The second Nate starts dragging Tora back up to the group, her eyes lock on mine. She winks and holds up her hand, showing off the hair that she ripped from Monica’s head. “You’re welcome,” she tells me.
With that, the music comes blasting through the speaker and Tully lets out a howling laugh. “That was fucking awesome,” she booms, grabbing Rivers shoulders and launching herself up into the air.
It’s finally finished. Monica is finished and I never have to worry about her destroying Noah or touching me ever again.
So, why the hell doesn’t it feel better?
I step away needing a second to myself, but before I can get far, Noah’s warm hand curls around my elbow and he storms off, dragging me along behind him, struggling to keep up with his long strides.
He pushes in through the back door of the Ryder mega mansion and within the blink of an eye, he’s ripping open a hallway closet and throwing me inside before following me in and slamming the door behind him. Now, don’t get me wrong, nothing is better than being locked in a confined space with Noah Cage, but something tells me this isn’t going to go down how I’m hoping.
“What the fuck was that?” he roars, slamming his fist into the closed door, desperately trying to relieve the anger pulsing through his body.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I yell. “I was handling my shit. Just like you handled yours. You knew this was coming. Hell, I’m surprised you aren’t fucking jumping up and down because I didn’t beat the living shit out of her.”
What’s his problem? I just rocked. I kicked ass out there. He should be beaming just as much as Tully, if not more.
“Fuck, Henley,” he spits, getting in my face. “We don’t handle our shit like that. We don’t get two whole fucking schools involved in our business. We handle our shit like a fucking pack. No one in, no one out. We sure as hell don’t block each other out when we go for the fucking kill. How was I supposed to have your back when I don’t know what the hell was going on? How was I supposed to protect you?
I slam my hands into his chest, pushing him back out of my face back. “You’re one to talk, Noah,” I tell him. “You threw her a fake baby shower in the cafeteria. How’s that not getting other people involved?”
“That was us four against her. I put on a fucking show, but not a damn soul apart from ours knew the truth of what was going on. We’re a pack, Henley. When other people start doing favors for you, they start expecting shit in return.”
“That little show you put on in the cafeteria, that was all you and Rivers so don’t come at me with this ‘pack’ bullshit because you don’t truly believe it yourself. We’re the furthest thing from a pack,” I yell at him. “You want to be a pack, then start acting like one, start by being honest. How am I supposed to have your back when you’re not telling me what the hell is going on with you?”
“Is that what this was all about?” he questions in shock. “You didn’t tell me about this because your knickers are in a twist over the Anton bullshit?”
“No, Happy fucking coincidence. I kept it from you because you’re never fucking around,” I yell at him. “All week you’ve been avoiding me because you’re terrified of talking about your shit and hearing how disappointed I am in you instead of being there for me. You could have told me what to do, I needed you this week and you weren’t there. Physically or mentally.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“No. Bullshit is you dragging me in here to yell at me over handling Monica like a fucking boss.”
Noah shakes his head. “We don’t bring others in on our shit,” he says again. “We’re a fucking pack for a reason.”
I step into him, raising my chin so my lips hover just in front of his without actually touching. “It’s not nice being kept in the dark, is it?” I question. “Believe it or not, it wasn’t intentional. I did what I could with what I had because for the first time, I felt like you didn’t have my back. Sure, you would have beat the shit out of anyone who made the wrong move, but you and me, we’re not on the same page right now and I more than hate it,” I tell him, sucking in a break and dropping my forehead to rest against his chest. “Monica broke me when she touched me and I’m not about to apologize for putting her down in front of the world. She deserved nothing less.”
Noah winds his hand up behind my neck and holds me to him, letting out a resigned sigh. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, holding me a little tighter. “I didn’t like seeing you front and center like that and I sure as hell didn’t like not knowing how it was going to play out. There’s a reason I always take point on shit like this.”