The doctor had told her she could be up and about when she felt able, but with Dallas’s eyes blazing, Noelle didn’t dare argue with him.
“Don’t yell at her.” Lex snorted in disgust. “You can’t stand it, can you? Sometimes shit happens, and it’s not anyone’s fault, and you can’t stop it.”
Dallas glared at her. “Glad to see you’re perking up, love.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Seems like someone blew a shit ton of money putting me back together.”
“Gee, honey. Don’t sound so happy about it.”
“Oh, I’m ecstatic.” Lex shrugged. “You maintain what’s yours, right? Have to keep it all in working order.”
Noelle was starting to wish she’d slipped off the bed anyway, anything to get away from the anger filling the space between Dallas and Lex.
Especially when he took a menacing step forward. “You think it’s bad now? You just wait, Alexa Parrino. You don’t know what it’s like to belong to me, but mark my words, girl—”
“You insufferable—”
He continued as if she hadn’t broken in. “You are going to find out.”
“Asshole.” Lex threw a pillow at him, then another. She was reaching for a third when she had to stop and clutch her side with a grimace. “Ow, fuck.”
“Lex—” Noelle wrapped her arms around Lex and glared at Dallas, any hint of fear lost in a growing surge of rage. “What’s wrong with you?” she snapped at him. “Is this how you take care of people? I’m not allowed to move but you’ll drive her into the ground?”
Lex touched Noelle’s arm, the fight already melting out of her. “He’s just being Dallas. This is my own stupid fault for throwing shit.”
Dallas glared at Noelle. She flinched under the weight of his blazing stare, but refused to buckle, and he shoved a hand through his hair with a growl. “Don’t practice sharpening your claws on me, kitten.” No affection curled around the nickname this time—just a cool warning. “You’re not ready to hunt big game.”
“Dallas.” Lex’s voice was hard, chiding, but after an interminably tense moment, she held out a hand to him.
Dallas approached the bed, his expression still blank, but some of the tension around his eyes softened as he eased down beside her and pulled her close. “No more throwing shit. You hear me?”
“Can you knock off the bossy act for five minutes?”
“Maybe.” He tucked her head under his chin, settled against the headboard with her curled against his left side, and lifted his right arm. “Come here, Noelle. I won’t bite.”
Noelle hesitated, even less willing to interject herself into a tender moment than she had been an angry one. “If you need a minute, I could go check with Mad. Lex should eat…”
“I can’t think of anything I would less rather do.” Lex beckoned. “Come. Sit with us.”
In the end she did, sliding across the mattress until Dallas hooked his forearm around her waist and dragged her the rest of the way. He smoothed a hand down her arm to her hip as he kissed the top of her head. “I promised Jas I’d take care of you until he got back.”
“All right.” Noelle slipped her hand over Lex’s where it rested on Dallas’s chest. Maybe this was what family was supposed to be. Anger and rage, but never lingering when someone needed comfort. “We’ll all be okay.”
“Dallas is still a jerk.” Lex rubbed her cheek against his shoulder before tilting her face up to kiss his jaw.
Dallas chuckled, his chest rumbling under Noelle’s ear. “I love you too, smartass.” It was a joke. Easy words that were safe because everyone knew he didn’t mean them.
Except Noelle was pretty sure he did.
Someone pounding on the door interrupted the moment, and Lex sighed. “What?”
The door opened a crack, and Bren stuck his head through. “Heads up, Dallas. My friend is on his way. He has something I think you want.”
Dallas’s arms tightened. “ETA?”
“Should be rolling up any minute.” Bren hesitated. “He had to burn himself over this. We gonna make that right?”
“If he brings me the bastard who pulled the trigger, he can name his price.”
“Okay.” Bren ducked back out, closing the door quietly behind him.
Lex struggled upright and grimaced down at her skimpy tank top. “I need some clothes.”
“Lex.” Dallas gripped her shoulders. “I need something from you, honey. One thing. I need you to stay here.”
She flashed him a look of disbelief. “Oh, you’re kidding me.”
His jaw clenched, and Noelle held her breath as Dallas leaned closer. “I’m asking.” Asking, not ordering, and even she knew how rare a thing that was.
Lex must have realized it too. Still, it seemed like forever until she lifted a trembling hand to his face. “Okay. But only because you’ve had a really bad day.”
Dallas caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “It’s looking up. I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t lose your temper,” she warned him softly. “Information first.”
“I know.” He grinned, the expression so predatory, so full of anticipation, that Noelle shivered. The look in his eyes meant death, and his smile said he’d enjoy it. Not just enjoy—revel in it.
It was hard to tell what scared Noelle more—Dallas’s thirst for violence, or the realization that she shared it. Lust wasn’t the only vice the sectors taught, and it was time for her first lesson in revenge.
Jasper didn’t know what Alistair Martel looked like, and that bothered him more than it should have.
Oh, he knew the face that came up onscreen when they scanned Martel’s bar code, and he knew the man’s thumb reactivated the rifle used to hurt Noelle and Lex. He had no doubt about the man’s identity, no qualms about the beatdown Dallas was currently administering.
No, what rankled was the way the man’s swollen eyes and broken, bloody nose obscured his true features. Jasper would never be able to haul the man up by his collar, threaten him, and watch the fear gradually shadow his face. Too late for quiet, violent promises, the kind the man deserved.
Far too late, especially since Dallas seemed intent on beating the truth out of him as slowly as possible. Jasper had seen Dallas work an adversary with nothing but terror and the mere whisper of violence until words spilled free unchecked, but such a light touch seemed beyond him today. He smashed his fist into Martel’s gut with a snarl, doubling the man over and leaving no breath to answer a question.
Not that Dallas had asked one.
He needed to, though, so Jasper did it for him. “Who do you work for?”
Martel spat blood on the concrete floor. “Eden. I work for Eden.”
Jasper fought to keep his face impassive, but a growl escaped him. “If he’s not talking, we should get this over with. Bren’s friend probably has the intel we need.”
Martel’s eyes widened in panic, but Dallas was already turning toward the table to retrieve his brass knuckles. “Good point. Bren and Cruz can tell us everything we need to know about what went—”
“Gareth Woods,” Martel said, his voice edged with panic. “I work for Gareth Woods.”
Dallas turned and slipped the heavy brass knuckles over his fingers. “The councilman?”
Martel nodded jerkily.
There was only one reason another of Eden’s councilmen could have wanted Noelle dead. “This was a fucking frame job?” Jasper demanded.
Another jerky nod. “Nothing personal, man. Just had to take the girl down with a city weapon. None of your people were supposed to get in the way.”
Rage boiled up. Jasper reached out, and he had to take a hasty step back before his hands closed on the man’s hair. “Nothing personal?”