“I know.” I caressed her cheek. “Thank you for covering my back.”
“So, what’s Gareth’s story? Besides the obvious, why does he hate me so much? That was over the top.”
“Sebastian killed his twin brother, Gabe.” She rested against her seat, pulling back from my touch. “Sebastian was trying to set Lana up so she’d have to turn to him instead of the Pack. Regardless of the reasons, we lost Gabe because of Nero, and then we lost Malcolm.”
“And Gareth blames me for all of it.”
She stared out the passenger window, shutting me out. If I could think of something brilliant to say to smooth everything over, it would have helped, but I was all out of words. I took her hand, my fingers twining with hers.
“I’m sorry this can’t be simple.”
She nodded without making any eye contact. “Me too.”
Fire erupted through the front grill of Barry’s car.
“We’d better get out of here.” I glanced over at her, but she didn’t say anything, so I started the engine and headed toward Adam’s ranch.
…
We were almost two hours late. I parked in the driveway. “You’re awfully quiet. If this is too much I can tell Adam we need a rain check.”
Sasha shook her head and finally met my eyes. I could see the sadness in her gaze, but her strength lingered there as well. Without a word, she leaned over and kissed me. Her lips were tender and soft, careful not to hurt my injured lower lip. When she pulled back she rested her forehead against mine.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’d never have a chance to make things right if it weren’t for you. Knowing you believe in me after all we’ve been through…” She paused, clearing her throat a little. “I couldn’t do this without having you in my corner.”
Jesus, I loved this woman. I kissed her again, urgently, wishing my Pack would accept her like I had. If I could forgive her, why couldn’t they? When I pulled back, my thumb lingered against her skin, brushing across her warm cheek. “Let’s do this.”
As soon as we got inside the house, Lana met us at the door. She gave me a hug. “Adam’s waiting for you in the kitchen.” I arched a brow, and she added, “I need a minute with Sasha.”
Sasha nodded and I shrugged. “All right.” I headed for the kitchen, stopping to brush a kiss against Sasha’s cheek as I went by. “We’ll get through this.”
Our eyes met just long enough for me to see her determination before I went around the corner. I found Adam leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Good to see you,” he said. “Sorry about Barry.”
I went to him, and we clasped forearms. “Me too. The body is in the trunk. We couldn’t risk someone putting out the car fire while he could still be identified.”
“Jason got all he needed from the scene?”
“Yeah, and Gareth wanted me to let you know he held up his end and took care of Barry’s car.” I glanced toward the babies’ room. “Where is Nadya?
Adam pointed out the window. “She’s got the twins down at the barn.”
“They shouldn’t be out of your sight.” I gripped the granite countertop. “He could be out there right now.”
“Luke is with her, and Logan’s down there too.”
“Fonthill can shift at will. I don’t know how, but he managed it in daylight without a full moon.”
“I know, Jason called me.”
I turned toward my brother. “You think two twenty-year-olds are capable of keeping Nadya and the twins safe from this guy? He could be hunting them right now.”
“I trust them.” Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re not boys anymore. They can handle this. They know the danger, and they’re staying alert.”
I tried to remind myself that my brother was our Alpha now. He understood the Pack better than anyone else. If he trusted Luke and Logan to protect his children, I could certainly trust them to keep Sasha’s sister safe.
“Jason also had some concerns about Sasha being involved in all this.”
I groaned. “Sorry about that, but there was no way I was sending her off alone with Fonthill lurking. I thought Jason would keep it to himself until he talked to you.”
“He didn’t?”
I shook my head slowly. “No, he told Gareth.”
“And he still helped you out with the car?”
“Barely, but yeah he did.”
“Is he the one who gave you that shiner and split your lip?”
I started to smile and winced. “Yeah, but I rearranged his nose for him. We’re even.”
“Gareth won’t keep quiet about her involvement, and until Jason finishes testing the tissue samples he took from Barry’s car, we won’t have any more information on Fonthill.” Adam opened the refrigerator and handed me a beer. “But that’s not why we’re here. We need to find out what’s going on with Nadya.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sasha
Lana waited for Aren to disappear around the corner before she met my eyes. “I wanted to say a couple of things without Aren jumping to your defense.”
I dropped my hands to my side and nodded. “Fair enough.”
She took a couple of steps closer and then stood her ground, bringing one hand to rest on her hip. “Over the past few months, I’ve spent more time than I care to count being angry at you. Every time I watch Adam struggle with the weight of being the Alpha of this Pack, or see pain in his eyes when he holds little Malcolm in his arms, I wanted to get even with you. Because of you, my children will never get to meet their grandfather.”
I did my best to bite my tongue and keep my chin up. Since I’d started to care about Aren and consider the possibility of some kind of future with him, this meeting was inevitable. I earned this, every bit of it, but when I envisioned it in my head, it didn’t sting quite so much.
Lana sighed and took a step closer. “But after that night at the lake, when some members of the Pack were struggling to accept me, Aren did. He’s been the best brother I could wish for.”
“Look, I know—”
“Let me finish.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and shook her head. “Sorry, in my head this sounded much better.”
I knew the feeling.
She met my eyes. “You had your reasons for what you did. But I want you to know if you hurt my brother or my family again, God help me I will ruin you, and I won’t need a gun or a Taser to do it.”
Lana wasn’t quite as tall as me and maybe slightly curvier. She was probably a few years younger than me. I was sure I could take her in a fight. But that didn’t matter now. What I saw in her eyes wasn’t a threat or hatred.
It was resolve to protect the ones she loved.
“Aren’s lucky to have you for a sister,” I said with a nod. “And for what it’s worth, I regret everything that happened before. My reasons don’t matter—it was still wrong. I can’t bring Aren and Adam’s father back, but I hope I’ll be able to make it up to all of you somehow.”
Her eyes bored into me, and I did my best to hold still and wait her out. Finally her features softened a little, and she released a pent-up breath. “Just get this guy, and be good to Aren.”
“I have every intention of getting Fonthill and ending this threat. Aren” —I shrugged— “is another story.”
We stood in awkward silence. Aren must’ve told Adam about the mate thing, but what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t lie—I enjoyed being with him more than any man I’d ever known, but I’d never be a part of his family, or give him a family, or… I halted my train of thought and changed the subject. “Thank you for helping Nadya. You had every right to tell me to fuck off.”
She started to smile and shrugged. “Yes, I did, but when Aren told me the situation, I couldn’t say no.” She met my eyes. “Nadya is amazing, by the way. The twins love her to death already. She told me you raised her yourself.”