Page 94 of Even if You Fall

“Right,” I mumbled, but I wasn’t sure if I believed their answer or not. Now that the adrenaline of the past day had worn off, I was struggling to wrap my head around anything.

“Sleep, Thatch,” Briggs commanded, making me realize I’d leaned up against the wall again at some point.

“I will.”

“Now,” he said in a tone he rarely used with us, but I knew I wasn’t supposed to argue with it.

Still, I gave him a look and meaningfully said, “When I get back to my apartment.” I didn’t add the wordalone, my tone implied it. “I wanna talk to Chloe first. I wanna be the one to tell her what happened.”

“You’re not driving back to Dallas,” Briggs said on a scoff. “You can barely stay standing.”

“Briggs—”

“There are five bedrooms here,” he continued unwaveringly. “Go lock yourself in one if it’ll make you feel better.”

It wouldn’t.

But before I could remind him of that, he held out his hand in silent demand and tried to sound understanding. For Briggs, that just meant he didn’t sound like he was ready to destroy the world. “You’re not gonna be what she needs when you’re like this. So, go.”

I stared at him a second longer before relenting with a sigh.

Pulling my holstered gun off my belt, I handed the entire thing over to Briggs and stalked past them, feeling the weight of my exhaustion and worries press down harder and harder against me with each step. Like one half of me was rebelling falling asleep near all these people—near Chloe—while the other half knew I was finally about to succumb to sleep, and it was already shutting down long before I ever made it to the guest rooms.

Mentally. Physically.

I barely stopped to lock the door and ensure it was secured before stripping off my shirt and shoes and falling onto the bed, on top of the comforter. Gripping the material tight, I silently prayed I would beright therewhen I woke up.

The last thing I remembered thinking was the pillows didn’t smell like coconut and vanilla...

And I hated it.

It was odd to be both relieved and saddened at the news of Owen. It was odd to be sad at all, given everything. But there was a part of me—an old, buried deep part—that ached.

Ached for the man I’d thought I’d known and loved. Ached for the person he’d made me into. Ached that he’d chosen me for a future I couldn’t even stomach to think about.

I wanted to talk to Adam about everything Hudson had told me took place in the middle of the night, but he’d been asleep since before I’d woken. Something I was grateful for, considering I wasn’t sure when he’d last slept. But I selfishly wanted those mesmerizing eyes on me and those large hands cradling my face. Surprisingly, I wanted the way everything about him demanded I drop my guard.

Even though thismask, as Adam called it, had become my entire personality over the years, I hadn’t realized how exhausting it was until Adam had all but torn it off.

Glancing at the large, decorative clock on the wall that had Lainey’s name all over it, I bit back a sigh when I saw it was only half past three—a whole five minutes past the last time I’d checked.

“What do you think, Chloe?”

My head snapped to the side at the sound of my name, my smile already fixed in place before I locked onto where Lainey sat on the floor, playing with Kaia. “Sorry, what?” I asked brightly.

“Huntley Square for an early dinner?” she asked, brows drawn tight like she wasn’t sure I’d be up for it, and I wasn’t.

It’d been an unexpectedly long, physically and emotionally exhausting weekend, especially considering I’d started it off thinking I would be relaxing in Aruba for a week. Butnot being up for somethingwasn’t an attribute I’d ever show anyone but the infuriating, tattooed man who had somehow stolen pieces of my heart between cruel words, baffling silences, and truly seeing me in a way I’d never wanted anyone to.

So, after trying to figure out what day it was—Monday, Chloe—and assuring myself my parents wouldn’t be anywhere near downtown Huntley on a Monday—since I didn’t feel like explaining why I wasn’t out of the country—I said, “Ooo, absolutely! When do we go?”

A startlingly loud crash sounded from the back of the house before anyone could answer, sending the Shadow members to their feet before I’d even finished flinching.

Just as Asher started that way, gun already drawn, he stopped and hissed, “Thatch,” in recognition. He then looked back at Cameron and the Deadly Duo, communicating something to them without saying another word.

And I knew exactly what it was.

I scrambled off the couch but had only made it a few steps toward the hall before Cameron latched onto my arm and slammed me back. “Not a chance.”

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