33. Chapter 33
AHREN
I stood in the hall listening to Tierney and Connor discuss me. It was funny. I thought that conversation had no impact on the feisty doc, but I guess I had been wrong.
"He won't betray you either." Connor said, her voice quiet, almost motherly.
"He likes kissing me." Tierney blurted.
Connor laughed. "That's good. What about you?"
Silence stretched between the two, almost at the edge of being uncomfortable, and I nearly left them to their conversation. But fuck if I'm not a nosy bastard. So, I leaned against the wall and waited for her to continue.
"When he touches me it's like—blinding passion and fire and magic. He sets my whole being ablaze, body and soul. I've never felt anything like that. "
My heart swelled at her words. Knowing she felt the same way I did made me feel like King Kong on cocaine; larger than life and invincible.
"So, you two are together now?" Connor probed gently.
"He hasn't asked me to prom. If that's what you're asking, Mom." she said, throwing in her signature snark.
"He told me he wanted to fuck me, but I'm not ready for him. The worst part? I don't even really know what he means by that."
"Are you a virgin, Tierney?"
My pulse hammered as I waited for her answer.
Her reply never came, but she must have nodded because Connor replied.
"Oh, sweet girl. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them."
She barked out a harsh laugh. "I don't know shit about fuck when it comes to relationships. If that's even what this is."
"Sounds like the two of you need to talk."
"Two things Larissa. Number one, someone is actively trying to kill all three of us. Probably not the best time for a chat."
"And two?" Connor prompted, irritation rising in my chest as I realized she'd never bothered speaking so politely to me.
Tierney blew out a harsh breath. "Two. What if Ahren doesn't want someone who doesn't know—things?"
The sheets rustled softly and Tierney let out a shuddering breath.
Fuck. I wanted her so much it hurt. My arms physically ached with the need to touch her.
I agreed that this was a shitty time to have an important conversation, but her fear, the part of her that put up walls to keep people out, that part of her was quietly laying bricks in the wall between us.
If I waited too long, she might be unreachable.
I left the hallway and headed to the kitchen to make hot drinks for them and pour myself two fingers of Wolfsbane.
Tierney was in the wooden chair when I entered the room. Connor seemed to be trying to fall back asleep, her eyes snapping open when she saw me enter.
"Just rest." I said softly, sitting the drinks next to the sink.
"Shower!" Tierney called out, pressing a kiss on my cheek and dashing out of the room.
I lowered myself onto the foot of her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"If everything would stop echoing through my head like an empty concert hall, that'd be great."
That earned her a smile, though it faded sooner than I'd have liked. "Are you feeling up for answering a few questions? The clock is ticking."
Tears welled up in her eyes. The tough as nails doc who didn't flinch in the face of mine nor Tierney's injuries choked up as I pulled my phone from my pocket and showed her the images of the messages written on her body.
"She said I had twenty-four hours. That was just over three and a half hours ago."
She nodded, her professional, un-fuck-with-able mask slipping into place. "What do you need to know? I don't remember much."
"What did she look like? Did you hear a name?"
"No." she said, giving her head a shake.
"What's the last thing you remember before you were taken? "
"I remember Jason called me on the way home and asked me to come over. Said he had something to show me," she growled. "I knocked on the door and everything went black. Next thing I knew, I was tied to a table while some girl with long, stringy black hair carved those letters into my stomach."
"You didn't see Jason?"
"No. I was out before he answered." She swallowed hard, her eyes sliding shut. "That bitch didn't even drug me until after she was finished. I felt every cut."
"I take it you didn't see her face?"
"No. That's not something I would have been able to forget—ever. "
I patted her arm. Comfort wasn't my thing, but these two women seemed to bring out a different side of me. A protective instinct I thought my father had burned out of me when he destroyed the rest of my emotions.
"I'll let you get some rest." I murmured, moving to stand up, but Connor's hand caught my arm.
"You need to talk to her. She's as lethal as you are, but somehow, that girl is still—"
"Innocent." I finished for her.
She nodded, but kept the razor sharp commentary I had become accustomed to, to herself.
"I overheard part of your conversation earlier." I muttered, feeling something akin to shame admitting my eavesdropping.
Her head fell to the side, her brow arched. The look spoke volumes of her eternal disappointment in my life choices.
"Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Listening in, even in my own house, is bad apparently. Heard ya," I quipped .
"Seriously though, if you heard, you know she needs to hear your intentions from you."
"And if I don't know my intentions?"
A dry laugh escaped her. "I can't figure it out for you. Just be honest with her."
"Oh, and I know how you are one and done with women. No judgment. None. But, if you hurt that girl—I swear to you, Ahren Rossdale I will help her hunt you down and do unspeakable things to you while you slowly bleed out. "
The corner of my lips quirked up. "That was—maybe the scariest threat I've ever gotten—oddly specific."
She waved me off. "Being vague isn't really helpful in moments like this."
"That bitch is going to pay for every tiny slice on your skin; I’m going to count every one of them." I vowed. Emotions weren’t my strong suit, but I was coming to understand Connor was the closest thing to a sister I'd ever had. And no one messes with my family.
"Then add forty-seven." Tierney added from the doorway, offering Connor a smile as she entered the room.
"I already promised myself for every time my broken ribs took my breath away, I'd introduce someone to my favorite knife. Then again, I am not sure I want that bitch's blood tainting a perfectly good knife." She shrugged, dropping into the chair.
A soft smile made its way onto my face as I listened to the two women chat about their injuries, like two old friends swapping cookie recipes.
This was what passed for domestic bliss in our crazy little corner of the world.
With the lads asleep under her bed, it seemed everything I cared for in this world was in one room.
"I'm beat." Tierney groaned, lifting her arms over her head as she stretched her tired muscles .
"Ok. I'll take the first shift." I offered.
"Bullshit." Connor interrupted, shaking her head vigorously.
"You two have been awake and running for your lives for hours. It's late. Leave the dogs and a gun. I'm fine." She insisted.
Tierney froze mid-stretch, her eyes flicking to mine.
"I'm serious guys. Go. Neither of you are any good to me or anyone else if you haven't slept. "
"If you're sure." I said, not liking the way the words tasted like giving up and relinquishing control.
I laced my fingers through Tierney's, "come on."
"Night Connor."
"Night Larissa." Tierney echoed.
"Sleep well, both of you."
The door snicked shut, Tierney and I slowly climbed the stairs, our inner tacticians hating every step we took, leaving her unguarded. I knew she could shoot, taught her myself, but it was the principle of the thing.
We reached the landing, and she pulled away to head to her room, but I held tight to her hand.
"Spend the night with me." I whispered.
She smiled softly, looking years younger, and nodded, following me to my room.