Finn nodded.
“I sure as fuck hope so.” Mal growled, rubbing his jaw.
“Should I be scared?” Kim whispered, her gaze bouncing from Finn to Anders to Dante. Hollis did the same, trying to see Finn and his pack as Kim did. Big, naked, and banged up to hell—they could be considered intimidating. But he knew them for what they were: loyal wolves, good men, and his family.
Anders laughed.
“No,” Ellen assured her.
“We’re the good guys,” Anders volunteered. “Just a little underdressed.”
Kim stared pointedly at the ceiling. “You said it’s over? What about Mr. White?” Kim sniffed, tears filling her eyes. “M-my mother?”
“Mr. White is dead. Hollis killed him.” Ellen glanced at him before taking the woman’s hand. “Your mother is gone, Kim. I’m so sorry.”
One more casualty in a war they didn’t want. Cyrus was dead, along with so many more. Was it too much to hope that this rivalry, this violence, was over. He didn’t want anyone else to suffer for being their acquaintance. He didn’t want someone’s world to be destroyed to get to Finn and the pack. Kim’s sorrow rolled over them, her sobs shaking her small frame. She pressed her hand to her mouth, muffling the sound—but not the effect it had on those watching her fall apart.
“I’m sorry, Kim,” he murmured. “What can we do?”
Kim shook her head.
r /> “Should we call someone?” Anders asked. “Anyone?”
“She…she was all I had.” Kim sniffed.
“We’ll figure out what happens next. After we eat.” Anders voice softened, awkwardly patting on her shoulder.
Hollis watched Anders display in astonishment, then glanced at Ellen. She held Kim’s hands, clearly reading the woman’s reaction. He didn’t need to read Anders to see he was more than interested in the distraught woman. “Anders, Kim. Kim, Anders.”
“He thinks he’s hilarious.” Ellen smiled. “We all play along to keep him happy.”
Anders shook his head. “I am hilarious. But I’ll wait till after we’ve got some food in you.”
“I’d like to wash my hands and face,” Kim murmured. “Pull myself together.”
Anders nodded. “Is there a bathroom close?”
“Down the hall.” Kim pointed, glancing at Ellen. “You’re still worried?”
“We’re being cautious.” Anders smiled. “Lead the way.”
Hollis watched them, the way Anders looped Kim’s arm through his and the unmistakable curiosity on his face.
“That should be interesting,” Dante murmured. “Never seen Anders get remotely territorial like that.”
“That’s how it starts.” Mal grinned. “Still, we’ll need to keep an eye on her for a while, just to be sure she’s in the clear.”
Finn sighed. “If she has no place to go, and if there are any more crazy Cyrus followers out there, she’s better off at the refuge for now.”
Hollis agreed Kim needed their protection but taking her back to the refuge seemed drastic. Especially if Anders’s wolf was interested in more than taking care of her. Tonight had been horrible, but it wasn’t inescapable. The refuge was their world, a place there was no coming back from.
“Clothes?” Mal asked.
“In my office.” He tossed the keys to Mal. “Dante, you’re bleeding pretty bad. Want me to patch that up?”
Dante glanced at the long gash running from his lower back, along his hip, to his midthigh. “No. Let’s get the hell out of here before Gentry starts blowing things up.”
Hollis frowned. “Not the lab…?”