Page 116 of Broken Dreams

“He is,”I state. “Christian visited me for sixteen years at Slick Dreams and never once tried to get Linus or I out. I know he tried to buy us from Bret, but it never came to anything. I’m hurt by his inaction. Callum and Duncan moved heaven and earth to find me. I heard someone say in a song that if ‘he wanted to, he would.’ Needless to say, it resonated.”

Saying so much at once has me slumping against the back of my seat, my hand cramping around the stylus. Ugh, I think I’m beginning to hit my peopling wall.

“I think that’s part of your answer,” Cian grunts. “If he has a chance in hell, he needs to show you that he gives a shit. Biology doesn’t trump everything, though it has to be considered.”

The gates open to the house as Evan approaches it, which tells me someone is watching for us. I’m sure they’re all anxious to have me home.

The thought makes me smile, because as the Kellys make space for Linus and I in their home, it’s becoming mine as well. I don’t want to be anywhere else.

CHAPTER 23

LINUS

I’m wearing the softest pair of joggers that I own and a long sleeve shirt. I also stole a pair of socks from Callum’s room. They weren’t pre-worn, but I was very close to digging through his dirty laundry.

My anxiety is on fire, as are the woods and all the brush around it.

“She’s here,” Callum murmurs, his arms wrapping around me. I can feel his purr sinking into my skin, and I lean against him as Duncan opens the door, waiting for Quinn to come inside.

Her mother waits with us as well, to make sure her daughter is safe before heading to bed. The poor woman has been fighting off yawns since it’s almost two in the morning. This dinner ran so long, and I’m sure it was a power move.

Seeing Christian is putting me over the edge after I sent my best friend into the wolf’s den. I’m fucking vibrating with worry and regret.

Should I have listened to what he had to say? Should I not have refused to see Quinn before I left?

I’m going round and round, and my stomach hurts as it churns. I know it’s not my heat because it’s a different kind of pain, but that’s on my list of things that I’m anxious about.

I know I’m making myself sick, yet here I am.

The steady clicking of her heels sounds until she’s striding through the door with Cian and Adira behind her.

I can see finger marks on her pale skin.They’re red and angry, and I’m unsure if they’ll bruise at this point. While she and I bounce back quickly from things like this, we still mark up easily.

It’s one of the many reasons that we were so popular at Slick Dreams.

“Did your father put his hands on you?” her mother practically growls.

I’ve never seen a protective maternal figure in the wild before, so I’ve been enjoying watching her.

Quinn’s fingers fly to her neck, and she walks quickly to the large hall mirror before deflating as she sees what we do. Pulling out her tablet, she looks around for Callum before shaking it at him as if in question.

“I got your file, but I was waiting to listen to it until you got here,” he says.

Quinn winces, and Cian says, “Hudson threatened her and Ayla tonight. He made a point of pulling her aside, but I didn’t see the fingerprints until just now.”

Callum squeezes my shoulder before moving toward Quinn, gently touching the marks.

“Do they hurt?” he asks.

“No, I didn’t even know they were there until Mom mentioned them,”she says. “I think I’ll have the old men’s support when I move against Dad, though.”

“Good,” Callum mutters. It’s clear he doesn’t care, because he’s more worried about the safety of the omega in front of him.

“Hudson enjoyed name-calling Quinn tonight,” Adira says angrily. “It was difficult to pretend I didn’t care, or it didn’t matter.”

“I wanted to punch him in the face,” Cian says. “The recording speaks for itself, and it’s late. I just wanted to make sure I walked her in. I’ll also add that the girls who Hudson asked to play their parts in Quinn’s kidnapping will be at the party, as will their fathers.”

Callum and Duncan growl, making the hair on my arms stand up at attention.

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