Page 76 of Into the Night

Griffin insists they’re badass, but I could do without the constant reminders staring me in the face.

“Shh. You’re going to wake her.”

Footsteps, hushed voices, a door opening and closing softly. More footsteps. Griffin’s frustrated growl.

“I’ve told you already, when she’s ready to see people, she’ll come to you.” My mate sounds hen-pecked, his careful words spoken quietly so as not to disturb me. “I haven’t locked her up again. This is NOT the same thing.” A pause. “It’s fucking not!”

Deciding to put him out of his misery, I pull on a long T-shirt dress and pad out into the hallway, lingering there for a moment, to see who’s giving him such a hard time.

“She’s my cousin.” Evan.

“She’s my mate.”

I’m impressed that Griffin’s holding his ground considering Evan’s death stare is legendary.

“She hasn’t marked you yet. How do I know for sure this is what she wants if you won’t let me talk to her?”

Ouch. Low blow.

Griffin growls but doesn’t rise to Evan’s taunts. “I don’t give a shit what you think.”

As I inch closer, peering into my tiny living room, I can’t help but smile at the sight of it nearly bursting with people who care for me. My heart warms at the sight of Griffin, fists clenched, standing toe to toe with a very angry Evan King. It’s a terrible idea, and he’s probably two seconds away from getting his ass kicked, but I appreciate that he’s trying to look after me.

“It’s okay, Griffin. I’m up.” Moving slowly to his side, I slip underneath his arm, enjoying how protected I feel curled into his side.

Evan’s furious scowl melts, and he presses his lips together, relief written all over his chiselled features.

“You gave us quite a scare, Kali. Not helped by this fucker, here.” Evan’s voice is thick with emotion as he scans me, making sure I am, in fact, in one piece. “How are you feeling?”

Griffin’s hand on my hip tightens, and he holds me close, sensing how hard it is for me to think about the attack, let alone speak about it.

“Tired. Still a bit sore, but I’ll get there.”

Evan looks distraught. I’d love to tell him that I’m as good as new, but I’m not going to lie, it’s going to take a while for me to feel like myself again.

“Sit. I’ll make coffee.” Griffin kisses the top of my head, glaring at Evan all the while, before leading me over to an armchair. After some fussing and making sure I’m comfortable, like he’s my mother and not my mate, he disappears into the small kitchen to make drinks.

An awkward silence falls over the room, and I fidget under the intense scrutiny. I open my mouth to speak some inane nonsense just to break the tension, but suddenly, Holly’s on me, arms banding tightly around me in a cautious bear hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Kali. You saved my life.” She pulls back, her brown eyes shining with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

Feeling awkward, I look around and find Griffin, standing back, watching me with pride. I don’t know what to say. I’m bowled over that she thinks she needs to apologise for what Serena did.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Holly. You didn’t do any of this.”

Evan comes to Holly’s side and drags her off me, rubbing his hand up and down her back, comforting her with his touch. Or maybe, it’s him that needs the soothing, because when Evan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking down at me again, the emotions I see swirling there stuns me. My big, bad cousin looks like he’s about to crack.

“I have no way to repay you, Kali. I owe you everything. If you didn’t want to see me because you’re mad, I’d get it, but Holly…” Swallowing hard, he looks away.

Tears fill my eyes, and I quickly dash them away, overwhelmed by the strength of their gratitude and concern. I hadn’t considered they might have needed to see me over the last few days to reassure themselves I wasn’t angry or resentful. I just wanted some peace and quiet while I came to grips with everything.

Turning to Holly, I grab her hand. “I never for one second blamed you for what happened.”

Holly nods, blinking back tears as she gratefully accepts a mug of coffee from Griffin as a distraction.

“And Evan, I’m not angry. Not with you, at least.”

Jed is another story altogether, but it’s going to be a while before I’m strong enough to confront him.

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