Page 49 of Born to Bleed

“And do they know who Greene is to you? Because I just heard his name and it kinda set off alarm bells.” Sawyer asked, his eyes swinging to Hayden.

“Of course not,” Hayden quickly retorted.

Sawyers gaze locked in on Hayden, and it made Anna want to stand in front of him. Protect him. Not that he needed it, of course. She just didn’t like the way Sawyer’s eyes bore into him.

“And you’re good?”

Okay, that was enough. “Of course he’s good, why the hell wouldn’t he be?” Anna turned her gaze to Hayden, noticed the clenching and unclenching of his jaw.

“Leave us, brother,” he responded, his words cold, a dark undercurrent beneath them.

Sawyer’s brows furrowed, possibly in confusion, possibly in frustration. Then he simply turned and stepped away, giving them a bit of distance while still remaining close.

“What.” It should’ve been a question, but it sounded like a statement instead, irritation running thickly through her veins.

“I’ve told you that I tried to kill Greene before. More than once.” His voice was low, like he didn’t want to be overheard despite the fact that Sawyer was the person closest to them and he was several yards away. Perhaps he was hiding this from himself, then. “Told you that the last time I tried, I got two men killed. Got two holes in my gut. Got Derek’s leg broken.”

“Yes, I remember that lecture.” When he warned poor, reckless, impulsive Anna not to fuck up the plan. Right before he’d… they’d gotten distracted. By other more pressing matters. Heat flushed her face at the memory. “That was a long time ago, Hayden.”

He reached out, his hand cupping her face, covering nearly half of it and reminding her just how big he was. “I appreciate you defending me. But my brother has every right to be worried after last time.”

“Hayden—”

“He gave me a speech just like the one I’d given you. Telling me to get things done, but don’t let revenge drive me. That it would get me and those around me killed.”

She rolled her eyes.

“He also told me that despite how close Greene might’ve been to us, it would be too dangerous to go in and attack. He told me to let it go. That he’d help me kill him, but I needed to be patient.” His jaw ticked once more. “I didn’t listen.”

Anna bit her lip. Tried to imagine an impatient, rule-breaking version of the man before her. She couldn’t see it.

“I thought I was dead that day. And then Sawyer and Hunter came back to camp with Christopher, our doctor… he saved my life. Saved Derek’s leg.” His thumb brushed against her cheek, gently stroking it. “I woke up in agony, with sutures and bandages on my back and stomach, with my brothers furious with me. For nothing. And I swore I’d never be that person again.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest. “Hayden, you can’t still blame yourself for what happened back then. You can’t.”

“I can and I should. What happened was my doing. My fault.” He took in a slow breath. “I will see Greene dead. But I will do it the right way.”

Anna smiled, clearing her throat. “We will do it the right way.”

He offered her a small grin. “Don’t hold my brother’s caution against him. He has seen a different side of me, and I don’t blame him for fearing that side.”

Anna leaned up to kiss him, knowing that kiss would say far more than words ever could. Reckless or not, she knew the man Hayden was. She knew all of his sides. And they were all good, with a good heart and good intentions, even when he went about it the wrong way.

“This is a much better reception than the last time I attempted to discuss this with you,” Hayden whispered against her lips.

Anna laughed. Then she kissed him again. “Last time, you made it an attack on me. This time, you showed me the real reason why you were worried.” He was vulnerable. Open. Honest.

More than she’d ever expected from the man she was totally convinced wasn’t human just a month’s time ago.

“Perhaps I should practice transparency more often.”

She grinned. “I like that idea.” She looked up to his handsome face, to the sparkling blue eyes that she loved so much. “No more walls. For either one of us.”

Just speaking those words shocked her. Since when had openness been something she yearned for? And yet with him, she did. Hayden had gotten to her even more than she’d thought, weaseling his way into her mind and heart and building a home there.

That truth may have scared her, but not enough to fight against it.

This fear felt good, because it was laced with hope.

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