Page 55 of Layne Closure Ahead

He caught her as she flung herself at him, his arms lifted and held her tightly as he pressed his face into her hair. He didn’t care that she smelled like singed daisies from the smoke and ash. He only cared that he would still have more days to wake up next to her intoxicating scent that reminded him of summer rain on a hill full of daisies.

Layne wrapped her legs around his waist, refusing to let go of him. No matter how closely she held herself against him, it wasn’t close enough. Her body shuddered as the floodgates behind her eyes burst open. His shirt soaked up the tears from her eyes and muffled the sounds of her sobs. Her hands clawed at the shirt on his back, scrunching it up in her hands as she held herself to him.

Joey protectively placed a hand on the back of her head as he hushed into her ear. “I’ve got you. It’s okay, Layney.”

She choked on her own words as she tried to explain everything that had happened. “I-it was Eric. He saw you on the cameras, and… and he was furious. I tried, but?—”

He stopped her right there, holding her tightly in the safety of his arms. “Shh. I’m here, nothing is going to happen to you.”

After what felt like the longest release of emotional turmoil, she lifted her face to look at him. The tears had left their red marks down her cheeks. Visible was the bruise and slight swelling at her temple where she had taken the hit that had rendered her unconscious.

He immediately gave her several kisses of reassurance, not just on her lips but across her face to replace the salty tears. Joey was careful to kiss even more tenderly around the visible injuries.

Layne used one hand to hold onto the back of his neck as her other came up to brush away the strands of hair from her face. The raw abrasions from the cuffs were still fresh on her skin and stung with each flex of her hands.

She sniffled, trying to recover from the emotions that were still taking their toll on her after the evening’s events. “How did you know to come here?”

Joey pressed his forehead against hers, his hands still protectively holding her to him. “I heard it over the police scanner. I recognized the address and…” His voice trailed off, unable to finish what horrible thoughts had entered his mind.

Realizing that he had run straight for the inferno taking over her home, she frowned at him. “You ran towards the house. That was stupid, you wouldn’t have even made it to the stairs.”

He looked her directly in the eyes and shook his head. “Layne, I love you. I would have let the flames take me straight to hell to pay for all my sins before giving up on you.”

Her lower lip trembled as she released a few fresh tears from her eyes. Her lips kissed him several times from hearing him speak those words to her.

A sarcastic voice interrupted what should have been a sweet and tender moment. “Yeah, right.” Liam chimed in, overhearing the private conversation. Her brother always had spectacular timing to decide to open his mouth and subject everyone to his assholery.

Joey’s eyes lost their warmth as he looked over at Liam. Gently, he set Layne down on her feet. He stepped up to Liam looming several inches taller than the younger O’Reilly. “Do you have something to say?” The sharp edge of his tone indicated that Liam was walking on very thin ice.

Liam scoffed and didn’t back away. “I do. You’re full of crap. If Layne didn’t have her head all fucked up by your inability to stay out of her pants, our family wouldn’t be in this mess! You don’t give two shits about her.”

He forcefully shoved Joey to add emphasis to his words. The second Liam put his hands on Joey it set off an immediate reaction. Joey grabbed Liam’s shirt and pushed him back roughly into a parked car. There was no hesitation as Joey’s fist crashed into Liam’s jaw.

“You’re a fuckin’ shitbag!” Joey’s words yelled back at him.

From there, Liam began throwing punches back and the two of them began wrestling with one another. Layne stayed out of the way and watched, knowing Liam could use a little tough love from someone other than her for once.

Joey landed a few more body shots on Liam, who wasn’t anywhere near the same weight class by comparison. It was all too easy for Joey to keep the upper hand while they both wrangled with one another.

Finally, after several minutes of jabs and hooks exchanged, Joey landed one last hit across Liam’s face sending him to the ground. Liam landed on the ground and rolled onto his side while groaning from the ass-kicking Joey had just handed him.

Breathing heavily, Joey wiped his mouth with the back of his hand noticing a small smear of blood from one of the few half-ass hits Liam did manage to land. “I swear to God, if you ever disrespect your sister and all she’s done to fix your fuck-ups again, I will not hesitate to make sure to break your jaw so bad it will have to be wired shut for months.”

Layne walked up to Joey, placing a hand gently on his flexed bicep still tense from the scuffle. “Let’s just go. I can’t be here anymore.” She gestured to the fire still contrasting against the night sky as it consumed what was once her home. The exhaustion of everything she had been through was evident in her voice.

There was still an intensity in Joey’s stare at the spoiled brat writhing on the ground. Finally, he noticed Layne’s hand tugging at his arm and he nodded in agreement. Joey wrapped his hand around hers, intertwining their fingers as he led her back to the Challenger he had arrived in.

Once they were both inside the car, Layne latched her seatbelt and then looked over at him. “Did you mean what you said?”

He raised a brow at her. “The next time he opens his mouth, Layne, I am not holding back. Someone needs to make him learn that there are bigger fish out there that don’t give a fuck.”

“No, that’s not what I was talking about.” Her emerald hues looked at him with the weight of all the evening’s emotions in them.

Realizing what she was questioning, he turned in the driver’s seat and his hand reached over to take hold of her face. The warmth of his palm against her skin made her want to melt into his touch.

“Every damn word of it, and I never plan to let you forget it, either. You are everything that makes me want to continue breathing. I love you, Layney.” Joey leaned over and made sure she felt every ounce of his words as he pulled her into a tender kiss.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

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