Page 61 of Run Free

“Are you going to be okay, Thomas? Gage didn’t go into the details of it, but I just want to know you’re taking every precaution,” I said.

He gave me a stern look that told me to keep my mouth shut, but I saw it was too late. Lily’s eyes went wide at my insinuation that he may be in trouble.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked.

“Shit. You didn’t tell your mate?” Gage asked.

“Tell me what?” she demanded.

Thomas sighed. “It’s been a busy day and I knew you were excited to pull together this sibling bonding time, or whatever the hell you called it, and didn’t want you stressed or worrying about me instead.”

“What’s going on, Thomas?” she asked seriously.

Gage intervened. “Sometimes I freak out and take off. I didn’t handle the news of my mother very well this morning, so I went for a run.”

I could tell this was going to run long if I left it to Gage to tell the story, so I cut him off, knowing what Lily needed most just then. “He overheard some Larkens discussing a plan to kill Thomas.”

Both of the guys stared at me in disbelief.

“That’s not something you just spit out like that, angel.”

I shrugged. “It is with Lily. She’s a rip-the-Band-aid-off, absorb-the-shock, spring-into-action kind of gal.”

I watched Lily process my words in defiance and I knew the second she had pushed past that and accepted what I had said.

“Did you actually hear their plan?” she asked calmly.

“Pretty much. I don’t know who your traitor is, or not one of them at least, or when it will happen, but I had the feeling they would be striking soon,” Gage told her.

“Tell me everything.”

For the next two hours we hashed out every possible scenario. We knew without question that Peyton wasn’t the traitor, but that meant we had eyes on the inside they may not have been aware of when they started their plan. Plus, we had the advantage because Gage was certain they didn’t know he’d overheard them.

Thomas told us he ate at the diner every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday night, and since Mom had insisted on everyone eating at home, that meant he’d skipped tonight. It was Thursday, so we had four days to put our own plan in place.

The clock had rolled to a new day by the time Lily and Thomas left. It may have been the longest day of my life, and was certainly one of the most emotional. I was at the point where I just wanted to curl up in my bed and shut out the world, but I couldn’t, because the one person who had quickly become my entire world, was following right behind me.

He thought I was strong and outgoing, but I wasn’t. That was Doctor Clara, and she was very different from the quiet life I led in Collier when not working.

As we undressed and climbed into bed, I rolled on my side facing away from Gage. He immediately snuggled in behind me, rubbing the tension from my neck and shoulders.

“What’s the matter, Clara?” he finally asked.

I turned to face him and looked sadly up at him. I didn’t want his opinion of me to change by admitting how right my sisters had been.

“Nothing’s wrong, Gage. I mean, aside from all the obvious craziness. It’s just. . .” I hesitated, biting my lower lip as I tried to figure out what to say and how to explain it to him. I sighed. “Everything my sisters were trying to tell you about me was true. I am quiet. I’m a complete introvert. I can’t be on a mission, so it wears on me and I come home and basically shut down. I keep to myself. I don’t talk to very many people, not even my family. This is sort of my recovery place, and why I fought you when you wanted to go somewhere else.”

He smirked. “So basically you’re saying at your core, you’re nothing but a lone wolf?”

I nodded sadly.

“And what do you think I am, angel? I’ve been on my own for a very long time. I don’t always handle things well, as you may have noticed.” I rolled my eyes at him. “I tend to just leave, but now with you, it’s been more like, I go for a long run and return when I think I can handle the next thing. I’m sorry. I need to learn to do better about that, but old habits are hard to break.”

“Mom was a little put off by your disappearing act this morning, but I knew you’d come back when you were ready. I told her that she needed to accept that you just needed space sometimes and that it wasn’t anything personal. I think she understood.”

He shook his head. “It amazes me you understand that. You get me, and I know what it’s like to need some alone time. If you want me to sleep in the guest room tonight to give you your space, that’s okay with me.”

I scrunched up my nose at him. “No, that’s not what I was saying. I don’t want you to sleep anywhere else. It’s just that, well, if I get quiet or act weird, you know, different, I don’t want you to worry about it. It’s not personal.”

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