Page 24 of Worlds Collide

“What’s wrong?” he asks instead of a greeting in his always-alert bark. I like it.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just know you’d want to know that I’m getting in the car to drive over to the hotel you guys are staying at.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m sharing a room with a dude that’s passed out drunk and I know that driving at this time is better for me than staying.”

“Can’t you wait for me to come pick you up?” To any other person he’d sound like he’s about two-point-five seconds away from quitting on me, but I know that what he really is, is worried. And I actually welcome the surly tone from him. Before last year he was always detached, barely acted like a human, and I’m glad it all changed when I had my accident and it was Rich who found menaked, bleeding, and passed out on top of all the broken glass from the stairs at our old house.

I still can’t remember what I did to actually break the damn stairs, but I’m pretty sure it’s better that I don’t.

“It’s faster this way,” I say, trying to sound like I’m fine and not running away from my fuck-ups. “I just shared my live location with you and sent you the link with my ETA so you can watch me from your phone.”

“I don’t like this,” he mumbles.

“I know, but I promise I’m fine. Not even slightly tired and you know I didn’t have one drop of alcohol.”

“Of course I know that,” he snaps at me. Again, my love language.

“It’ll take me less than an hour to get there at this time of night, Rich. You can meet me in the lobby.” Maybe that will calm his clearly frayed nerves.

“I’ll call down and have them open the garage for you and meet you at the door of the car,” he corrects me in that tone that tells me this isn’t a debate or a suggestion.

“Of course, sorry.”

“Okay, just be careful, for the love of God don’t speed, and keep your distance from other cars.”

“I will,” I assure him and hang up.

I shake my head and snicker once I’m on the road. I may be an orphan but clearly I have Rich to treat me like a little kid whenever I need that.

As promised, he greets me inches from the driver’s door and with a stern look that tells me I’m going to have to come up with a better explanation—or say it more convincingly—than blaming it on Carter. Rich has met Carter, and yeah he’s been drunk at every wedding this year, but he’s notalwaysdrunk. He does like to partyand let loose though. That’s something I do miss and something I wish I had the capacity of doing.

But my genes, paired with trauma and a fucked up brain, means I can’t and won’t ever be able to again.

“He snores,” I tell him lamely as soon as I’m out of the car.

One raised eyebrow is all the reaction I get.

“And okay, maybe I did something stupid, but—” I hold up a hand and keep going when he opens his mouth to interrogate me. “It has nothing to do with alcohol or drugs or anything like that. Just plain old stupid.”

His eyes narrow with doubt and since I just told him the truth, I don’t have any problem looking him straight in the eye for an eternal second.

“Okay then. Here’s your key. They switched me to an adjoining room.”

“What?No,” I whine and follow him to the elevator. “You’re supposed to be having time off, Rich.”

“Well, life sucks sometimes, Wolf. Let’s just go back to sleep please.”

“All right,” I grumble. There’s no arguing with this man.

My vibratingphone wakes me up, and I see it’s two in the afternoon before it dawns on me that Hawk’s the one calling me.

“Where are you?” he whisper-shouts.

“With Rich and Tate,” I say as breezily as I can possibly manage.

“What? Why? When did they pick you up?” He sounds worried and pissed and I really hate that I want to make those two things disappear for him.

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