Page 73 of Lavender and Lightning

“What’s going on? What do you need?” he responds, posture straightening as his guard comes up and he goes on high alert.

“I need you to give me my phone, please,” I insist, shaking my hand for emphasis.

“I think that’s my cue to bow out. I just wanted to give y’all the heads up. The DA will probably be reaching out soon,” Lee says, taking steps toward the door.

Neither Caleb nor I speak for a long time, just staring at each other, assessing. The rain hammers the windows, and I can hear Gabby and Wila bickering in the back, but it all feels secondary to the pounding fear in my heart. My head swims, vision blurring.

“Thinking about his cock, aren’t you, slut?” Darren sneers under his breath.

I flinch away, keeping my eyes on the table. We’ve had this fight before, but never in public. And certainly not in front of my family. Jason is on my other side, my brothers and parents across the table. My dress is loose, hanging off my frame in strange places. I’d sworn it fit only a few months ago.

“The waiter? Really? Can’t keep it together for one fucking meal,” Darren snarls in my ear, leaning so close that I can smell the tequila on his breath, strong enough to drown out his clay and tobacco scent.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” I hiss under my breath, glancing around nervously.

No one has noticed how volatile Darren is right now, which works to my advantage. If a scene starts, it would be nearly impossible to stop. But if I could stop one from starting…

“Do you think I’m stupid? I saw you makin’ eyes at that fairy who brought our drinks. Is that what you want? Some skinny little beta bitch who wouldn’t even be able to make you–”

“Hey, Dar. You think you and Lydi are going to be able to make it for Christmas this year?”

Jason’s voice makes me jump, and Darren’s hand clamps down on the back of my neck, fingers painfully tight to keep me in place.

“Oh, for sure. Mother is going to be with the pastor on the west coast for the holidays. Thanks again for inviting us, Mrs. Anderson. It means a lot to be surrounded by loved ones during such a special time of year,” Darren says, his switch flipping.

All traces of menace and threat are gone, leaving only the charismatic alpha who could smooth talk the bark off a tree. My mother titters and coos, completely under his spell. I glance at Jason out of the corner of my eye. His emerald eyes, nearly identical to mine, are locked on my face, drifting only slightly to take note of the extra layer of foundation and concealer I had to cake on my cheekbone.

What do you need?His eyes seem to ask.

I blink twice, the backs of my eyes burning.I need out.

His only acknowledgement of my silent plea is the slight flare of his nostrils and the tiniest dip of his chin. Jason blinks once, slowly.We’ll figure this out. Just hang in there for a little longer.

My heart sinks, my breath catching as I feel the all-too-familiar heat of Darren’s stare on the side of my face. I slump back in my chair, trying to make myself as small as possible, keeping my eyes on the table for the rest of the meal.

Later that night, after Darren and I are back in our bed in our shitty apartment, I stare at the wall, counting the cracks in the plaster. Darren is shouting at me, but it’s just noise. Jason will help me find a way out of this. He has to.

I blink and shake my head, chasing away the memory. Caleb’s eyes are softer, and I feel suddenly very exposed under his gaze.

“Please. I just… please,” I mutter, hardly loud enough to be heard over the rain.

I don’t know how to tell him about my fears without launching into an hour-long explanation of everything I’ve been through, but the softening around the corners of his eyes as he considers me is reassuring. We’d talked about how risky going to the wedding could be, even doing a little bit of scouting on the internet to see if we could try to come up with a plan to keep me safe. But this new information changes everything. Darren is a shark who’s scented blood in the water. Allowing myself to be anywhere near him would only be asking for someone to get hurt.

And Lord only knows how much of this my mother has heard about. Judging by the phone call from a few weeks ago, she’s probably aware of my new relationships, even if Darren doesn’t share the details. I would have thought she would be happy that I’d found a pack even more influential than Darren McLaughlin and his grifter father. Something isn’t adding up with their behavior, beyond what I already suspect. But with no way to prove any of my theories, I have to try to solve the problems in front of me. And Darren’s desire for punishment and retribution can be avoided by simply not getting near enough for him to do anything.

We’re still and silent for another long heartbeat, but then Caleb sighs and his shoulders drop. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, he slowly extracts my phone, passing it to me like he’s expecting me to change my mind. I snatch it away, pulling up my dormant text thread with Jason.

Me: I’m sorry, but things have changed. It’s too much to explain in a text, but the long and short of it is I’m not going to be coming down for Sam’s wedding.

Hitting send on that message feels like a lead blanket falling off my shoulders. There will be fallout, but this is the smart move. Going to that wedding would be like dangling a juicy steak in front of a starving wolf. Lex and I can figure some other way to get my trust taken care of.

“What was that about?” Caleb asks, stepping around the counter to stand beside me.

“Before I tell you, can I ask you something?” I dodge his question for the moment and look up into his face.

He simply nods and waits for me to go on.

“Choosing to not put yourself in danger doesn’t make you a coward, does it?” I ask, picking my words carefully.

---