Page 31 of Forgiving Fate

The blonde pats Grayson’s shoulder and says, “This isn’t their first rodeo. They will be fine. Don’t worry about them, big bro.”

Grayson’s head snaps towards to his brother, “I will always worry when it comes to my fiancé. But that’s not why I said it.” I can hear the emotion in his voice and I can tell his mind is already back on Logan, whose direction I am refusing to look in.

The blonde goes to speak again, but the brother on the other side of Grayson speaks up. “Noah. Don’t start. Tonight is already a shitshow. Please don’t say something stupid and piss Gray off.” As he speaks, I recognize the deep, intimidating voice as Wesley’s.

Holy shit! This man is terrifying. He is wearing a white t-shirt, his arms free of tattoos, and the look he is giving his brother, you would swear he was shooting daggers through his eyes. How the hell is this man’s presence so intimidating when he is statistically the most approachable looking one?

Landon clears his throat and they all snap their attention to their brother. “Enough. It’s been a long day for everyone. Let’s get in there safely. Secure Mr. Davidson and bring Mrs. Tanner safely back to her husband.” His voice is less robotic and filled with a rare sense of compassion he usually lacks when speaking to his brothers.

I can tell I’m not the only one that notices the oddity because all three of his brother’s eyes go wide as they look to Landon.

Noah and Wes nod and stand to walk away but just before Noah leaves, he leans back in the window, his gaze now on me and says, “Hi Allie. Sorry this is your first impression of us. I swear we aren’t always this amped up and serious.” He flashes me a smile and walks away to join his brother near Grayson’s truck.

My eyes shift back down to stare at the floorboard as my mind tries to process everything that is happening.

While you avoid looking at your best friend.

I shake my head to clear the voices, just as Grayson speaks up.

“Allie?”

My head slowly slides up to meet his gaze. I angle my back against the door to put more distance between us because I know he is about to say something that is going to make me spiral more than I already am.

“I’m really sorry. This is not how I wanted you girls to see each other for the first time. But thank you for understanding the need for it to be this way. She may not understand completely where your mind is at, but be honest with her. That will mean more in the end than if you pretend everything is fine. You are both incredibly strong women and I know one day you will be even stronger friends. No matter how long it takes you both to get back to the place you were.”

I’m speechless as he stands up. That is not what I expected him to say. I thought he was going to tell me to go easy on Logan.I saw the way the two looked at each other just a few moments before. And now here he is telling me to take my time and be honest with her.

I doubt he would say that if he knew just how harsh my honesty would be at this very moment.

Just as he starts to walk away, he leans back down and says, “I’m glad you’re here Allie. Hope this one didn’t annoy you too much.” His hand reaches into the car and he pats Landon’s chest with a smirk on his face.

Landon shakes his head and rolls his eyes as he tries to hide the smirk on his face. “Go. Keep me updated. Don’t let Noah do anything stupid. Be safe.”

Grayson nods and walks away.

Landon rolls up the window and turns up the volume on the radio. “Carter,” he says, pressing the talk button.

Static comes through the radio before a hushed voice filters through the speaker. “I’m here.”

“They are making their way to you now. Everything good?”

“All clear. Best entry is through the sliding back door.”

I tune out as they discuss safety and where the victim might be located. My mind keeps drifting to Logan and reminding me that she is just feets away from me.

I know that by the end of the night I will have to speak with her, but I can’t, for the life of me, devise a plan for what to say. Or even how to act around her.

So I do what I do best. I shut down. Beg my mind to think of anything else but this current situation and listen to the soft rain hitting the windshield.

I have no idea how long we sit there. Every few minutes I glance over to Landon, his head on a constant swivel between the mirrors on our car, Grayson’s truck, and the path the brothers took up to the house.

The silence is almost deafening. So when an alarm goes off on the radio, I jump so far out of my seat I hit my head on the roof of the car. My hand flies to the top of my head. “Shit. That hurt,” I mumble quietly.

Landon is reaching down between his legs, and his head snaps over to me. “You okay?”

I nod.

“I’m going to pull a gun out from under my seat. I will not hurt you. But I need to go help my brothers. Stay in the car. Do not get out. I want you to climb into the driver's seat as soon as I get out. If you see anyone but me or my brothers, or this man,” he pauses to show me a man on his phone with shaggy, dirty blonde hair and a beard. “Drive as fast as you can in any direction if you see anyone but us come out of those woods. Okay?”

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