I go in and out of consciousness. The meds are strong and knock me out most of the time, but whenever I come to, the room feels more and more tense.
Sol looks like he’s about to go on a murder spree.
Finn’s face is a cold blank mask, yet I can feel the rage thrumming beneath it.
Dutch hasn’t looked this vengeful since we were kids. The twist of his lips, the clench of his jaw—it’s all telling. He’s normally better at hiding his emotions.
Marriage made him soft.
Or maybe I really look that pathetic.
“You’re crowding me,” I complain. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to be asleep,” Sol says.
Finn slouches in the chair beside Sol and thumbs through a book.
Are so many visitors even allowed in here?
The moment the thought hits, I dispense it. Rules don’t apply to us. Dutch and Finn must have worked it out so that no one questioned why five people are stuffed into my room for the night.
“Go home,” I tell them.
“No.” Dutch glowers at me from the chair where he’s slumped down. Cadey is curled in his lap, her head on his chest and her knees drawn up around her. Dutch dragged a blanket over her body, but she still doesn’t look comfortable.
The door opens. I’m surprised when Grey walks in, holding a cup of coffee. Her eyes land on me and widen. For a second, she seems sheepish as if there’s a part of her that wonders if I even want her here.
How could she think I wouldn’t?
Just looking at her makes it hard to breathe.
“Zane,” she says quietly. “You’re up.”
I keep staring at her, drinking her in. Her hair looks wet and so do her clothes. She must have gotten doused by the sprinklers tonight.
She squirms. “Uh… are you in pain? Should I call a nurse?”
Dutch glances at me.
Finn folds his arms over his chest.
Sol blinks sleepily.
“Everyone out,” I say as firmly as I can. Keeping my eyes on Grey, I add, “Except you.”
Her eyebrows fly up.
“Don’t over-do it, Zane,” Sol warns. “You just got out of surgery.”
I put a hand on the bed so I can shove myself up. Unfortunately, I’m stopped by a giant cast around my wrist.
My eyes widen at the sight of it.
“How long until I can take this off?” I ask the room.
No one speaks.
“How long?” I grunt.
“We don’t know.” Sol clears his throat. “The damage is bad, Zane.”
I meet his eyes and sense what he isn’t saying.
A flash of brutally dark emotions overwhelms me.
“What did the doctors say?”
They seem reluctant to tell me.
Finally, Finn breaks the ice. “You might not be able to drum again.”
Sol remains quiet.
Dutch glances away.
In the stark and tense silence, I laugh.
Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy.
Maybe I am.
No, I know I am.
That’s why I don’t need any of their damn pity.
“Get the hell out of my room. Dutch, let Cadey sleep in a bed tonight. Finn, Sol’s parents are probably freaking out. Send them a text and tell them he’s sleeping over after the dance and Sol…”
He goes tense.
“For the love of—let someone clean that ugly mug of yours. There’s so much blood you look like an assassin.”
“His pain meds must be kicking in,” Dutch says.
He’s right. The pain is muted, but my head is still pounding and my wrist is still numb. “I’ll kick you out myself if I have to.”
Dutch lifts his chin stubbornly. “We’re staying. Hall might come back. Or—”
“Hall isn’t dumb enough to strike twice and you know it.”
My twin glares at me.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re injured. Maybe permanently,” Finn says outright.
I smirk. “Have I ever, one day in my life, let anyone besides me decide what I can and cannot do?”
Sol licks his lips. His voice is stern. “You can’t make a joke out of everything. This is serious.”
I look at each of my brothers. They’re so worried about me that they can’t even hide it. “I’m going to play the drums again.”
Dutch glances down as if he’s trying to hide his pity.
“And I’m going to break Hall’s legs myself. So don’t touch him until I recover.”
Sol opens his mouth as if he’ll argue.
“Out.” I order, more intensely this time. “Go home. All of you.”
Finn is the first to walk out.
Sol follows reluctantly.
Dutch cradles Cadey and shares a knowing look with Grey before carrying his wife out of the room.
The door clicks shut.
It’s just me and Grey.
“Was that necessary?” She sets the coffee cup down. “They’re all worried about you. Cadey just managed to fall asleep after checking on you every three seconds.”
“Come here.”
Her eyes flicker away. “Zane.”
“Come. Here.”
She hesitates as if she’s considering whether to ignore that instruction.
I bawl out in pain, curling my wrist to my chest. “Ah!”
“Zane!” Grey rushes over, her eyes wide and frightened.
When she’s close, I grab her hand and pull her to sit on the bed with me. She topples over and narrowly catches her balance.
I use my good hand to keep a hold on her. “Was that so hard?”
Her nostrils flare. “Since you’re feeling so much better, I think I should leave too.”
I tighten my grip. “I need to talk to you about the extra boxes we found.”
“Sol told me about them.”
“Have you looked inside?”
“I’ve been kind of busy.”
I smile. The fact that she didn’t rush to open those boxes but spent all night by my side tells me a lot of things she’d probably never admit.
“Don’t overthink it. I had to stay. If I didn’t, your brothers and Sol were going to commit murder.”
I shrug. “Even if they did, they wouldn’t have gotten caught.”
“You sound so proud of that.”
“I don’t make the rules.”
“No, you just break them.” She sighs. “I’m a teacher. I’m not going to sit back and condone a crime like murder.”
“We can’t just let him walk, tiger.” I grimace as a wave of pain hits my head. “He crossed the line.”
“Who said anything about letting him walk?”
I look into her beautiful brown eyes and see a glint of darkness. “What do you think we should do?”
“You’re asking me?”
I wait, keeping my gaze steady on her.
She plays with a loose thread in the hospital blanket. “Hall is expecting a violent retaliation. If you give it to him, he’ll be ready. Violence for violence is too expected.”
“Your solution?”
“The best revenge is tailored to the individual, but it’s all the same. You hit them where it hurts.”
“And where is that?”
“His pride,” she says. Her eyes flash to mine, locking deep and making my skin burn.
I see a glimpse of the Grey she keeps under lock and key.
The one who’s fearless and daring and reckless.
Like me.
How did I not see it before?
“What?” She touches the back of her neck self-consciously.
Freaking hell, she’s gorgeous.
“I want you so bad right now.”
Her eyes widen and she turns her face away.
If I wasn’t hooked to an IV, she would be naked.
But since I only have one working hand, I bring hers to my lips and kiss the back of her knuckles. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“We’ll do it your way.” I glance at Grey and wink. “We’ll hit him where it hurts.”
“Without breaking the law.”
I slide my thumb over her cheek. “Tiger, I am the law.”
She pouts.
Something weird starts battering around in my stomach. The hell? Are those… butterflies?
It gets worse the more she pushes out her lip.
“Fine,” I grumble. “No breaking the law.”
Finally, she smiles.
Seeing that lush mouth curl up drives me crazy. How often has Grey smiled at me? I can count the number of times on one hand.
I need that smile aimed in my direction.
Need it like I need air.
A phone rings.
I scowl. Who the hell is calling her this late at night?
“It’s Dutch,” Grey says, her eyebrows pinched.
I watch her answer the video call.
“How is he?” Dutch’s voice sounds guttural.
“What has it been? Ten minutes since I kicked you out? Damn. Give me some room,” I mumble.
Grey turns the phone so my scowl is in the shot.
Finn and Sol have also joined the video call.
“I thought those meds would have you knocked out by now,” Sol says.
My eyelids are starting to droop, but I’ll never admit that I’m tired. “Why did you call?”
“To check if you’re dead,” Dutch says.
“B.S.” I glance up and see a shadow moving outside my room door. Quickly, I drag my eyes back to the phone. “Did you hire someone to watch me?”
Grey shoots a surprised look at the entrance.
“It’s just a precaution,” Dutch says. “If you don’t want us there, fine. But we need to know you’re safe.”
They’re so damn overprotective.
“About Hall,” I meet Grey’s eyes, “I’ve decided how to proceed.”
They all lean in.
Sol asks eagerly, “What do you want to do with him first? Burn his house down? Drive his car into a river?”
I see when Grey flinches.
“We’ll hurt him deeper than that.”
Dutch purses his lips. “What do you mean?”
“I want him looking over his shoulder every day and night. I want him to beg for a ticket out of Redwood and never get one. I want him crawling on his hands and knees in front of us.” The fingers of my good hand form a fist. “Willing to eat dirt, lick our shoes, do whatever we tell him because he knows the alternative.”
“You want him humiliated,” Finn says, getting it first. He always does.
“He’s going to expect retaliation. He won’t expect this. In the meantime, we get our weapons ready. When we bury him, we bury his family, everyone he cares about.” My voice goes cold. “We don’t start wars.” I glance at Grey. “But we end them.”
Dutch nods.
Finn gets a little gleam in his eyes. “I’ll text Jinx. See what secrets I can buy.”
Sol laughs softly. “This is way too refined of a plan for you, Zane. Did that knock in the head switch your personality?”
“Let’s just say there’s an angel on my shoulder.” I smirk at Grey. “A pretty little angel of death.”
She clears her throat and pulls the phone back. “All of you. Get some rest.”
Her finger taps the ‘end’ button.
“You too.” Grey looks sternly down at me.
Exhaustion is trying to pull me under, but my mind is strikingly clear. And the stern ‘teacher’ tone of hers really makes me want to get her naked.
“If you want me to sleep…” I pat the bed.
She glances at the space beside me and wavers.
The need to touch her is overwhelming but when I reach for her, she eases back. Her shoulders sink and I know whatever she says and does next will be to draw the line between us.
Her voice is strained. “Zane, about tonight… in the classroom, I—”
“You know what? I am tired.” I press the button and my bed starts flattening.
Grey’s eyes remain on me, cloudy and conflicted.
I close my eyes, but I can hear her soft, labored breathing.
In the darkness, I assure her, “I know what you’re scared of, but you don’t have to be. Nothing that happened tonight was a mistake and if I have to spend the rest of my life proving that to you, I will.”
“I’ll take it that the meds are talking and you won’t remember a word of this tomorrow.”
The meds have me feeling like I’m sinking into the mattress, but my mind is still sharp. In fact, the truth is clearer than ever.
Grey is mine.
She became mine the moment our eyes met in the bar.
She proved she was mine when I kissed her and every time I walked down the hallways and saw her in the distance.
She will always be mine.
But I have a feeling that convincing the world we belong together will be easier than convincing her of that.
