Page 55 of A Beta Protects

“I didn’t know that,” she whispers. “And he was a hero? He never said.”

My smile is wry. “He didn’t tell me either. I found out at my brother’s funeral. Some of his platoon were there. He was—he is—modest. And selfless. I think that’s why I never thought to go anywhere but here when I needed help.”

“He is.” Sierra stares at me a little longer, then shakes her head, as if stunned. “Wow. He had this entire life and none of us ever knew it.”

“But you knew he was in the Marines?”

She nods. “He held me together at a pretty terrifying moment in my life.”

“He did?”

She twists her engagement ring around her finger. “Someone hurt Galen, and Dom was the only reason I didn’t completely fall apart. He’s very good at steadying you without you even realizing it. He’s a good man.”

“That’s why I know he’s wrong when he said he wasn’t the man I thought he was. Because he is.”

Maybe I wouldn’t be so willing to believe it if Bryce hadn’t spent years grinding me down. He didn’t just make me call myself a fuck up, or a useless wife. He made me believe it, but I don’t think I am. I think Bryce is the one with standards so high no one could ever meet them. Not even him.

“I’m not sure how much Dom has told you about us,” Sierra says so seriously, I straighten in my seat.

“Nick said not family, but chosen family.”

A small, pleased smile softens her serious expression. “Really? I like that.”

“But there’s more to it than that?” I tilt my head, trying to read between the lines. There’s something she wants to tell me, but she doesn’t know how.

She doesn’t speak for several seconds. “Dom doesn’t talk about his past. Like, ever. The only reason we know he was a Marine is because he was drunk when he met Galen. Otherwise, I doubt he’d have told him even that much.”

“Why do I get the sense this is leading somewhere?”

“Because it is.” She takes a sip of orange juice. “He’s scared of losing you.”

I nearly knock over my juice as I reach for it. “Lose me? Why would he think he would lose me?”

“Well, let’s just say he has this side that is… well, a little more growly than the other.”

Is she on drugs?

“Uh…”

A grin splits her face. “No need to look at me like that. I’m talking sense. Promise. I just meant there’s a side of him that he thinks you won’t want.”

I think of how loving Bryce was initially, and I forget about my juice, sitting back in my seat as icy fear sweeps through me. “Oh.”

Sierra puts her glass aside and reaches across the table to snag my hand, gently squeezing it. “I don’t mean it’s bad. Not like…”

I have got to work harder at hiding my emotions. I’m an open book to everyone around me.

“Well.” She pats my hand again. “I mean, that side of him is protective. More so than the Dom, you know.”

I shake my head. “I don’t see how that could be.”

Dom is the most protective guy I’ve ever met.

She winks. “Well, then you’ll love his other side. He’s also surprisingly cuddly.”

I study her for a beat, confused, then I shake my head and pull my hand back as I get to my feet. All this talk of Dom has made me realize we need to talk. Not just about this surprisingly cuddly, protective, and growly side of him, but about us. And what happens now.

Bryce signed the divorce papers, but I still need to speak to my attorney and figure out the next steps. And I have most of my possessions in Missouri, including Aaron’s Ford Mustang, which I can’t leave there.

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