Page 132 of Broken

Phoenix comes back inside. Out of the corner of my eye I watch as he bends over and picks something up. Garrett glances at the sheet of paper as Phoenix sets it down on the table. If Phoenix is aware of what it is, he doesn’t let on. He goes to the kitchen to get me some water.

“Fuck,” Garrett shakes his head. He is even angrier now.

“It’s only a drawing,” I mumble, knowing it’s anything but.

“No, it’s not,” he says. “They gone?” he asks.

“Two have stayed back to fix things out there,” Phoenix replies.

I ignore their conversation, staring at my building design. The paper is torn, the roof separated from the rest of the building. Not all the way, enough that it’s ruined. Phoenix sets a glass of water down and steps away again.

My gaze remains fixed on the drawing. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching over the last few days about that picture. About going home to finish the work I started.

Home.

That is a foreign concept to me now. I’ve only been here a few months, but Baltimore feels more like home than San Antonio had for a long time. And part of the reason is the man standing beside me, glaring at the torn paper like it’s personal to him.

His head hangs a moment, gathering what he wants to say.

“I owe you an explanation.”

“Damn right you do,” I say with as much energy as I can muster. “You knew something was going on with Caleb, didn’t you?”

So help me, if he clams up now, I can’t be around him. I can’t handle someone else with secrets. Especially the kind that can hurt me. Anymore than this already has. The longer we stare, the more I understand. I don’t know this man. I’ve been falling for him against my better judgment.

Garrett stands in front of me, the look of worry only makes me angrier. There is nowhere for me to go, my chair backs against the wall. He caresses my cheek, tilting my head up to look at him.

“It’s a long story,” he starts.

I stand, using the table as support. He doesn’t back off and now our bodies are pressed together. My treacherous brain goes to all the other times we’ve stood like this. This is different.

“It’s about Gwen.”

That gets my attention.

“I found out recently,” he sucks in a breath, his eyes closing a moment. “The club did…” he shakes his head again.

“What?” I can’t help it, my hand comes up to touch his face.

There is no escaping the fact Garrett struggles with this. Not just his sister. This. What’s happening between us. I shouldn’t have to work for a man’s attention. But this man… Watching his face contort, seeing his pain on display, makes some of my anger dissipate.

“Who is he?”

“The man with the knife… He killed Gwen.”

Forgetting everything but the pain in his eyes, I wrap my arms around his waist. Garrett pulls me close. If I can offer anything right now, I’ll try. It doesn’t change he’s lied about Caleb, and whatever else is going on. I’ll worry about that after.

My gaze lands on the drawing. I can’t help thinking how all this started. With me looking at drawings of his sister. We stay still until my senses take over and I remember what just happened.

“Has someone called the police?” I ask.

“No one will have called them.”

“Oh, right, the scary bikers.”

Before he can respond the door opens, making me jump. The younger of the bikers walks in. Phoenix pushes away from the wall where he is leaning to intercept him. The man stops, but it’s Garrett he’s focused on.

“Nero said stay here.”

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