“What are you thinking about?” Griff asks. “You have that look.”
“What look?”
“The look you get when you’re proud of something you’re about to do that’s reckless as fuck. Your trouble look.”
He’s not wrong.
“I was just thinking about how badass Ivy is. Breaking out of her restraints and swimming to shore, pulling Claire along all while she had a concussion.” I smile sweetly at him. “You guys are lucky to have such strong women in your lives.”
“Agreed.”
“So, did Con and Lev say anything about how it went? Did they get any answers?”
“They didn’t say.” He pulls his glasses off and closes his laptop. “I think we should give them space when they get back. I have a feeling it was an intense day for them.”
I narrow my eyes. He definitely knows more than he’s letting on.
“I’m just saying that as a suggestion,” he holds his hands up and looks past me as Ivy joins us.
“What’s a suggestion?” Ivy asks.
“That we give Levi and Con space when they get back,” I answer.
She looks at me with a raised eyebrow before turning back to Griff. “What do you know that we don’t?”
The corner of his mouth tilts up. “Claire looks like she could use a blanket.”
“Coward,” I say as he walks past me.
“Shamelessly.” He kisses my forehead. “I learned my lessons about girl gangs before I could walk.”
“I don’t like when they keep secrets from us,” Ivy says once he’s gone.
“Me too. Those three are always completely honest with me, so whatever it is, it must have been intense.”
Just as I finish talking, the door swings open. Griff shoots to his feet, hand reaching behind him for his gun. Levi walks in, and we all relax for a split second. Then we realize his face is bruised and cut open. Connor walks in next, and he’s in even worse shape. There are spatters of blood on his shirt and jeans, the beginning of a black eye, a split lip, and bruised knuckles. They even both have grass and mud stains on their shirts.
Ivy and I share a sideways glance. Our guys have clearly fought and made up. They’re both beat and bloody, but their body language is back to normal. To my surprise, Connor goes straight to Ivy and pulls her in for a tight hug. He leans down and kisses the top of her head before letting her go and grabbing my hand.
He pulls me down the hall and into our bedroom, closing the door behind us. I can see the concern in his eyes, but it’s shadowed by a darkness I rarely see. Occasionally he wakes up from nightmares with a haunted look in his eyes, but this is different.
I pull him to me by his shirt. Our lips meet, and I immediately open for him, tasting his tongue as it sweeps into my mouth. I can feel him holding back, afraid to hurt me.
We’re not doing that.
I walk him backwards into our bathroom, stripping his clothes off as we go. First his blood-stained shirt, revealing his chiseled chest and abs. Then I unbutton and unzip his pants, pushing them down his hips. I drop to my knees in front of him and hook my fingers in the waistband of his underwear, pulling them down his legs. He steps out of his pants and looks down at me before fisting his hand in my hair.
“I can’t do this right now. I shouldn’t,” he says as he starts to softly massage my scalp and pull his hand from my head.
“I’m fine,” I say with my hands on his hips and tilt my head back to look up at him.
“I’m not,” he chokes out. “You’re not. None of this is fucking fine!” he roars, slamming his fist into the wall just to the left of the mirror.
“Hey.” I stand and grab his face. “It’ll be okay. Nothing is beyond fixable.”
“You were stabbed in the back. You lost a kidney.” He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. “They were going to sell you and Claire into sex slavery. They were going to rape and murder Ivy and throw her body over the side of a cargo ship in the Atlantic.” A single, lone tear escapes his eye. “And everything is my fault,” he grits out.
“It’s not your fault,” he’s being ridiculous, and I’m not going to allow it.
“It is,” his green eyes harden and go cold, giving me a look I haven’t been on the receiving end of in years. “I want to be alone.”
“No.”
“Leave, Lilith!” he yells, his hands balling into fists.
Tears prick my eyes at the combination of his tone and his use of my given name instead of the nickname he’s always lovingly called me when we’re alone. I blink them back and straighten my spine.
“I know you are hurting right now, and I’m going to love you through that hurt,” I raise up onto my toes and kiss his cheek. “But I’m also not going to allow you to treat me like shit. I know my worth and so do you.” With that, I turn and walk back into our bedroom, closing the door behind me quietly.
I consider crawling in bed and going to sleep, but as much pain as I’m in, my mind is too restless. I want to know what happened today. I walk out into the living room, hoping Levi is still out there. He’s not, and neither are Griff and Claire. I walk down the hall and find Griff, Levi, and Ivy in her room.
“Hey,” I say as I walk in. They are all huddled up, Ivy’s cleaning off Levi’s face. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Everything that happened today.” Levi winces when Ivy runs an alcohol wipe over a cut on his face. “How’s Con?”
“He kicked me out. Wouldn’t let me take care of him.” I try to play off the hurt and not let it show, but Griff reaches over and rubs my back in a comforting circle.
“Give him
