* * *
Soaked with sweat,Jason racked his weights and looked around the small gym. He'd run a little over three miles on the treadmill and lifted heavy shit until every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop. And the rage inside of him still refused to fade.
"Feel better?"
Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Teagan leaning against the doorframe. "Not really."
"That's a shame. I was hoping you'd work off some of that mad before I pissed you off all over again." Her voice was far too cheerful, and he briefly wondered how Luca would feel if he gagged her. Knowing the men who owned the lodge, there had to be something he could use to shut her up.
"Go away, Teagan. I'm not in the mood."
"You know what I'm not in the mood for?" The cheerfulness faded, leaving behind the hard-nosed cop he knew and loved. "My sister being so upset, she can't even eat, and locking herself in her room."
"Goddammit. She didn't eat?" Guilt threatened to burn a hole in his gut.
"How could she, with you glaring at her?"
"I wasn't glaring." Maybe he had been glaring, a little. But not at her. Just at the way she picked at her food like she was terrified of it.
"You were." Teagan's voice softened a bit. "Look, I get it. I'm pissed, too. Knowing the absolute hell she's lived through makes me feel all stabby. But we can't take it out on her."
"I'm not."
She shrugged. "Maybe you don't mean to, but you are."
The anger he hadn't succeeded in burning off burst out of him. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, Teagan? Just pretend like everything is fine? Am I just supposed to ignore the way she jumps if someone says her name too loudly, or that look in her eyes when she thinks she's made a mistake?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what you should do. At least when she's around. You want to come down here and lift some weights or beat up on the bag over there? Go for it. Just don't let her know, at least not right now. Maybe down the road, you can let her see it more, when she's not jumping at her own fucking shadow." Her wince nearly made him smile. "Crap. Can we just keep that one between us? It slipped out."
The rage had died down to embers. Still there, but at least no longer burning so hot it threatened to consume him. "I want to kill him, Tea."
"Join the club."
Jason shook his head. "No. I don't just want him dead. I want to hurt him. I want to break every bone in his body until he knows the same fear and horror he put her through. And then I want him to die the slowest, most painful death I can think of." Lifting his head, he forced himself to meet her eyes. "And that terrifies me. If I can feel that way, what makes me any different than him?"
"Oh, Jay." In a distinctly un-Teagan move, she crossed the room and threw her arms around his neck. "It's completely different." Pulling away, she smiled up at him and placed a hand on his cheek. "What you're feeling is borne of love and a fierce need to protect. Men like Branson Montgomery can't hold a candle to men like you. He hurts because he likes to. Because it gives him power. You are nothing alike. I see the difference. More importantly, Evie sees it. You're her safe place, Jay. Don't ruin that by making her constantly worry about upsetting you. Okay?"
"You're a bossy little thing, you know that?"
Laughing, she patted his cheek. "It's come to my attention once or twice. If it makes you feel better, Ro is giving the same lecture to Luca and O as we speak."
He raised an eyebrow, more for form than anything. "Aren't we supposed to be the ones doing the lecturing?"
"She's our sister."
Unable to argue with her simple, unassailable logic, he followed her back upstairs to where Ro was, indeed, lecturing her husband and Luca in what O called her 'lawyer mode'.
"In conclusion, lay the hell off of my sister and we won't have a problem."
"Careful, sunshine." Octavius's voice held a note of warning. "We'll reign in the killer instincts around her; you reign in the attitude. Do I make myself clear?"
Lawyer Ro disappeared with a quick, happy laugh. "Yes, Daddy."
"Good girl."
Luca shook his head. "You spoil her." His gaze locked on Jason. "Better?"
"Yeah. Going to shower and check on Evie."