I nodded understandingly. “Is that what happened with your ex-fiancé? Was he one?”
She shuddered, the mere mention of him apparently too much for her. I didn’t want to bring him up, but at the same time, it was going to help me get a better understanding of her.
“Yeah, he’s a rogue wolf also,” she admitted. “Not that I saw it as a red flag at first. But then it seems like I missed a lot of red flags I should have spotted.”
All of a sudden, an ice cold thought struck me. Were we both talking about the same stray wolf here? Was Brady the one who killed Kat? A part of me really wanted to ask Miranda so I could finally fill in that missing piece of the puzzle, but I stopped that small part. I listened to the much bigger realization that if I brought this up, it would only give poor Miranda more guilt to live with. None of this was down to her, but she carried that blood on her hands regardless.
I suppose it didn’t really matter. The out come was the same.
“Well, you can’t blame yourself for that either,” I reminded her instead. “Because we are all blinded by feelings at some point in our lives. It’s unavoidable.”
She mused on this for a moment, looking like someone who didn’t quite know how to word what she wanted to say next. “Is that what you think I’m doing?” she finally, tentatively asked. “With Cole and Ivan? Do you think I’m being blinded by them?”
I let out a low, throaty chuckle. “You know what, I really don’t. Not at all. I know they might seem rough and ready on the outside, their military background easy to guess at, but they are great guys deep down. Both of them. Cole is more out spoken, Ivan is more subtle, but they both have amazing qualities, which I’m sure is what drew you to them in the first place.”
“Yeah, you might be right about that. I do like them equally for different reasons. I’m just worried that my life is such a whirlwind and I’m dragging everyone in to it.”
I rested my hand on her shoulder to reassure her as best I could. “No one would be dragged into it if they didn’t want to be a part of your life. The twins obviously care for you a lot, as do I, which is why we all want to be there to help you. And not just you. I mean, whatever is going on here, if your ex-fiancé is involved, we all need to be careful.”
“I hate him for that.” She shook her head angrily. “I hate Brady for everything he has done to me, but even more I hate him for what he has done to everyone else. The she-wolves he has killed, the fear he has put into people… it isn’t right. He needs to be punished for all of it.”
“Yeah, I get it. I hope he’s brought to justice.” I leaned in and kissed Miranda’s cheek. She was important to me and she had helped me. She was always going to be a big part of my life, no matter what.
“Hey! Miranda, over here. Come over here for a moment.”
We both jumped as a booming voice echoed across the park. I knew that voice and so did she. It was one of the twins. Cole, I imagined. Had his jealous streak come out just because I grazed my lips over Miranda’s cheek? It was only a friendly kiss, but maybe even that was too much for him. I could understand that; I would feel the same way about the girl I liked.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to let you know that I have body guards at the moment.” She laughed as she waved at Cole. “They are trying to make sure I’m safe all the time.”
“That’s really nice of them. How are they going to feel about me?”
“Well, I haven’t exactly said anything about us,” she confessed with a blush. “Because I didn’t quite know where things stood with us. But it isn’t going to be a problem. Maybe we should go over there and clear the air with them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to get in the way of you guys. You have a lot to discuss and work out. I’m just going to head back.” This wasn’t something I was doing because I was afraid of Cole and Ivan. It just wasn’t my place. I’d already gotten in the middle of their relationship without even realizing it. If I wanted to remain friends with Miranda, then I needed to take a step back. There was no way I wanted any of that jealousy flung my way when it didn’t need to be.
Bang!
What the hell was that?
“Oh my God!” Miranda screamed loudly as we both watched in horror as Cole slumped down to the ground. “It’s Cole. He’s been shot.”