Page 128 of Tangled in Knots

I had a nightmare in the early hours of the morning. I was being held down naked by hands that were cruel and hurt me, and all I could hear was cheering…

“Adira!” Duncan yells, slamming on the breaks in the parking lot.

I guess he’s been calling my name for a while.

“I’m okay,” I rasp, suddenly choking on emotion. There’s a knot in my throat, and I clear my throat. “It wanted to pull me back, but I’m good.”

Duncan blows out a breath, rubbing his forehead as he begins driving again.

“I couldn’t wake you up,” he says. “We were all asleep on the couch, and you started screaming, and Callum and I couldn’t help.”

“It was really scary,” Callum sighs. “I worry about you, kiddo.”

“Seeing Jed and talking about Morris set it off,” I mumble. “I haven’t had a single nightmare until now.”

“It was a hell of a streak,” Duncan mutters. “Have you thought about, ah, talking to someone about things? With a…”

“Therapist?” I ask, my tone souring. “I don’t want to open myself up a million times in order to ‘deal’ with what happened. I know it helps some people, but I’d rather claw my eyes out.”

“How about clawing someone else’s eyes out?” Callum says gently. “Yours are too pretty for that. We’re just worried about you, and fuck if I’m not going to dream about the way you sounded.”

Sighing, I nod. “I’m a lot to deal with,” I mumble. “Sorry.”

“Woah, that’s not what I meant,” he growls.

Twisting, he unclips his seat belt and starts to crawl into the back seat. There’s not a lot of room as he squeezes his large body through the seats.

“You’ll never be able to live down getting stuck, Callum Kelly!” I gasp, eyes wide.

“It’s fine,” he grunts, contorting until his ass hits the back seat and he’s able to free his shoulders and arms from between the seats. “There.”

“God, there’s a reason I’m the older brother,” Duncan mutters.

“By like eleven months!” Callum crows. “Get over yourself, big bro.”

“You two are insane,” I breathe, letting Callum tug me into a tight side hug. His leg is still between the seats, and he leaves it there, so he’s half sprawled out.

“We know,” he says. “You draw the insane to you, babe. Ever thought of that?”

“Not until now,” I grumble. “I’m not sure how I feel about that now that you mention it.”

“Make a goddamn army, Short Stuff,” Duncan growls, turning at a light. “Get strong, keep yourself safe, and live your damn life.”

“Mmhm,” Callum grunts. “Use us, babe. We do not mind one bit. I need you alive, happy, and making those alphas grovel on their knees.”

“Last night was a pretty good start,” Duncan remarks.

The Princess of the Unhinged? I guess that’s what I’m going to start calling myself if the Kelly brothers insist on reminding me that I draw protectors who are insane to me.

“I wasn’t expecting Jed to drop to his knees,” I admit, able to talk about it now that I have someone to anchor me.

The now familiar scents of these alphas remind me of safety and comfort. It’s a safe place to land, and they expect nothing from me. They won’t judge me if I’m less than my best.

“You’d be surprised what an alpha is willing to do when he realizes the only way to get what he needs is to bend,” Callum says.

“It doesn’t bode well if just seeing him gives me nightmares,” I mumble.

Neither of them says anything after that, which is quite telling in itself.

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