Page 92 of Blood of Vengeance

I spun, already knowing what I would see but still floored by the sight. Flinch had arrived, every tall, powerful inch of him heading right for me. His clothes looked fresh and clean, but the deep shadow on his face made him appear gritty and dark. Tired but not letting up on the gas of life. And his expression—he looked like a man on a mission. And finding me was definitely that mission.

I didn’t even have time to say a word to him before he reached me. Before he bypassed everyone in the line and stood before me. Without preamble, he herded me out of line. Forcing me to move until my back hit the wall. Even then, he kept coming, caging me in with his big body. Covering me with it. Creating an air of privacy that definitely didn’t actually exist in the security line of the airport.

“I’m sorry,” he said, those two words carrying a weight that created huge cracks in the wall around my heart. “I should have told you everything from the start. Should have explained that you were my fated mate and what that meant.” He ran a thumb over the mark on my neck. The one he had left on me. The one that was causing me so much angst. “I would have told you about the mating bite, but I hadn’t planned on biting you that day. I hadn’t started this thinking it would be okay to do that without your consent. Losing control like that threw me.”

“Flinch—”

“Hang on. We’ve only got a few minutes.” He took a deep breath, leaning even closer. Invading my space even more. “I’ve been battling my wolf since that day because he doesn’t care how it happened—he wanted you and would have taken you however he could have you—but as a man, I know what I did was wrong. I did you wrong.”

That admission, those words, took away so much of the hurt I had been carrying. So much of the anger. But not all of it. “You did.”

“I did. But I love you, Lock. So much.” He ran a finger down the side of my face, his huge hand uncharacteristically gentle. “Not just because you’re my fated mate, but because you’re you. Because you’re fucking amazing and beautiful and kind and… Everything. You’re everything. And I love you enough to let you walk away from me right now. To give you the freedom I owe you. My feelings won’t change, though. My love won’t stop. You say the word, and I’m coming to you.”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding hard enough in my chest that I knew he had to feel it. Maybe even hear it.

“You would leave the club and just move up to Detroit?”

“For you? A thousand times yes. Without a question or a doubt.”

Pretty words—even the ones I wanted to hear—couldn’t fix everything. Had my dad made my mom the same promises? I doubted it. Chiggy had always been club first. But Flinch had said he would leave Arizona. Had chosen me over the club.

But did I trust him enough to believe him?

“Flinch—”

“I hate to do this,” Cutter said, interrupting our moment and stealing every bit of our attention. “Their flight is boarding, so they need to get through security and to the gate.”

Flinch growled low and deep but took a step back. Giving me my space. Releasing me. And damn it if that wasn’t the last thing I wanted him to do.

Without a second thought, I leaped at him, wrapping my arms around his thick shoulders and hanging on. He pinned me against him, arms around my waist, and pulled me right off the floor. Whispering how much he loved me and how sorry he was for fucking things up. Promising to come the second I wanted him there.

But then he let me go, and he took a step back. And another. Expressionless Flinch face on lock. Cutter leaned into him and said something I couldn’t hear. Flinch nodded once, keeping his eyes on me as I turned toward the counter where the TSA agent stood waiting for us. Cutter gave Zella one more hug then sent her in my direction, both of us making it through security without issue. The two shifters waiting on the other side of the barrier and watching us go.

“Be safe, girls,” Cutter said once we made it through the metal detectors, his voice carrying over the noise of the airport. “Take care of each other.”

Which wouldn’t be an issue. I grabbed Zella’s carry-on bag and waited for her, ready to hurry us to the gate once she slipped her shoes back on. Ready to help her suffer through the flight home. Ready to suffer in my own way as well.

Just before we walked off for the gate, Zella turned and yelled out, “Thanks for flying me out here, Flinch.”

The man in question caught my eye, nodding once as if in acceptance of her thanks. Still looking so hard and mean and ready to snatch me out of the airport if I gave him the signal that I wanted to stay.

I broke the stare and looked toward the gates instead.

Zella’s words ate at me, though. They swirled around in my head, making sense and yet surprising me. I waited until we had made it through the throng of people outside security, let her words sink in for a full minute before I asked the question dancing through my head.

“What did you mean by that?”

She shrugged as if she hadn’t just rocked my world. “He loved you. He didn’t want you to be alone for your dad’s wake, so he made sure I was here. He bought my ticket, set up my ride to the airport, and had one of the guys pick me up to take me to his house. All I had to do was show up.”

Words were hard. I hadn’t actually thought about how Zella had gotten to Arizona. I’d assumed she had flown there but had also assumed she’d paid her way. It made sense for Flinch to tell her when the events for my dad had been happening, but to fly her out? To set up her transportation to even get to the airport? That was a lot.

“How?” I asked, answers still not fully formed in my head. The picture growing clearer but not quite in focus. Pressure building in my chest as the reality of what he had done for me came to light.

“How what?”

“How did he know to get you here?”

“I asked him the same question when he reached out.” She looked away, a weird almost-scowl on her face, before sighing. “He knew who I was because of the phone call. That day you were scared in the mountains and he came to find you—he knew my name and that I was your best friend. He admitted that he went through your phone to find my info so he could get me here for the wake.”

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