Chapter 10 #4
I stalk into the hall and swallow the heartache his words so easily slice into my soul, because the fact is, he should choose her.
I’d be mad if he didn’t. But the way he so easily doesn’t choose me stings a little.
I cross the threshold of our bedroom and groan at the sight of our bed, unmade on one side, and completely untouched on the other.
She didn’t sleep on my side. She didn’t hug my pillow.
She didn’t disturb my space, not even for a second.
I carry her around and gently, so fucking carefully, lower her to the mattress. Her dangling ponytail hits first, and her swinging feet touch second. I lay her flat, her head on the pillow, and though she whimpers and smacks her lips, curling onto her side, I don’t bother running and hiding.
She’s not waking up. Not for a long while yet.
I peel her shoes and socks off and set them on the floor, then moving to the still-open door, I meet Cato’s harsh stare as he stands in the hall, his jaw clenching and his eyes burning.
Glowering, I close the door with a gentle snick and turn.
She’s my fucking wife. Not his. Not ever.
“Hurts,” Minka mumbles in her sleep, suckling on her bottom lip and scowling, even as she dreams. “Archer… hurts.”
“I know, baby. It hurts, and it’s all my fault.
” Shame washes through my blood as I lower my gaze and meander back to her side.
I unsnap her pants and cautiously drag the fabric over her skin, down her creamy thighs, and off the end, all so she doesn’t have to sleep in her day clothes.
Dropping the pants on the floor, I consider her top…
but it’s not the kind I can take off without forcing her to sit up.
So I leave it, thankful for its lightweight material and lack of long sleeves.
“I love you so much.” Like the coward I am, I lower into a crouch and press my lips to her shoulder.
“I love you more than anything else, Minnnka. More than anyone else. You owe me another eighty years, remember?” I lay my hand on her hip and press my face to her ribs.
It’s a hug. It’s a desperate plea for mercy.
It’s a fucking prayer. “At least eighty,” I rasp.
“I’m not giving a single one of them up. ”
I take five minutes with her. Holding her. Touching her. Syncing my breath to hers. But I hear the angry, rhythmic pace of a man in the hall, and because I do, I know five minutes is all I’m gonna get.
I don’t deserve more. Worse, Cato’s not wrong in his feelings.
It’s entirely possible he loves her as much as I do.
Drawing a deep breath until her scent reaches all the way to the base of my lungs, I push up straight and lean over her, pressing a feather-light kiss to her cheek, then I back away, letting her go before I do something monumentally stupid—like wake her up and throw us into a fight where harsh words are spoken and hearts hurt more than they already do.
Moving in silence, I pull the door open and step into the hall.
It’s time to face the fire.
Cato spins and attempts to step past me, shoving me aside like he thinks he gets his five minutes, too. I slam my hand to his chest instead. “No.” I steel myself, glaring at the boy who already knows what it is to kill. To hurt. To take care of his family. “It’s not happening.”
“Wasn’t so long ago I told you to fix your shit.” He steps right, trying again to move around me. “Something about how there’s only Minka and Archer. Not Minka and me. Not Minka and someone else.”
“Cato—”
“Guess I’m ready to try something new, ‘cos this Archer,” he stares down his nose at me. “He doesn’t deserve her. He’s nothing but a disappointment. And I’m not sure I ever considered a world where I would think that about you.”
“I’m telling you to back the fuck up.” I shove him backwards, my palm pressed to his pounding heart, and walk him all the way to the living room. “If any other man came at me about my wife the way you are right now, he wouldn’t live to talk about it.”
“So let’s fight it out!” He claps his hand to the side of my arm, buckling my hold. “Strongest survives. You won’t even have time to pout about losing, ‘cos I’ll find you a nice little grave to sleep in.”
“Any other man.” I step in his way and stop him from stalking around me. “Any other circumstances, I would’ve already drawn my weapon.”
“I don’t need a weapon! I’ll stain the floor red with your blood.”
“It’s okay that you love her.” I grab him by the throat and walk his furious ass back another three paces. “It’s okay to want to make this better for her. You feel that way because you’re a good man. You’re a damn good brother.”
He scoffs.
“But if you crawl into her bed,” I close my fingers around his voice box and finally draw him to a stop, “If you cross the line even once, if you tap into your Malone DNA and screw this up, you won’t need to worry about her ever again.
Because I’ll destroy you. You know where the line is.
Even when you’re acting a fool and flirting with another man’s wife, we both know you’re smart enough to tell the difference between right and wrong.
” I release him and enjoy the way his body gasps, instinctually searching for fresh air.
“There’s no one else on the planet I would allow to disrespect my marriage the way I allow you.
There isn’t a man alive who gets to love her like you do, and admit it, and live to tell the tale.
That’s all the clemency you get from me.
If you ever try to take her from my arms again, I’ll slit your throat and throw you in the fuckin’ orchard.
When I walk out of this apartment and allow you to stay, if I find out you’ve ever, even one fucking time, muttered anything to my wife that makes her doubt who she is or what we have, then I’m done with you. ”
“Archer…” Aubree hovers on my left, placing her hand on my arm. “It’s time to step away now.”
“You know where the line is.” I shake her off and hold Cato’s stare. “You know.”
His eyes glitter and glare, the turmoil in my marriage manifesting as a ferocious storm in his heart. “You didn’t have to do her the way you did,” he grits out. “You didn’t have to send her away like she doesn’t matter.”
“I know.” Fuckkkk, I know. “But sometimes, we do things we must, to keep safe the people we love. Hindsight says I should’ve told her to come to the house, to the place she belongs, with the family she deserves, and I should be the one sleeping here.
But that’s not what happened. It was impossible.
You and me? We know she’s special. We know how fucking loved she is, which is why I never considered her mind would jump straight to everyone loves Archer more. Everyone chooses him.”
“How could you not know?” he snaps. “How could—”
“The fact that her brain attempts to convince her she’s not worthy is something I will forever dedicate myself to repairing.
It’s a burden I’ll carry for the rest of my life.
But none of that, none of what she and I are, or were, or will ever be, leaves room for you to walk down that hall and pretend you get to be her man.
” I move forward another few steps, pushing him back with each one.
“It wouldn’t even matter if I died tomorrow. You will never be her man.”
His jaw clicks and grates. His lips thinning and firming.
“If you’re inclined to sleep on the couch tonight, do it.
You wanna play happy families with my wife while I’m out here trying to keep her safe long enough to still be mad at me?
Go for it. Make sure she eats. I’ll have more meds brought over so she doesn’t have to go to the ER again.
I’ll send groceries, because I know for a damn fact she wouldn’t have done any shopping since she left the house.
She’ll sleep for the next ten hours without waking, and tomorrow morning…
” My stomach flips. It twists. It fucking aches and oozes.
“Tomorrow morning, she’ll wake with more energy than she had today, which’ll probably leave her with renewed capacity to hate my fucking guts.
Be her brother, Cato. Be the best fucking brother you know how to be.
But if you try, even one time, to become something more, not even Felix, or Micah, or God him-fucking-self, will save you from my wrath. ”
I step to the left, clearing the way for him to make his move—the hallway is open, you prick—then I pass a quietly observant, not entirely sure where his loyalties lie, Harrison.
If war breaks out in this kitchen, where does he go? Who does he defend?
Frankly, I don’t give a fuck, so long as he stands in front of Minka and keeps her safe from the fallout.
Ignoring him, and the phone call I know he’ll make to Felix just as soon as my back is turned, I stride to the fridge and whip the door open to reveal… not much. A can of soda. A block of cheese. A packet of mozzarella cheese. A packet of Parmesan cheese.
And heat.
Jesus.
“It’s busted.” I place my hand on the shelf inside, searching for a hint of the cool that should exist. Then I slam the door and look at Aubree.
“I’ll have a replacement sent up and groceries delivered.
If you can convince her to come to the house, do it.
If she’s open to girl time, remind her you love her.
She’ll need to hear those words. She needs them now more than ever.
” Finally, I bring my focus to Tim. “Maybe you and Aubs could stay at the bar for a night or two. It hurt Minka’s feelings when you guys moved out. ”
He lowers his chin, nodding in acknowledgement, even if the shift is subtle.
“Good.” I dig my hand into my pocket and search… for keys. For my phone. For a fucking redo of this entire week. Instead, I find rocks. Two.
Three.
Four.
More.
I stalk across the kitchen and carry my cache of pebbles to the bowl we keep by the door. Gifts from me to my penguin. Expressions of love, even if, as I add the stones to a pile already here, she’ll never notice the additions.
“Where are you going?” Aubree stumbles forward a single step. “Back to the house?”
“Don’t know. Around. Away.” I shrug. “I won’t go back to the house, so if you can convince her to go back, that would be best for everyone.
” I spy a single, shiny rock amongst all the others, black with silver speckles and smooth, round edges.
It’s not the same as the others surrounding it, and it’s definitely not one I put here.
It’s… other.
Picking it up, I run my thumb over the smooth surface, turning it over and finding more of the same on the other side. Silver speckles. Glossy finish.
Other.
Mine.
I fist it in my hand, and drop my hand into my pocket.
Without a backward glance at the brother I love, the brother I hate, the brother whose heart breaks alongside mine this week, I stride through the door and stop only when Harrison follows.
“If Tim and Cato stay, maybe coordinate with them so you get six hours down. Other than that, I expect you to be on her around the clock. Even if she tells you to fuck off.”
He nods, the muscles in his cheeks flexing. “Yes, Boss.”
I start toward the stairs, sweat dribbling along my spine and down to soak the waistband of my boxer shorts.
Before I head down, I pause on the top step and peek back at the man already laser-focused and formidable.
“If shit escalated in there—” I tilt my head toward the door.
“Which Malone would you have taken up arms for?”
His eyes flicker to mine. Subtly, barely noticeably, the corners of his lips twitch. “I’d have employed what my colleagues and I call the ‘oh shit’ maneuver.”
My brows sling high on my forehead. “The oh shit maneuver?”
“Yes, sir. It’s where I pull dueling brothers apart, ensuring they live long enough to make amends tomorrow.”
I cough out a soft laugh. It’s the closest thing to relief I’ve felt in two days. “Something you’ve had to do for Micah and Felix in the past?”
He shakes his head, dropping his gaze and smirking at the floor.
“It’s what my brother and I say when our mom has grown sick of our shit.
We could be dropping bombs on each other’s heads and setting the world on fire, but the minute she steps into the fray, usually wielding a broomstick to whack us with, we shout oh shit and scramble.
Hundred percent success rate of living long enough to say sorry the next day. ”
“Would you have called Lix and snitched on us?”
Finally, he releases a full-blown smile and brings his eyes back to mine. “Yes, Boss. I would have. Just as soon as the bombs stopped dropping.”
Nodding, I start down at a fast clip, circling at the next landing and grabbing the rail to keep going. “Keep an eye on my wife, Mr. Harrison.” I drag my phone out of my pocket and unlock the screen. “Keep her alive. No exceptions.”
I don’t see him anymore. He can’t see me. But his ‘yes, Boss’ echoes down the stairs long before I hit the second floor.