Page 95 of Addicted Lies

Oh. I’m assuming by the response, it didn’t go well. Not that I give a shit.

“Eli?” I ask because I do care about him. I don’t want us to have to start over. I don’t want to take this from Hawke and me, even though I’ve been selfish all this time.

“You still have a job if that’s what you’re asking. But I think it’ll be some time until you’re up for a challenge.”

I smirk. “That, in itself, sounds like a challenge.”

An uneasy feeling runs through me.

She ran.

Although I love my mother and my family deeply, if I was going to wake up again, she was the first person I wanted to see. She was terrified in that room, and maybe it was selfish to ignore her pleas, but I was never going to risk her like that.

I move slightly, and my leg begins to throb, reminding me that I’ve also been shot.

Fuck me, my body’s a mess.

“Where is she?” I ask again.

Hawke and Anya share a look.

“No one knows,” Hawke says.

“Someone always knows where little chaos is,” I reply.

“Not if she chooses to run. Good riddance.” my mother scoffs.

“No, Mother,” I say, trying to soften my tone.

Her forever-etched scowl deepens, and River rests his hands on her shoulders. “They’re not going to be your little boys forever, Anya. You have to let them make their own decisions,” he says softly.

She clicks her tongue. “First, it’s girlfriends, then it’s babies. Then it’s not coming over every week and having dinner.” She begins to spiral, and I squeeze her hand.

“It’s okay. I’ll still come over for dinner. And don’t worry, Hawke will be single forever.”

“Hey!” Hawke says, but it relieves the tension in the room.

“He’s the one I’m most worried about bringing me unexpected babies. Being a grandmother would not look good on me.”

My father chuckles as he kisses her cheek. “Everything looks good on you, Red.”

A shadow looms on the other side of the closed door, pacing back and forth, but doesn’t enter. Hawke raises an eyebrow and opens it to reveal Dutton.

His blue eyes, so similar to Billie’s, find me, and I’m certain he’s about to kill me. That’s until I notice the hand slipped into his. Posie stands behind him, stroking his arm as if to calm him down. I can only imagine how he reacted. He most likely tried to kill me even when I was on my deathbed. I should probably pat down my chest just to make sure he didn’t carve a message into my chest while I was out.

Dutton clears his throat. “I’d like to speak to Ford.”

“You have a lot of balls walking back into this room.” My mother sizes him up.

“Mother, it’s okay,” I say, barely holding her back with my words.

“I’m not leaving you alone in here,” Hawke says stubbornly and leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Dutton seems okay with that. My mother eyes him, and my father places a hand on his shoulder as they follow Posie back outside.

Dutton’s jaw clenches as he tilts his head back and looks at the ceiling. Hawke stares at him, prepared for anything. And although the others have become our family, it’s a reminder that, no matter what, it’ll always be Hawke and me. I wonder if part of the reason he can’t accept Billie is because he thinks that will change things between us. And in some ways, it will.

“You touched my sister,” Dutton grits out.

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