“But he’s the adultier adult. He should be the one to make the first move,” she pointed out.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m the adultier adult, too. And I go out of my way to avoid people.”
“You’re the exception,” Clem pointed out, her eyes once again straying to Madden’s closed office door.
“Cannel?”
I looked up to find Will standing there with Soren at his side.
Soren was introduced to me before the workout started, and I decided that I liked him.
Even though I hadn’t extended my hand for him to shake.
He seemed to understand the need for distance, which was a very nice thing.
I was used to having to explain my rudeness, and it was a relief not to have to explain away my actions.
“Soren wanted us to go out to eat to…” He trailed off as his eyes caught on something over my shoulder. His brows furrowed, and he looked toward Madden’s office where the door was firmly shut. “Let me go get Madden. There’s a new person coming in.”
I looked over my shoulder just as Will hurried toward Madden’s door.
My stomach fell at the sight of the newcomer.
The newcomer’s eyes were on my brother, though, since there were two young women at my back, and Soren at my front.
I was all but hidden to him. Thank the good, sweet Lord.
Thief turned around, and I saw the moment he registered who’d just come through the doors.
Madden and Will came out of his office at the same time that Thief yelled, “Get the fuck out of here right now, before I fuck you up for a second time!”
Beau rolled to a stop right inside the doors and said, “I’m here to find Cannel. She’s not at her place. I was told she was here.”
Bullshit.
He wasn’t told anything because I didn’t make it a habit to let anyone but my brothers, and now Will, know where I was going.
I also made sure to make my movements sporadic because I didn’t want to have my routine studied…figured out and make it easier for someone to know when they could get to me.
“I don’t fuckin’ care what you are here to do. Get the fuck out,” he repeated.
God, I fucking loved my brother.
Getting more upset by the second, I could see the vein in Thief’s head throbbing as if at any second he was about to fuckin’ explode.
“Oh, shit,” Soren whispered. “Is that an ex?”
I turned to look at Soren.
“That’s my ex-fiancé, Beauregard. Everyone calls him Toot, his call sign. Or his old call sign. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him in a year,” I admitted.
Clementine bumped me. “He looks sad.”
“He looks like a douchebag,” Soren muttered under his breath.
Clem snickered. “He is kind of a douchebag. You’ll see.”
And boy, did they see.
Will finally made his way back to us, his hand reaching out to hold mine.
Me, not thinking clearly about how well I was hidden where I was at, I took it and stood, moving into his body and curling my arms around his torso.
My gaze once again went back to Beau.
He looked tired, and old.
He also looked at me the moment I stood, and his eyes narrowed.
“Get your hands off my fiancée.”
I would’ve snorted at his words, but Will’s hand tightened around my hip, making me instantly want to put him at ease.
“I can assure you that he’s not been my anything for a long time,” I promised.
Will let up on his grip at my hip, carefully breathing out.
He looked pissed as hell, and I couldn’t blame him.
From what little I’d told him about Beau…and whatever he’d gotten from his partner, as well as whom he’d called after learning of the problems…yeah. Beau didn’t have a fan in Will.
“Please leave.” Madden stated with a quiet intensity that was surprising. “You have two cops here. An ER doctor with enough clout to make anything we ask him to say sound convincing, and a man that skirts the letter of the law well enough to play on both sides. Trust me when I say, it’s time for you to leave.”
Madden’s quiet words did nothing to deter Beau.
“I’ll speak with her, and then I’ll go,” Beau tried.
“You’ll leave, or I’ll kick you out of here, wheelchair and all,” Will said, his words sounding calm, and even, but coming off as anything but.
“She doesn’t like being that close to men,” Beau tried.
“She doesn’t,” Will agreed. “But being one of the trusted ones, I can. Notice she’s clinging to me, and not running to you?”
I closed my eyes tight at the pain that crossed over Beau’s face.
He knew what a trusted one was, I was sure.
Kansas would’ve told him.
Though Kansas and Beau weren’t that close when all of Beau’s misdeeds came to light after I was found, he still gave updates on me when Beau asked.
I hadn’t ever asked him to stop, so I was sure that he thought it was okay to give updates on me.