Page 21 of Crush & Byte
The way they both smiled at me then -- Crush’s slow and sultry, Byte’s quick and bright -- made me think that maybe, just maybe, this wild, impossible thing could work.That maybe we could build something beautiful from the broken pieces of our pasts.
That maybe I’d finally found a reason to stay.
Chapter Eight
Crush
The alert cut through my sleep like a knife, vibrating against the wooden coffee table with an urgency that had me instantly awake.I fumbled for my phone, squinting against the harsh blue light that sliced through the darkness of the kitchen clock.Three-twelve AM.The weather alert flashed its warning across my screen, and my stomach knotted as I read the details.A Pacific storm had shifted course overnight, gaining strength and barreling straight toward us.
I sat up, my body tensing as I scrolled through the alert.Severe winds, heavy rainfall, possible flooding, and downed trees and power lines on mountain roads.A storm watch was in effect with the expected upgrade to a storm warning within the next couple of hours.The windows rattled with a sudden gust, as if the wind had heard my thoughts and was announcing its early arrival.
“Fuck,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.I glanced at Byte, a dark shape on the other side of the sectional couch, his breathing still steady with sleep.Didn’t surprise me he slept through the alert’s squawk.The man could sleep through a nuclear blast.(True story, and during an underground test someplace he shouldn’t have been.But that’s classified.) Outside, the wind whistled through the pines, a high, eerie sound that made the hairs on my arms stand up.
The radar image on my phone showed the storm front, a violent swirl of red and purple pushing steadily inland.We were right in its path, tucked up here in the mountains with limited access roads that could quickly become death traps in heavy rain.I tapped through to the emergency alerts.Flash flood warnings for several counties, including ours.Storms didn’t happen up here often, but when they came off the Pacific, all bets were off.
I swung my legs over the side of the couch, the wooden floor cold against my bare feet.In the loft bedroom, River slept, unaware of the danger building outside these walls.River, who’d trusted us enough to come on this wild adventure.River, who’d opened herself to us just hours ago, revealing her fears and her past with a vulnerability that had stolen my breath.There weren’t many women brave enough or strong enough to show their belly the way she had to us.No man I knew was that strong.Probably because we were all Alphas and it went against our baser natures.Whoever termed women as the weaker sex was not only a dick, but dead fucking wrong.It took strength I couldn’t even imagine, to do what she’d done.I wanted her with every fiber of my fucking being.Not for sex, though she was the finest woman I’d ever seen, but to have the right to protect.I wanted her to be my old lady so every man in the fucking whole of Grim Road would know she was to be protected right up there with all the other old ladies and the kids.
My protective instincts surged, almost overwhelming in their intensity.We needed to keep her safe.The conversation from earlier stuck in my head, though, intruding on that burning need to keep her from danger.The house was sturdy.I mean, if a big-ass tree fell on it we’d be fucked, but the structure was sound.The roads out, however… That situation was a whole other bucket of piss.
I crossed to Byte’s bed and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.“Hey,” I whispered, keeping my voice low to avoid disturbing River.She was in the loft, but the house had an open floor plan so the loft had a safety rail instead of a wall.“Wake up.”
Byte’s eyes opened immediately, that same instant alertness we’d both developed years ago.Took a physical touch to wake him, but it was creepy how awake he was when he opened his eyes.“What’s wrong?”he murmured, already reaching for his own phone.
“Storm coming,” I said, showing him my screen.“Pacific system changed direction.It’s gonna hit us hard in a few hours.”
He sat up, squinting at my phone as he took in the information.“Shit,” he muttered.
“Mountain roads could be washed out before midmorning.Assuming there are no trees down blocking the road, we’ve got a window to get out if we leave soon, or we can hunker down here and ride it out.”
Byte glanced toward the narrow stairs leading to the loft and River.“What do you think?”
I moved away from him to sit on my side of the couch next to him and kept my voice to a whisper.“Cabin’s solid.Maggie’s had it retrofitted for earthquakes and storms.We’ve got enough supplies for a week.Generator if the power goes.”
“But?”Byte prompted, knowing me well enough to hear the hesitation in my voice.
I rubbed the back of my neck, tension coiling there.“River would be stuck here.With us.For who knows how long.”
Byte swung his legs over the side of the couch and leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees.“You think she’d be uncomfortable.”
It wasn’t a question.My brother knew exactly what I was thinking.“Yeah,” I admitted.“She’s only known us a couple days.We just told her we want her.Both of us.And now we might be asking her to be trapped in this cabin with us while a storm rages outside?Feels like we’re backing her into a corner.”
The wind gusted again, rattling the window with enough force that we both glanced toward it.“Roads could be dangerous already,” Byte said.“If we try to leave and get caught in a flash flood or a mudslide…”
“I know.”I stood and paced the couple steps to the window, peering out into the darkness.I heard the trees outside moving violently in the rising wind even if I couldn’t see it because of the total darkness beyond the cabin.“That’s the other side of it.Do we risk her safety trying to get back to town just so she doesn’t feel pressured by being here with us?”
“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Byte said, his voice still low.
I nodded, my jaw tight.“Exactly.”
We fell silent for a moment, the only sound the increasingly aggressive wind and the soft creaking of the cabin’s timbers as they flexed against the pressure.
“We should ask her,” Byte finally said.
I turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised.“Wake her up at three in the morning to tell her we can stay here where it’s safe, or we can go into town so she’s not stuck here indefinitely but would risk her life in ways that make my skin crawl?”
Byte’s lips quirked into a half smile despite the tension.“When you put it that way…” Then his expression sobered.“But yeah.We have to ask her.It’s her life too, Crush.Her safety.Her choice.You heard her before.Anytime something affects someone else, they make the decision.If she’s gonna even think about giving us a chance, we have to give her this.Intentional or not, wise or not, this will be the first test of our promises to her.”
He was right, and I knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier.Every protective instinct in my body screamed to make the decision for her, to keep her safe at all costs.But I remembered how her eyes had lit up when she’d talked about making her own choices, about having control over her life after so many years of having none.
