“It’s okay,” she said softly.
This woman h
ad experienced too much pain in her life, and it killed me that here I was, inflicting more.
Her hand came up, wrapping around my forearm and squeezing as her eyes met mine. “It doesn’t hurt. I promise.”
I wanted to pull her into my arms again and never let go. Instead, I focused on the task in front of me—cleaning Addie’s wound thoroughly so there was no chance of infection. Once it was clean, I let the skin dry. I turned to my sister. “Can I get an assist?”
She held up her gloved hands. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“I need you to hold the sides of the cut in place while I glue.” I turned to Addie. “This might hurt a little.”
Addie gave me a wobbly smile. “It’ll be quick.”
Here she was, reassuring me when that was what I should be doing for her. I closed my eyes for a moment before I started prepping the glue, trying to rein in the rage pulsing through my veins. “Ready.”
Hadley held Addie’s cut together as gently as possible. I knew it had to hurt, but Addie didn’t even flinch. It only stoked the anger I’d beaten down to a simmer. I moved as quickly as possible, putting the glue in place and letting it dry. “All right, we’re done.”
Addie glanced at Hadley and then me. “Thank you.”
“Take the painkiller,” I ordered, pushing the pills and the juice in her direction.
Hadley made a face at me. “You need to work on that bedside manner, brother dearest.”
I scowled at her.
“Beckett!” Hayes’ voice bellowed from the entryway.
“Oh, boy. Two cranky alpha males in a too-small space,” Hadley muttered, snapping off her gloves and tossing them into the trash.
“Hads,” Calder chided, wrapping an arm around her.
“We’re back here,” I called, moving closer to Addie’s side. As Hayes appeared, fury lighting his features, Addie burrowed into me. I glared at my brother. “Dial it back a notch, would you?”
“Mac just told me someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the front window. They could’ve killed you!”
I pulled Addie closer. “Does he know for sure that’s what it was?”
Hayes scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “He said ninety-five percent certainty.”
“Shit.”
Addie’s hand fisted tighter in my tee. “Oh, God, my dad.” She slipped off the stool. “It had to be him. He warned me.” Panic gripped her features as her gaze jumped around the room. “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. I’ll pay you back for the damages, and I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
“The hell you will,” I barked.
Addie turned tear-filled eyes to me. “I can’t put you at risk by staying here. Put your brother’s house at risk.”
I moved then, wrapping my arms around Addie and pulling her against my body. “This isn’t on you. Even if it was your father, none of this is your fault.”
“It wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t here.”
My chest burned, seizing in a painful squeeze. “I want you here. Always.”
Hayes cleared his throat. “He’s right, Addie. None of this is on you unless you lit the match and threw that bottle through the window. But I need you to walk me through why you think it might’ve been Allen.”
Addie let out a shuddering breath and turned her head to meet Hayes’ stare. “A few weeks ago, I had a run-in with my dad.” Her body trembled against me as the memory took hold. “He told me my behavior was unacceptable.”