Page 79 of Love Triggered

I make my way to stand beside Lainey. She glares up at me with irritation. Yeah, she’s pissed that I didn’t listen. I get that, but what could she really expect from me?

“Talk to her like that one more time, dickwad, and see what happens.” I shoot a glare at Rian.

“Get the fuck away from her,” Lya snarls.

“Never,” I reply nonchalantly. None of these fuckers scare me. I’m not afraid to show them what I’d do to protect my girl. They already know the lengths I’ve gone to before.

Zep and Rian step forward with murder in their eyes, trying to intimidate me.

“I figured you’d be far away from here by now.” Zep chuckles darkly. That would’ve been the smart move, but I never claimed to be smart. I’m here because Lainey asked me to be. My heart will always win over logic when it comes to her.

“Not a chance. I told you, I’ll do anything for Lainey, even if it means facing you three again.”

“First off, thefourof us won’t let you take her away, and second, why would she want to be with you after you destroyed her life and ours?” Lya pushes through the two massive bodies protecting her.

Rage swells throughout my body. How dare she fucking say that? Everything I’ve ever done was to protect Lainey. I love her. She already knows that Lainey wants to be with me too, but I suspect she’s in denial about it.

“Yeah, Lainey is too good for your manipulative ass. We aren’t letting you near her without a fight,” Zep adds.

I can’t control my anger. Lainey is saying something, but I can’t hear it through the ringing in my ears. She’s probably trying to stand up for me again, but nothing is registering in my mind right now except how much I want to beat the shit out of these guys.

Lunging at Zep, I catch him with a right hook straight to the jaw. He’s caught off guard by my sudden attack so I get in another hit, this one taking him to the ground. I’m so focused on him that I don’t see Rian charging toward me, landing a punch right to my already swollen eye. The fucker got me good because I instantly feel the warmth of blood streaming down my face. Every part of my body still aches from the previous beating they gave me, so this is nothing compared to that. Anyway, the pain reminds me of what I’m fighting for.

The rage swirling within me escapes as a roar. Zep’s still on the ground so I turn my attention to Rian. I’m in a fighting stance, ready to knock his lights out when the warmth of a small body presses against my chest.

I know who it is without having to look down. Her body melds into mine even when chaos is breaking out all around us.

Her screams hit my ears now. “Stop! Stop, Greyson!”

My eyes fall from Rian to her perfect face. Her brow is furrowed in concern. Just one look at her calms me a little. Fighting them probably wasn’t the best idea to get us all on the same page, but it felt fucking good in the moment.

“Greyson…” She slides her hands from my chest up to the sides of my face, not caring about the blood. She looks deep into my eyes—almost to my soul—before she turns to address everyone else. “Everyone is going to quit fighting with each other and start acting like fucking adults!”

That’s when I notice Thiago has Lya by the arms, holding her back. Her face is beet red and she looks like she’s about to murder me for touching two of her guys. She’s as protective of them as they are of her.

“Lainey, you can’t be serious!” Lya barks.

“Oh, I’m serious. We’re going to stand here and talk about it instead of throwing our fists at each other, hoping that will solve anything. You guys”—Lainey moves her eyes between Lya and the other three—“need to understand that Greyson didn’t sell me to Harvey. You already know that he only did the shit he did because he thought you were me, and he thought I was in trouble. He wanted to make sure I was safe. It was fucking dumb to do and I’m not making excuses for him, but the least you can do is hear him out.”

Lya and Thiago’s faces soften a little, but Zep and Rian’s expressions don’t move an inch.

“What he did was fucked up.” Zep glowers at me over Lainey’s head. “I don’t know how you can even look at him knowing that he fucked and kidnapped your sister. Your own flesh and blood.”

“Seriously Lainey, he’s a monster. He’s got you so wrapped around his finger that you’re blinded from the truth.” Rian scowls, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, it was bad and fucked up. I’m not disagreeing with that. You guys act like I’m completely ignoring that fact.” Lainey turns her head to give me a quick apologetic look. “But he’s trying to do better. He didn’t kidnap me, or force me to do anything. He wants to be better and show us all that he’s not that same guy you knew.”

Zep’s still holding my stare, but I won’t back down. “I’d never hurt her,” I state flatly. “I’ve been trying to protect her since I was thirteen. I used to throw my body in front of my father’s fists for her, not caring how badly he was going to beat me, and I’d fucking do it again.”

My words seem to strike Lya as if she’s been physically hit. Her gaze moves from me to Lainey. “Really?” Her voice comes out soft and a little stunned. I nod.

Lainey steps toward her sister. “So many times, Lya. He was just a child himself, but he did everything he could to save me. It just wasn’t enough to beat the devil at his own game. I know I haven’t talked to you much about what happened, but it’s mostly because I didn’t want you to see me as some broken girl. I’m supposed to be the strong one and protect you.” Her voice trembles, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“Lane, you don’t always have to be brave. Not for me. I want to know everything. I lived on the outside for nine years, I want to know your pain. I want you to feel comfortable enough to come to me.” Lya pulls Lainey in for a hug, and Lainey relaxes into her sister’s arms.

“I will tell you everything later, Lee. Promise.”

Untangling from Lya and wiping the tears from her cheeks, Lainey turns to address me now. “Andyou. You need to understand that everything they did was to protect Lya. They’d do anything for her, just like you would do for me. I don’t agree with their actions, but you can’t say you wouldn’t do the same.” Shit, she’s putting all of us in our places tonight.

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