Page 34 of Calypso's Shield
Fuck. I knew this was coming. I just didn’t know how much he’s already figured out.
Farris sits down next to me, the weight of his stare pressing against my heated skin. No one is around us to see Law Dog lose his cool.
He leans in, sitting so close to me that I can feel the heat radiating off him. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” His voice is low, rough, and dangerous.
I swallow hard, keeping my expression unreadable. “You’ll have to be more specific, Law Dog. I tend to keep a lot of shit from you.”
Pain flashes in his eyes from my use of his road name before his jaw clenches and his fists tighten at his sides. He’s pissed.
Good. That makes two of us.
I slide out of my seat, standing toe-to-toe with him, refusing to back down. I already know what he’s talking about.
“You got jumped,” I say, keeping my voice even. “And instead of telling me, you decided to handle it yourself?”
Farris’s eyes darken. “You didn’t give me a choice, Calypso.” The use of my road name hits harder than I want to or will admit.
Farris’s breathing sharpens, his shoulders tense. He’s barely keeping it together, and I don’t know if it’s from pain or pure fucking frustration.
I should say something. Something to calm him down. But instead, I fuel the flames. “I told you I can handle it.”
His expression shifts, something I can’t read passes across his face before Farris lets out a bitter laugh. “Handle it?” He repeats. “He had me outnumbered and bleeding on the fucking street. What part of that sounds like you’re handling shit?”
I bite my tongue, refusing to let the guilt settle in. I never wanted this for him. I never wanted him to be dragged into my past. But he is, and I’m the one who put him there.
Farris exhales hard, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “That’s not even the worst part, is it?”
My stomach twists. “What the hell does that mean?”
He shakes his head, studying me like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to piece together. “You knew he was in town, didn’t you?”
I don’t answer because from the look in his eyes, I don’t have to. He knows the answer.
Farris’s lips press into a tight line. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
My jaw ticks. “What do you want me to say, Farris? That I didn’t want you involved? That I thought I could handle it myself? That I didn’t…” I trail off and bite my lip so I don’t cry.
“That you don’t what, Calypso?” His voice is soft and raw.
“That I didn’t want to lose you,” I confess. A single tear drips down my cheek onto my clenched fist, pissing me off.
Farris’s anger shifts into something else. Something raw, something I can’t deal with right now. “You don’t get to push me away and still expect me to walk through fire for you, Calypso.”
I flinch at his words. I want to argue. I want to tell him he doesn’t understand, but his voice drops, rough and low enough to cut me open. “What else aren’t you telling me?”
I stiffen. “Farris.”
“No bullshit, Amanda. Not this time.”
The walls are closing in. The weight of everything is pressing down on me. I can lie and brush it off like I always do. Push him away, but for the first time, I don’t want to. I want someone to stay for me. The thing about FarrisLaw DogDalton? He already knows when I’m lying.
I exhale sharply, pressing my palms against my temples. “It’s not just him.” I finally admit. “There’s more.”
Farris doesn’t move or push. He waits for me to continue. Fuck.
I don’t want to do this here. Not outside of the Clubhouse where anyone can walk out and overhear our conversation.
I grab Farris’s hand and pull him into the Clubhouse, toward the back hallway to where the rooms are. “Which one is it?”
