Jess steps into Kane’s arms, and though Luc’s eyes flash up and watch them every few minutes, he doesn’t object to the tattoo covered almost-stranger hugging his baby sister. He’s too stressed to care. Or maybe he trusts his sister’s judgement. Or perhaps he’s scared of saying something, since we all know Kane carries a weapon everywhere he goes.
The other guys, my best friends, stand around the small room. Everyone is here for their own reasons, and everyone has held her hand at some point today, so me sitting down and stroking her fingers is perfectly acceptable.
They just don’t know the thoughts that flash through my mind while I do it. They don’t know that I’m a traitor. A thief.
Isn’t one of the seven deadly sins about coveting what’s not yours?
I’ve coveted Laine Lenaghan for longer than Scotch’s kid has been alive.
What about thievery? I’m certain that’s one of the sins that’ll banish me to the seven circles of hell. But it doesn’t scare me. Given half the chance, I’d steal her away and show her a life where she’d never want for anything again; material possessions, love, attention. If I could just have one chance, I could make it better for both of us… but I can’t.
Laine’s not allowed to be alone.
At all.
The doctors were here a few hours ago, and the police, too. She’s been placed under a mandatory hold. Seventy-two hours minimum, where she won’t be left unsupervised for a single second.
She’s a danger to herself – she tried to kill herself.
I take a deep breath, glance away from her almost translucent eyelids, and study the cracked ceiling. I count the breaths that pass through her lips. I count the beeps that come from the machines that monitor her heart.
But I can’t look at her. I need a minute.
I’mfuriousthat she’d try to leave.
I’mdevastatedthat she’d try to leave.
I’mterrifiedthat she might hate me for not letting her go.
But most suffocating of all, is the fear that she’ll try again. Eventually her hold will end. She’ll be released into an outpatient clinic of some sort, then after that, she’ll be discharged and sent home.
Her family is large and overbearing enough that we’ll be able to watch her for a while, but she’s spent two years pretending everything with Graham is okay. She’s been acting for two whole years, so who’s to say she won’t act again? A year from now, a thousand smiles and a pat on the hand that says she’s okay, at some point, we’ll trust that she’s okay…
Is that when she’ll finish what she started?
And for that year, will she hate me in secret because I was the one that ruined her plans?
“Ang?” Scotch, mybest-best friend, draws my attention. “You wanna go home for a bit? Have a shower.” He nods to my hands; stained with grease, stained with her blood. “Clean up and catch some sleep. You haven’t taken a minute since you got here.”
I shake my head and turn back to Laine. Her lips are puffy. They always have been; puffy, full, sensual, with that little bow in the center.
“Ang…”
“No.” I clear my throat and lean into Jess when she places her hand on my shoulder. Maybe she does know. Kane might not have told her, but maybe she knows anyway. I’ve always felt pretty obvious about it. “I don’t wanna go.”
“There’s a shower over there.” Jess nods toward the private bathroom.
“You first.” I pat her hand and let her pretend it’s not shaking. “You didn’t rest yet either.” I nod to the single recliner in the opposite corner to where I sit. “You didn’t leave. You shower first, then I’ll go second.”
“You promise?” She squeezes my shoulder to demand my attention. “Do you promise to shower after me? I’ll go first, you go second.”
I study Laine’s twin sister. Kane stands right behind her, the sentinel that’ll protect her with his life. I thought Luc was weird about Kari. Hell, even Scotch and Sammy are pretty gooey about each other, but I’ve never in my life met someone as intense and scary as Kane Bishop.
He’s ready to fuck anyone up if they look at Jess the wrong way. But, strangely, where the other guys watch him and stay on guard in case he decides to pull a weapon, I kind of love him for it.
I’m notin lovewith Jess, but I love her enough to want her taken care of.
“Okay.” I pat her hand. “Tag team. You first, then tag me in.”