Page 94 of Claiming Ours
Tackle her?
Talk to her?
Hell, I didn’t have a clue what I would do, but there was no limit to how far I would go to keep Baylee safe. Which was how I’d ended up hurting her feelings by leaving Anchor Bay like my ass was on fire. I didn’t want her to know what Mom said. If Baylee knew Bethany was here, she’d want to talk to her, see if she could reason with her. I couldn’t take the chance that the verbal barbs Bethany might spew would take hold of my sweet, sweet Kitten.
Someone stepped out the side door, drawing my focus, only to make eye contact with someone I did not expect to see on this unexpected rogue mission. Langston pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing the colorful ink decorating both forearms, and started my way.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said when he stopped beside me and leaned back against the brick.
“You mean like how you looked at me when I first arrived, suspicious and cautious?”
He barked a laugh and shook his head. “Touché, Memphis.”
“What are you doing here?”And why the hell does he not seem surprised to see me loitering outside a hotel in Anchorage?
“I’m staying at the hotel while West recovers in the hospital.”
“Why aren’t you there with him?” I asked, reaching for another cigarette.
He cut a hard look my way. “Apparently, I’m a pain in the ass and question everything they’re doing and react… badly when he’s in pain, so they asked me to leave.”
I arched a brow while lighting the end and sucking in a lungful of smoke. “You mean they kicked you out. Of a hospital. Not sure I’ve ever heard of that actually happening to someone.”
His eyes narrowed on the cigarette between my lips. “That shit will kill you.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Being a medic, haven’t you seen enough people with major issues that all stemmed from smoking to make you not want to touch that shit?”
“Not yet.” I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Why haven’t you asked why I’m here instead of back in Anchor Bay?”
“Liam called me.” I grumbled under my breath about the intrusive asshole. “Said you might need some… help to convince this crazy person to head back home instead of coming to messwith one of ours.” He shrugged and leaned his head against the brick, closing his eyes. It was then that I noticed how exhausted he looked. “You helped West, so whatever you need, man, I’m here for it.”
“How is West?” I asked, monitoring the way he stiffened.
“He’s okay. The surgery went well, and hopefully, if he follows the doctor’s instructions, the recovery won’t be too bad. But he’s a stubborn asshole, so he’ll probably ignore all their rules and start working again the second we get back to Anchor Bay. Who is this woman anyway? Liam didn’t have much time to explain the whole fucking backstory.”
I inhaled and held it for a second, allowing the burn in my lungs to ease some of the rising nerves. “It’s Baylee’s late fiancé’s mom. Apparently, after Dean’s death, she had some kind of psychotic break. She wasn’t always this way. Back in high school, she was the best mom. We all wanted to hang out at Dean’s place because she was so cool and always had a stocked fridge. But ever since Dean’s death, it’s like she’s been poisoned from the inside out by her grief.”
We stood in silence for a few seconds, both watching the door without being obvious.
“I think if anything happened to someone I loved, it would twist me into someone I didn’t recognize or even want to be too. But that doesn’t justify the actions she’s taking now, coming here to spread that toxic shit. Baylee is innocence personified?—”
“Not anymore,” I said, tongue in cheek, hoping to lighten the mood. “Liam and I are doing a good job of corrupting her.”
“Fuck, I do not want to hear that,” he groaned, shaking his head. I huffed and took another drag. “She’s nice to everyone, that’s what I meant. And we were all there watching in the background as she fought her way through the grief that almost drowned her. There is no way in hell I could sit back and let someone drag her back into that again.”
I studied the massive man for a few seconds before nodding. “Thanks. I’m glad Liam told you to come find me. I don’t have a plan outside of stopping her from getting on a boat to Anchor Bay. Even with that, I don’t knowhowto stop her.”
“We try talking to her. Then, if that doesn’t work, we escalate.”
“Escalate to what?” I asked, not horrified or intimidated by the glee in his voice.
“To whatever it takes to protect your girl.”
I nodded in agreement and shifted to angle myself toward the hotel’s entrance. With every minute that passed, my nerves and anxiety rose, making me a twitchy, amped-up mess. I was about to tell Langston that I needed to take a walk around the hotel’s perimeter to calm down when a tall, thin woman stepped out the glass doors, turning our way for just a moment before storming down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of us.
Pushing off the side of the building, I followed her, Langston keeping up despite me not saying a word. That brief glimpse of the woman’s face was all I needed. It was one I recognized yet didn’t. Bethany used to be full of life and joy. It showed on her round, cheerful face that always wore a smile. The woman who’d just stepped out of the hotel exuded bitterness, her too-thin face marked with deep wrinkles and thin lips that were tugged into what looked to be a permanent frown. But there was enough resemblance that I knew she was my high school best friend’s mom.
