“I don’t want clothes borrowed from one of your other women.” There’s no heat in my voice. I couldn’t manage anger right now if I wanted to.
He doesn’t say a word as he places the clothes beside me on the bed, and I track his movements as he steps back.
“My first choice would’ve been to call Apollo and see if April had something for you to wear, but sleep doesn’t come easy for them these days with the newborn. Cara is April’s sister, and he’d have my balls if he even suspected I was interested in her.”
Tears that were silently falling flow heavier with his explanation, and my head begins to shake. I have no idea what I’m disagreeing with. Maybe it’s an apology of sorts. Maybe I’m trying to reject everything that’s happened. Maybe I’ve just finally lost my mind.
A warm hand urges my head up until I’m looking at him.
“We’ll talk about how much I love that little jealous streak of yours when you’re in a better head space. Right now, I imagine you want a shower and about ten hours of sleep.”
He presses a soft kiss to my lips before urging me to stand and pointing to the bathroom. He’s absolutely right about what I need, but I realize just how much I need him too when I make it all the way through my shower without him joining me.
Once dried off and dressed in the borrowed clothes, I feel even more alone when I walk back out into the bedroom and find it empty.
Chapter 23
Legend
“I’ve known Faith Robbins for years. The woman doesn’t deserve this.”
No one in the room argues with Kincaid. The man is as stand-up as it gets, and when we’re in the conference room, he never minces his words. If he’s feeling it, he says it, and it’s always his truth.
But having Cerberus on her side while whomever it is that’s tormenting her is running free isn’t much of a consolation.
She lost everything tonight, and it happened right under my nose. I was there to protect her, to keep her safe, and I failed.
“Still no clue on who it is?” Apollo asks, ending his question with a yawn.
He woke up to help with the baby and made his way out of the room a few minutes ago.
Scooter and Kid are here with us as well.
“It’s incredibly shitty what happened tonight,” Kincaid says. “But it gets worse. Pictures were uploaded earlier today from what went down this morning in Frisco’s parking lot.”
I growl as I pull out my phone, typing in the web address.
Right there, in full color, are pictures taken, chronologically showing us arrive, being questioned by the cops, the search of her car, and the discovery of the baggie. There are close-ups of her face and the “drugs.” There are pictures of her being cuffed and searched, of her being placed in the back of the cop car. What’s noticeably absent are pictures of them confirming it wasn’t actually drugs and her being released.
“Whoever put that bag in her car is the one who took these pictures,” I mutter.
“I agree,” Kincaid says.
“They were waiting for us to show up.”
“Probably the ones who called the anonymous tip into the police as well,” Apollo says as he looks up from his own phone, no doubt looking at the website as well.
“I’ve already texted Colton, so he can be aware,” Kincaid says as he looks at me. “I’d seriously urge her to make a list so Max can dwindle down the suspects.”
I nod, hating how distracted I’ve been when I was with her. So much has happened since we last discussed her getting that together, and I’ve spent the majority of that time consoling her as all of these bad things started to pile up.
“I’m treating her like she’s one of us,” Kincaid advises the group even though it’s unnecessary. “We’ll protect her.”
I manage to keep my head up even though I want to hang it in shame. I’m grateful for the vow, but it shouldn’t take the entire club to keep her safe. I should’ve been able to manage it all on my own.
“She’s welcome to stay as long as she likes, and I mean that. Even if she wants to have a house built in the same spot hers burned down, she’s welcome to stay here.”
I nod in appreciation to my boss, but I doubt I’ll be able to convince Faith that she should stay. To say the woman is stubborn is an understatement.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but we’re going to have a ton of smiling kids here in a few hours for Christmas. I know it’s a hard ask, but I’d really appreciate it if everyone could manage smiles. I don’t want our own tension bleeding into them.”