“Remo checked you out. He’s a doctor, don’t know if Embry told you that. He said the obvious about your throat but he wants you to come in for x-rays tomorrow,” I inform her.
“He also said not to talk so much,” Thorn chimes in with a small smile.
“That’s good, you’re off the hook to listen to me, then,” she whispers to her brother, a smile on her face.
“I’m going to take you back home. He said you need to rest,” I start to type a text, but she puts her hand on mine to stop me.
“If the others are having fun, let them stay,” she rasps.
“I should have stayed with you,” Thorn says sadly.
“No, you needed to have some fun and if you want to stay, it’s okay,” she whispers.
“Thorn, can you let the others know? You can drive my car home. I’ll take my mom’s,” I toss him my keys.
“Are you sure?” Thorn asks Briar and she smiles at him and nods.
“Thank you for looking out for her,” Thorn says as he stands to leave.
“Anything for her,” I tell him and smile at Briar.
“Have fun,” she says.
“Not too much fun, we have to be at the gym in the morning. The press are probably already camped out,” I roll my eyes.
“The great Kingston Storm returns to the cage, that’s huge news,” Thorn snorts, waving at his sister before returning to the party.
I lift Briar into my arms and carry her out to find Tristan in the hallway, leaning against the wall.
“Hey,” he says to Briar.
“Hey,” she whispers back to him.
“Thorn is staying, he has my keys. If you want to stay that’s fine,” I say as Briar wiggles to be put down.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Briar,” Tristan says softly as she goes to hug him.
“Thank you for being there,” she says, giving him another hug before she reaches for me.
Tristan returns to the party and I carry her down the back hall to the garage, grabbing a pair of keys to one of the cars. I help her into the passenger seat, before getting in and taking her home.
Once back at the hotel, I order tea for her and draw her a bath, letting her relax. I throw on some sweats and go to the kitchen to grab a beer when Tristan and Thorn walk in.
“We didn’t want to stay. I want to be near my sister,” Thorn states.
“Caleb and Holden are going to crash there. He asked me to bring his bag in the morning,” Tristan adds.
I grab a couple more beers and motion to the balcony patio. I hand them the beers before sitting, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.
“He needs to go down, King,” Thorn seethes.
“I know. He is slick and keeps slipping through our fingers,” I nod, taking a swig of beer.
“Like you said the only way to get him is in the cage, take what he wants. Hayes could be on standby,” Tristan says.
“I don’t know if he would take the bait, though,” I reply.
“He will. He’s that cocky. Give him something he can’t refuse, a shot at another title. He’ll show because he thinks he’s untouchable,” Tristan says.