Page 69 of Simply You & Me

She whimpers. “But?”

I sigh, failure weighing heavy on my shoulders. “My parents and Mason’s avoided the prison sentence. We didn’t have enough on them. Three families went down, and we left, thinking it was over and we could move on.”

Adelyn scoffs, shocking me a bit. “But?”

“But someone hired Johnathan to come after us. Which Head, we don’t know,” I say, anger bleeding into my tone. “Sophia’s the one who warned us something was going down, and it included us. She’s still in Seattle, keeping an ear to the ground and working on her own plans for her uncle.”

“How long?” She grits out, her cheeks splotchy and red. “How long have you known you were in danger? Did you know when you asked Rory and I to be a part of your lives? Did you knowingly put my daughter in danger?!”

I gape, horrified that she would think that. But we also haven’t told her anything. God, we’re fucking stupid. “No, Lynnie! We would never, ever do that. I swear. We found out the weekend of our first Taco Tuesday. The day we were supposed to have our first date.”

Goddamnit. I don’t know how anyone else is feeling. I’m too focused on watching my woman frowning at the ground like she’s trying to piece things together, but this is horrible. “Lynnie, we never should have kept this from you. We thought we were doing the right thing keeping you out of it. We are so, so sorry.”

“No more secrets,” she grits out, staring each of us down. Her fire and resilience are admirable, and I fall further in love with her the more she stands up for herself.

I nod, the others nod too. “No more secrets,” the four of us say at once, like it was scripted.

"Thank you," she whispers brokenly before turning on her heel and padding her way to the office door. Before she walks out, she turns slightly and says, "Let them help you, Wy. Sit still for a bit, please. We're fine, and here now. Good night."

My breath whooshes out of me, as does my anguished chuckle. "You heard her, sit down." I gesture to the couch by the window.

Sighing, Wyatt does as he's told, gingerly lowering himself into the cushions. I finally catch a look at Julian, just now realizing this was the first time he's been in the same room with her since before she was attacked.

Our usual joking ginger looks like he's seen a ghost. His pale complexion worries me, especially since I can't read his mind.

How bad was Wyatt before we got here? Was it seeing him beaten and bloody that rattled Julian or the woman who just left the room?

The combination of both is most likely what has his deep breaths stuttering and his hands shaking.

"Hey," I whisper, grabbing his wrist before he follows Zach and Wyatt. I lay my palm against his cheek. "Are you okay?"

Green eyes bounce between mine as they fill with tears. Julian squeezes them shut, forcing a tear to trickle onto my finger. I wipe it away and match his forced deep breaths. Synching our bodies always helps me feel less alone, so I settle one of his large hands on my chest and use my free hand and place my hand on his chest, too. While still cradling his cheek, he nuzzles into me as we breathe together. Julian finally opens his eyes and gives me a gentle nod. At a few inches taller than me, he has to drop his head a bit to give me his kiss of thanks and reassurance.

"Take them off or I will," Zach's demanding voice draws our attention to the couch. Wyatt's shirtless and grumbling as he unbuttons his jeans. He hisses with each shift of his hips, and I just can’t fucking take it anymore.

"Stop, let me," I rasp, kneeling between his feet. He gives me a nod and moves his hands out of the way. Gripping the denim, I pull straight down so he doesn't need to wiggle. With a soft yank, I toss them away and trail my eyes up his legs, looking for injuries. Just when I think there's nothing external, I find the beginnings of purple and blue blooming above the hem of his boxers.

"Wyatt," I breathe, pulling the fabric down. Grunts and cursing sound through the room as we get a good look at the damage. Between his hip bone and groin, a bruise the size of my hand is already fucking forming.

"Nothing's broken," Wyatt murmurs, head tilted to the ceiling.

Julian scoffs. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

Wyatt shrugs, effectively pissing off Zach now too. "Wyatt, what the hell? What happened?"

Wyatt stiffens. "I fucked up. That's happened. I wasn't aware of my surroundings. I got taken down, taunted, and completely lost myself."

"What do you mean?" I ask gently, not wanting him to raise his walls.

His fists clench in his lap. "He was saying shit. Shit about Addie, and I couldn't think. I was just so fucking mad. After I snarled and wiggled around like an angry fish between him and his two guys, he fucking laughed at me. Told me I should have been asking questions. Gaining information while he was there. Fucking laughed at me for being blinded by love so much that I failed her again. Told me to tell her he's excited to see her again, then busted my face and left while I was reorienting myself."

"Wyatt," I start, only for his head to whip forward and slam his tormented glare into me.

"I FAILED HER!"

Without warning, Zach's hand whips out, latches onto Wyatt's throat, and draws him into an angry kiss. Kiss isn't the right word; they are fucking battling. It's a mess of teeth and snarling, but, as usual, Zach gains the upper hand, pressing Wyatt's head back into the couch.

Ripping his lips away from a panting Wyatt, Zach growls, "We all failed. Not just you, so don't take shit away from us." Wyatt opens his mouth, only for Zach to flex his fingers in warning. "We failed her. Not only that, but we also failed each other!"

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