But at this point, I’m getting pretty fucking sick of apologizing.
I’m not afraid to go head-to-head with whatever waits around the corner, but I’m terrified her hand will no longer be there when I reach for it.
Abandoning cover, I let the rain surround me, my skin eagerly soaking it in like it’s been starved.
Every day is starting to feel like a day too late. There’s a panic that’s snaked its way in the last few weeks and is beginning to fester in my chest.
And it’s changing—right now.
We left her mind racing and her confused heart gaping. Any vulture that comes along now is likely to devour her, to pick at her piece by piece until there’s nothing left. The idea of her moving on makes me physically fucking ill. The thought of that has jealousy rooting deep.
I have to get to her.
Tobias is just going to have to accept it. She deserves more than being left on a deserted street with a shady explanation. If this time has taught me anything, it’s that I know exactly who the fuck I am and what I want, and I don’t have to have my brother’s permission to have it.
Time. Fucking. Served.
Sentence over.
Without another thought, I press send on the burner phone, and he answers on the second ring.
“Dom?”
“Tyler,” I rasp out, freely bleeding as her voice whispers through the rain.
“I love you.”
“Tyler, I fucked up,” I relay, as the water sheets down around me, thunder rolling down the quiet residential street.
I hear the concern in his voice. “What’s going on?”
Muting myself until I can speak, I feel his anxiety spike over the line. “Dom?”
“I need a favor,” I croak.
More silence. And we both know why. He’s already walking a thin line with Tobias and knows exactly what I’m about to ask for.
“You’ll be home in a week,” he reminds me.
“I don’t give a fuck! I’ve done nearly ten goddamn months. Don’t you think that calls for a little fucking acknowledgment? He was here yesterday and didn’t fucking bother speaking to us. I don’t even know if it’s worth this shit if he won’t even talk to us anymore. Things won’t be the same no matter what we do. Why the fuck am I even here?”
“Dom,” he says in a tone that insinuates I should know better. And I do but fuck this. “You saw him.”
I did. And he was inconsolable. Aside from the day of my parent’s funeral, I’ve never seen him cry. Even then, he was alone when I caught him, but my decision is made. “If he wants to live like a fucking monk for the rest of his life, that’s on him.”
“You know that’s not why.”
I slam my fist into the mailbox next to me. “What the fuck am I supposed to do?”
“You’re doing it. Hang in there, seven days, and you’re home.”
“It’s not just me,” I snap, thinking of Sean and how the time here has altered him. I’m not even sure he recognizes the changes in himself. “Sean’s . . . he’s not doing good, okay? I wonder if he even gives a fuck.”
“He does. It’s been all over him,” he assures.
Closing my eyes, I try to reason with myself to wait. What we’re doing fucking matters and matters a lot. We broke the rules. You can’t break the rules in our club. No exceptions. At the same time, my pockets are empty, and the price is getting too high.
“I need this, Tyler. I know what I’m asking, man. But I need this.”
“Name it.”
I grip the back of my neck in relief. “Get us the fuck out of here. Right now.”
“Dom, it’s a week.”
“And I’m calling it!” I snap. “Time served for good fucking behavior, but I’m telling you right now, if I’m not on a plane in the next few hours following him home, that will no longer be the case. It’s time to have this out with him and figure it out. I’m not asking him for permission anymore. You know we’ve done our part. Get us the fuck out of here.” Closing my eyes, I hear the guttural plea in my request. “Please.”
I feel it—the urgency, the crushing itch to get back to her. It’s been there, but it’s never been this strong. Even as I think it, my gut tells me it may already be too late.
“If he finds out . . . it won’t be good. You sure about this?”
“That’s where you come in. Just mute our watchdogs for enough time to get us home so we don’t have to deal with it. I need you to work your magic and make it quiet and painless. I’ll explain myself to my brother when the time comes—if I fucking feel like it—but I’m telling you, the longer I fucking stand here, the more I resent him for it. I honestly don’t give a fuck what his reaction is anymore.” I man up in a way I never thought I would or be inclined to. “I fell in love, and it’s not a fucking crime, and you of all people know it’s nondiscriminatory about the fucking who . . . how is she?”
Silence.
“We’re fucking grown-ups, Tyler. Let’s stop with the bullshit. I don’t fault you, the same way you aren’t faulting me right now. How is Delphine?”
“She just got her last scan done, and we get the results tomorrow or the day after, but she’s gone almost eleven months without a sip,” he relays, pride clear in his voice.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” I rasp out, emotion getting the best of me.
Eleven months. Which means she was already sober when I took her to Pretty Place. That was the change I noticed in her, and Tyler was the significant thing that happened.
Emotion burns in my chest, my eyes stinging. She was sober. “I . . . I don’t know what to say.”
“She kicked it, Dom, not me, and she’s still fighting . . . she’s fucking happy.”
The back of my throat burns. “Good, you both deserve it, especially her,” I say honestly. “We all fucking do,” I tell him, “And my bill here is settled. I’m not paying for it another goddamn day for loving her. Do you hear me?”
Tyler’s lingering silence sends my mind racing. “What? What aren’t you telling me?”
“There’s a direct flight leaving in a few hours,” he offers.
Relief washes over me as my eyes catch on a woman taking her dog on a late-night walk. She’s carrying a Louis Vuitton umbrella and matching leash.
I decide I’m never coming back to France.
She draws closer on her heels, her mile-long legs encased by thigh-high shorts. Her thin top has a little bow that lies in the middle of the cut in the chest, showcasing ample cleavage. Primed and packaged. She looks buzzed as she passes me, her gaze lingering enough to know she’s fair game. When our eyes meet, she smiles in invitation as she passes, her frizzy dog leading her down the street. I can’t remember the last time I really looked at any woman—save one.
“Dom?”
“Book it.”
An hour later, Albert is hooded as Julien gives me the dip of his chin in farewell before he’s covered, just as Sean lands next to where I stand. Glock trained on those apprehending our babysitters as I bat his arm away before he can focus and fire.
“Little slow on the reaction time, brother,” I chuckle as I pull my duffle from beneath the bed as our babysitters are dragged from the room. Sean turns to me, eyes wide. “What the fuck is happening right now?”