Page 47 of Unconditional

I pinched my eyes shut tightly, trying to banish the image of her resentful glare.“No, I mean—”

“I need to talk to my brother.”Talon spoke over me, his tone unreadable.

Anxiety sliced through me and I was unable to stop my feet as I moved forward to erase the distance Birdie had put between us.She held a pointed finger up and shook her head once, firmly.

“No, you stay right there Misely Fisher.”She shot a loathsome look at the man behind me.“Don’t you fucking move.”Twisting on her heel she bounded up the porch steps and disappeared behind the door, slamming it behind her.One thing was for certain, in the time that had past since I’d last seen my sister at heart, she had grown one hell of a backbone.

Talon’s hands gripped my shoulders and I spun around, hating myself for finding comfort in his sympathetic expression.For just a moment, I let myself fall into his embrace soaking up any solace he could provide before pulling back and putting us an arms length apart.

“She’s furious.I mean of course she’s furious.Iwould be furious.Iwasfurious.But then you told me—you have to tell them the truth, Talon.You have to.”

“Misely—” he started, but I was past reason.I’d known Birdie was going to react this way, I’d known this was not going to go over well.And yet I still hadn’t been prepared for the sinking sensation of panic that had welled up the moment she’d pushed away from me, that look of betrayal burning in her eyes.She was the closest thing I’d had that felt like family and losing her wasn’t an option.

“No, Talon,please.I’m begging you.Just tell them the truth.I’ll never ask you for anything else, ever again.They aren’t like Kyle or your sister.They’ll listen.Please just tell them about—”

“Tell us about what?”I hadn’t heard Milo come out of the house and I wasn’t sure how much of my pleading he’d bore witness to, his voice a threateningly low timbre.When I turned to face him, his expression was one to match.Birdie stood just behind him, one arm looped through his with her other hand clutching it like she was preparing to hold him at bay.They were strikingly beautiful beside one another, and yet seemingly so different from the last time I’d seen them together.

Milo had cut his hair short, faded on the sides and a little longer on top.A new tattoo across the expanse of his neck caught my attention; a bird with its wings outstretched, back lit by a blazing sun and surrounded by stars.My eyes watered with the tears I held back, unexpectedly overcome with gratitude that Birdie had found someone who loved her so wholeheartedly.

Talon’s eyes lit up when they met Milo’s, just a brief flash of what seemed like relief before it was gone just as quickly.He shot me a brief look of warning before nodding at his little brother.“Good to see you too, Lo.It’s been a while.”

Milo bared his teeth.“That was intentional.”

Talon sighed, the sound tired.“Look, can we just go inside and ta—”

“You’re not taking one step inside my house until you explain why the fuck you’re here.And howshe,” he jerked a finger at me, “got dragged into it.”

I looked to Talon with pleading eyes, silently mouthing the word ‘please.’His jaw ticked as he inspected my face.

“Kyle sent me to haul you home.She’s just collateral damage.”

I deflated.Hurt, dread, and disappointment warring for dominance in my churning stomach.Jerking my gaze away from his, I twisted back to where Milo and Birdie stood watching us.Her eyes darted from me to Talon and back again, narrowing just slightly.She was connecting dots in her head, and I could only guess where those dots were leading her.Likely right to the truth.I opened my mouth to speak, but she got to it first.

“It’s freezing out here.Let’s go inside.”She was back in the house with the storm door slamming shut behind her without another word.

thirty-four

Talon

Collateraldamage.What the fuck was wrong with me?I saw the pain on Misely’s face when the words left my lips, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.And it’s not like she would know that there was some truth to it.That I was sent here to do one thing and one thing only, and now here I was with feelings for the girl I blackmailed to get that job done.Real fucking feelings I’veneverhad before.Feelings I didn’t know what to do with even if I could.But it didn’t matter, because Icouldn’t,so I was fucked regardless.She wasn’t the damage, I was.

Then there was my little brother, the thorn in my side.He looked good.Really good and I hated myself for noticing because that meant that he hadn’t looked as good back home when he was with his family.Now he had a real home and someone to protect other than himself, and fuck if they didn’t make a pretty picture.It had been easy to disguise the near constant worry I'd had over him since he'd left with manufactured bitterness that he'd gone in the first place.But seeing him now—alive, safe,okay…the relief was like a gut-punch, nearly sending me to my knees, even as he glared like he couldn't stand the sight of me.

Misely charged forward in front of me, grabbing my attention again as she tried to put as much distance between us as possible.A tug in my chest urged me to eat up that distance, to grab her hand, pull her to me and kiss her.To tell her that I was sorry.To tell her I’d make it right.

I ignored the tug and let her follow her friend into the house without so much as a threat to keep her mouth shut about the things I’d shared with her.In the state she was in, she might just blurt it all out just to spite me.Or to save her friendship with Birdie.

Following her inside, I passed my brother who still glared at me as if he were wishing his eyes were made of lasers.Shaking off the sting I felt at his clear distaste for my arrival, I stepped into his house.It was humble, just a little cabin tucked away in the woods.The world outside followed me in; plants potted on every flat surface, the smell of herbs reached my nose from where they were strung up on the cabin’s rafters, and all of the furniture was made of rich, earthy tones.

When Milo came inside and rejoined his girl on their deep yellow sofa, that pretty picture was complete.I’d spent so many years seeing my brother in one light.The light of a punk kid who needed me to show him the right way.I guess I’d been too stubborn to realize he was an adult, and yeah, of course he’d wanted to get out.The home he’d made here embodied warmth and comfort.Our lives back in Wisco were dismal and cold in comparison.

“Nice place you got here.”Even to my own ears I sounded pathetic, the words coming out hoarse.

“Sit,” Milo barked, not taking his eyes off me.The woman beside him gestured to two mismatched velvet chairs parallel to the sofa and Misely immediately took a seat.All that fierce confidence had withered away, reminding me of the girl she’d been a few days ago when she saw her ex had gotten engaged.I fucking hated it.I itched to grab her and tell her that if her friend blamed her for me being here, she could go fuck herself.That if she could throw her away because of this, then she wasn’t worth her time.

Did I, though?Of course not.Instead, I made myself comfortable in the other chair, facing Milo head on.

“Kyle wants you—”

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