Page 65 of Sire
“What?” Nash charges toward Sire. “You fucking knew?”
“Yes.” Sire stands in front of Loch, protecting him. Not that Loch looks like he needs defending. He’s huge. Like Sire, Jace, Axel, Grant, and…
Damn, what do they put in the water in Russia?
“Because he loves Alena.” Sire holds his hand up to stop Nash. “And that’s all you should want; a good man who loves your daughter and?—”
“I’d never let anything happen to her,” Loch interrupts, blinking through the blood trickling into his eye.
“Um, guys.” I raise my hand. “Can we press pause on this beefy brawl while someone points me in the direction of a first aid kit?”
Axel lies on the floor, suddenly smiling. Pointing to the open office space behind me, he says, “In the break room, on the right, under the sink.”
Sire winks. “Thanks, Angel.”
“No problem. You know, it’s gonna be a bitch getting that blood out of the carpet.”
I aim toward the break room while I hear Jace laughing, “She’s the smartest one of us all. She’s trying to fix this shit while y’all keep fighting about it, which is fucking dumb because you can’t help who you fall in love with.”
This is true.
Quickly, I find the big red box under the sink and overhear Axel yelling at Loch, “Youwillmarry her! I won’t let you break her heart!”
Which is weird because, isn’t that Nash’s line? Why does Axel care so much about Alena?
“Fuck you!” I return to Axel’s office and find Loch shouting back at him. He plops down on a desk; must be Axel’s desk. “I already bought her an engagement ring today. So, don’t turn this into some arranged marriage bullshit where you think you can tell me what to do and I have to listen. I guarded her because Iwantedto. I was already in love with her, but then she fell in love with me, too, and now, we’re getting married.”
Nash seethes, “When were you going to ask my permission to marry my daughter?”
“Um,” Loch mocks, “after you punched my bleeding eye, but before you tried to break my nose.”
“Here. Use this. Apply pressure.” I rip open a pack of gauze from the kit and hand it to Loch. “I’m Wren, by the way.”
“Thanks, Wren.” He softens toward me. “I’m Loch.”
I wink. “I figured.”
“How were you going to do this without our support?” Axel stands, brushing the carpet lint off his black suit. “How are you going to marry Alena without her finding out about us?”
I walk over and hand Axel some gauze for his bloody lip. I advise, “That’s gonna need some ice, too.”
Axel looks oddly amused, patting his swollen lip. “Thanks, Wren.”
I smile. “No problem.”
“He’ll marry her,” Nash proclaims, “and we’ll never tell Alena who we are and?—”
“Here.” I hand Nash some gauze, too. “Lean forward andpinch your nose. Don’t tip your head back. That’s a misconception.”
“Uh…” Nash pinches his bloody nose with the gauze. “Thanks, Wren.”
“You’re welcome,” I chirp.
Suddenly, Jace snorts, and Sire starts laughing.
“What?” I ask the room of bullheaded men.
Sire grins at me. “Want to tell us why you won’t stop shaking your head at us?”
