young woman. “Maybe I misread the situation here. All sorts of things happen in this club, so if I interrupted something, I apologize. Did I interrupt something?”