19. Callum #2
He might never have been mine, but I’m coming to realise that I’m his. That I’ve probably been his since the moment he stood up to me in his bedroom.
The hours tick by and I try to heed Lynx’s advice, but the memory of Ash’s face when he looked at me . . . I’m going to regret causing that for a while yet.
It’s an hour or so past midnight when the door creaks open.
I take a step forward, on full alert, until a wonderfully familiar scent reaches me seconds before Ash appears in the doorway.
I freeze in place as his gaze scans the darkness.
There’s no way he can see me, but when he stares eerily close to the exact spot I’m stood in, I start to wonder. I watch as he steps over the threshold and closes the door behind him.
He’s looking right at me.
The pull between us feels almost physical, like there’s a rope tied between us that he’s steadily reeling in. My body aches to close the distance between us, and it takes all my considerable self-control to remain where I am.
To remain still.
His sigh reaches me on the breeze. “I know you’re out there, Cal.”
I love him calling me that.
But it’s bittersweet when he’s over there and I’m here. And I know he doesn’t want me any closer.
“I can feel you,” he whispers, then rubs a hand over his chest. It’s a move so familiar, one I’ve started doing all the fucking time, but not one that Ash should be making.
It’s a coincidence.
It has to be.
“I knew the moment you got here.” He huffs out a laugh that has a desperate edge to it. “And what the fuck is that all about?”
Another heavy sigh and then, “Don’t answer. I’m not ready to talk to you yet. But I like knowing you’re out there. I’m sorry. I know how unfair that is, trust me.”
I do.
But I’ve broken Ash’s trust, so I do as he asks and remain where I am.
Silent.
It’s a little like torture being here like this.
He’s not sending me away, but he’s not inviting me in either. My gaze sweeps over him, the shadows partially obscure his face, but I can see him easily enough. He looks tired, exhausted even, and I have to take part of the blame for that.
I want to ask if he’s feeling any ill effects from his accident, but I’m not allowed to speak. The most I can do is scrutinise his movements as he lowers himself to the bench outside. When he rubs the back of his neck and groans, my lip curls back on a snarl.
Fucking Birch.
My fingers itch to take over, to ease the tension in his aching muscles.
Goddess, help me, it’s only been one night and I’m ready to crawl out of my skin with the need to touch him.
I curl my hands around the nearest branch, claws sliding out and anchoring me to the wood.
The pain of a half shift draws me back from the edge, stops me from doing something stupid.
Ash stays outside for a while, alternating between looking up at the stars and messing about on his phone before yawning loud and wide.
Go to bed.
Fucking finally, he hauls himself to his feet, then pauses as his eyes search the darkness.
I hold my breath, chest aching at the way his lips curve up. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s close, and I’ll fucking take it.
“Night, Cal.”
Night, Ash.
I keep watch for the rest of the night, awake and alert, because no fucker is getting past me. When the sun starts to rise, Ren returns to take over. I give Ash’s quiet home one last look, then get on my bike and head back to the compound.
It’s still early, but I want to talk to the others before Tanner Grey arrives. Whenever that might be.
It’s late afternoon when a car I don’t recognise pulls up to the gate. The guys on duty have instructions to only let Grey in. No one else. So when the gates swing open, I know it’s him.
“Hey,” I call through the open front door. “He’s here.”
Lynx appears, Jet and Mal hot on his heels.
They join me out front and we all stand and watch as what I assume is Grey’s car drives towards us. “How much are we telling him?” I glance at Lynx.
He bites his lip, eyes narrowing before flicking to Jet. “Everything.”
Jet’s nostrils flare, but his voice is surprisingly steady when he speaks. “You trust a hunter?” If I didn’t know him so well, I might be fooled into thinking he’s calm. But I do know him, and the reality is, he’s far fucking from it.
I hold my tongue, happy to let Lynx handle this.
“He’s not just any hunter, though, is he?” Lynx says quietly as the car comes to a stop a few feet away. “This isn’t the first time he’s helped us, and we’ve already trusted him with keeping secrets for us.”
“I know, but—fuck!” Jet grips his hair in both hands, frustration, anger, and fear tainting the air before he reins his emotions in tight. “I don’t want to trust him,” he all but whispers. The look in his eyes is enough to make Lynx step into his space and lay a hand at the base of his throat.
“You don’t have to.” He leans in until their foreheads touch. “You just need to trust me. Can you do that?”
I hold my breath, feeling every ounce of Jet’s pain. I can’t imagine how hard this is for him, and if I thought he’d let me, I’d pull him in for a hug right now. But I’m not what he needs. Lynx is.
The car door opens as Jet nods and steps back.
Tanner Grey gets out of his car and leans on the door frame. His gaze sweeps over everyone present, lingering the barest of moments on Jet.
Fucking death wish.
“Everything okay?” he asks, straightening and closing the car door.
Lynx ignores the question. But he doesn’t say anything else, so I guess this bit’s up to me.
“We’ve got a bit of a problem.”
His brow furrows. “So I hear.” He glances around the empty yard. “Can we go inside?”
He means in the room we use for our form of church. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve taken him there, but I’m not about to assume he’s still afforded that privilege. I glance at Lynx, eyebrow raised. Well?
He sighs like he doesn’t want to, but there isn’t really a better option. “Fine.”
Jet goes first, disappearing inside the house too fast for a human. Lynx gives me a look. I shrug in response. What can you do?
Grey’s face falls for a fraction of a second before he schools his features and follows Lynx inside, with me and Mal bringing up the rear.
Once inside the room with the door shut, Lynx offers Grey the seat furthest away from Jet.
I take the one closest, letting my thigh press against his shaking one under the table.
He calms a little, but even with everything locked down tight, some of his emotions leak out.
I will Grey not to make this any harder than it already is.
To his credit, he doesn’t once glance Jet’s way, focusing solely on Lynx and Mal. “Callum told me some of it through texts, but why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me everything?”
I sit back in my seat as Lynx does exactly that.
He starts with the arrival of who we think are ex-hunters at Morgan’s old house.
Then Ash’s mugging, the police who seem to be overly interested in him.
Birch’s appearance at Morgan’s house and then his running in front of Ash’s car, and yet another appearance by the police involved in the torture of Morgan’s dad.
Grey is silent when Lynx finishes.
So are the rest of us as we wait, desperately hoping he has something to add that might make this all make sense.
He rubs his jaw, fingers scraping over soft stubble, then says the last thing I was hoping for. “Well, fuck.”
Fuck, indeed.