Page 56 of Broken By Her Mate

“Tolliver, it’s fine. Just because I’m the mayor and alpha doesn’t mean I can’t get my hands dirty.” Zach huffed. “Hell, I’ve beendyingto move from behind that wretched desk to get a little action.”

Tolliver chuckled at his friend’s pained expression. He didn’t envy Zach’s position as alpha and mayor one bit because he wasn’t a sit-behind-a-desk-all-day kind of guy. “All right, fine. Have fun tonight, then.”

Zach smirked and clapped him on the shoulder. “Go on, get out of here.” He gave Tolliver a once over. He was still bruised, and spots of blood stained his clothes. “You look like shit.”

Tolliver snorted and walked out, relieved that he could go home and get a little rest.

No one said a word on the way to Tolliver’s house. Not even the chatty Cora seemed in the mood to talk. After Tolliver got her set up in one of the guest rooms, he went to check on Laila. He stood outside her door, internally debating whether he should disturb her or not. He lifted his hand to knock but put it back down. As he was about to walk away, the door opened.

Laila leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He rubbed his nape, a little embarrassed about his uncertainty. He was always confident and sure of himself in every situation, but when it came to Laila, sometimes, he felt clueless.

She assessed him from head to toe with furrowed eyebrows. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. All healed now… and clean.” His sore muscles felt better after about ten minutes under a hot shower.

“Good. I heard you out here,” she said. “You didn’t knock…”

“I was, um… I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?”

He held her gaze steadily and was a bit surprised that she hadn’t looked away. “You’re probably exhausted, and I know you like your space.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Laila, I’m sorry about tonight. I never should have brought you to—”

She placed a finger over his lips, and he blinked, stunned by the light contact. “Don’t you dare apologize for tonight. “I had a great time. For once in a long while, I felt like a normal girl out on a nice date.” Her lips lifted into a small smile. “Let’s just not count the wild car chase and the bloody fight after as part of the date.”

His shoulders relaxed with a soft sigh. “That’s a great idea.”

To his further surprise, Laila chuckled. He thought she’d still be too stressed and traumatized to laugh. “How about we pretend that Jonas Mercer doesn’t exist tonight? And after dinner, we didn’t have a tense conversation about our relationship. We came straight home, and as the gentleman you are, you’ve walked me to my door.”

After a beat of silence, he grinned. “Okay…” He cleared his throat and stood taller. “Laila, thank you for a wonderful night.”

“Thank you, too, Tolliver,” she said politely. “Dinner was lovely. Thank you for walking me to my door.”

“No problem.” Taking her hand, he kissed the back of it, making her giggle. “I hope we get the chance to have anothernormaldinner date.”

“I do, too.”

Those three words coming from her sent a surge of hope through him. Maybe he was reading too much into it, but she sounded more open to seeing him again after the mess with Mercer. For a moment, neither of them moved. Tolliver stood there, still holding her hand, his gaze fixed on hers. A slight unease stretched between them, but it wasn’t from tension this time. It was from the uncertainty of what to say next.

Laila shifted her weight slightly, her lips parting as if to speak, but then she stopped. The silence grew heavier, and Tolliver began to feel like he should step away and give her space. Before he could, she surprised him again. She stepped forward and threw her arms around him. Her head pressed against his chest, and for a second, he didn’t move. Then, instinctively, his arms wrapped around her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice muffled against his shirt. “I know I gave you a hard time since this whole thing started, but thank you for protecting me. For being there when I needed you. I don’t… I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

The mixture of gratitude and vulnerability in her voice made his chest tighten. He closed his eyes briefly, resting his chin against the top of her head. He could feel her tremblingslightly, and he tightened his hold, offering her the comfort she seemed to need.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he murmured. “I’d do it a thousand times over, Laila. You mean too much to me not to.”

When she pulled away from him, she stared at him with wide eyes. The gray orbs darkened like always when she was caught up in intense emotions. They swirled with a mixture of emotions that confused Tolliver. At one point, he swore he saw guilt… but what did she have to be guilty about?

“Tolliver…” She tugged at the hem of her t-shirt. “There’s something I have to tell you…” She gnawed at her lower lip so hard he thought she’d pierce the flesh. When he couldn’t bear to see her agitation any longer, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Hey, we’re pretending we had a nice, normal night, remember?” he said softly. Whatever it is, don’t worry about it. Get some sleep, and we’ll think about the hard stuff tomorrow.”

She softened and smiled. “Okay.”

He kissed her cheek and stepped back. “Good night, Laila.”

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