54
THEA
“It’s only going to be a couple of days, I promise,” Damian assures me. I don’t like it. Something doesn’t feel right and he’s not telling me anything about this trip he has to take.
I stare up at him, letting him see how unhappy I am that he’s leaving. “It’s almost Christmas.”
His fingers brush over my cheek gently. “I’ll be back before Christmas, princess. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Leaning down, he plants a kiss on my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. But if you aren’t back on time, I’m going to kill you.” He chuckles at my threat.
“If he’s not back on the twenty-fourth, I’ll personally find him and drag him back here to watch you try,” Wes chuckles.
I give him a smirk, mostly because I know he’d enjoy watching me try to overpower his brother. “I can’t believe all of you are leaving me. We could be sitting by the fire, drinking hot cocoa, admiring all of these beautiful decorations,” I say, pointing to the large wreath hanging over the fireplace and the lush garland on the mantle.
“Hush now,” Damian orders. “I’ll be gone for two days. Sutton and Wes for one day. I know it doesn’t mean much, but Adrian will be here with you. You won’t be alone, although I guess you’d prefer solitude to his presence. We’ll have our phones on. Call us for any reason. Okay?”
His words should comfort me. I feel safe here. Adrian’s here. So why is there this pain in my chest? Why do I feel like begging them to stay? I know it won’t matter. I’m being irrational. So I concede. “Okay. Please hurry back, though.”
They all nod.
“I have something for you before I go.” Damian turns and grabs a box off the coffee table. He hands it to me. “An early gift. Don’t say no.”
I smile. He knows me too well. I pull the strings of the silver bow, letting it fall to the ground. Removing the top, I see something unexpected. Nestled in layers of white tissue paper is a black gun, like the one I used at the range.
“I—Damian… I don’t know if I’m ready.” It feels like too much of a responsibility. It feels too dangerous. Yet, it also feels right. I feel safer knowing I have it. “Thank you,” I tell him with a soft smile.
“Think that’s wise?” Adrian asks as he strolls into the living room. “Might come back to one less brother.” It’s obviously a joke, but I don’t find it funny.
I scowl at him. “Shut up, Sparky.” It’s the first time I’ve used the nickname since he confessed the reason he went to prison. Suddenly, it seems like a cruel thing to say. I’m about to apologize, however, when I meet his gaze, it warns me not to. He doesn’t want me taking it easy on him all of the sudden.
Pushing my shoulders back, I keep my mouth shut.
“On second thought, maybe we can wait to return my car to the dealer until after Damian gets back,” Sutton offers, wrapping an arm around me from behind. “These two need a buffer.”
Sutton’s sudden need to protect me makes me feel warm inside. Of course, he doesn’t know that Adrian isn’t the one I’m worried about in this house. But I don’t need to say anything. Damian pipes up. “They’ll be fine. Trust me.” The way he says it makes me stand a little straighter. I can’t put my finger on it, but no… He couldn’t know. “Isn’t that right, Adrian?”
My gaze flicks to him as I wait for an answer.
“Of course, D. Not a single hair on her head will be harmed.”
It’s a bold promise to make, considering we’ve hurt each other plenty. Although, maybe he’s resigned to not fuck me anymore, so that won’t be an issue. But that doesn’t matter. The promise he’s making isn’t one he has control over.
See, once I found out nearly all of them would be out of town on the same day, I decided that would be the day I lure Cole to the house. That would be the day I’d take him down. Mostly because I know if he found out that they were all gone, he’d come anyway. At least this gives me the element of surprise.
The short notice from all of them didn’t give me much time to finalize my plans, but it was better than nothing. This is my only chance.
The problem, of course, is that Adrian will still be here. Generally, he stays out of my way, although I can’t take that risk. I need him out of the picture. I contemplated for hours on how to make that happen and only one thing came to mind. I don’t want to do it, but I don’t have a choice. I don’t want him to ruin this or, worse, get hurt in the process. So tomorrow night, I’m going to drug him.
I know it’s wrong. I just need to get rid of Cole—then I’ll deal with the aftermath. Their lives will go back to normal. If they hate me for that, that’s something I can live with.
“I need to head out,” Damian announces reluctantly. I set the gift box with the gun back down on the coffee table.
Wrapping my arms around Damian’s neck, I stare into his pretty blue eyes, taking in that perfect color and the touch of sweetness in them that he only gives to me. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too, princess. I’ll be back as soon as I can. There’s no way I’m missing our first Christmas together.” I pull him down to kiss me.
“I love you, Damian, so much.” I hate that this feels like goodbye. It might be, and he doesn’t even know it. My lip quivers—I can’t help it. I want to cry, I want to tell him my plan, so that maybe I don’t have to do this alone. But I can’t. I decided to do this by myself for a reason. And I need to stay strong and see it through.
My hands fall to his chest and beneath my palm, I can just barely feel his heartbeat. “I love you more than anything,” he returns. He pulls my left hand to his mouth, placing his lips on my blue-eyed wolf ring. “Right after Christmas, we’re getting your name changed. You’re not going to spend another year being Thea Griffin. It’ll be Thea Wolfe from now on.” My throat tightens. I wish more than anything that he was right, but I know that’s an unlikely scenario.
I have to let go. Time to let go, Thea. I force my arms to drop to my sides. I force away the feeling of wanting to break down. I force away any kind of weakness and let the darkness and fire embrace me.
I watch Damian walk out the front door. A moment later, I grab the gun and push it between my pants at the small of my back. The cold metal sends a shiver through me.
Heading downstairs, I get ready to set my plan in motion. There’s no turning back after this.
I close my bedroom door and pull my phone from my pocket. My fingers dance over the screen for a few seconds before I hold it up to my ear.
“Hey Cass, Damian’s going to be out of town for the next couple of days. Wes and Sutton will be out-of-town starting tomorrow night. Adrian will be here, though. He doesn’t want much to do with me, but at least someone will be home, even if it does feel like I have the whole house to myself. Just wanted to check in with you. Call me back when you have a chance. Love you.”
I pretend to push another button as if I’m hanging up the call. I know Cole’s watching and listening. I want him to know that his brothers will be gone, that this is the perfect opportunity for revenge. Of course, he thinks it’s his when it’s actually mine.
I couldn’t sleep last night. I spent most of it staring at the tattoo on Wes’ back. The wolf’s blue eyes staring back at me. Haunting me. I’m a part of their pack. I’m one of them.
This is what we do for family, for the ones we love. We sacrifice everything if it means they stay alive. They may not be happy, but they’ll live another day. This is my honor and my burden as a Wolfe. I’m protecting my pack, by any means necessary.
The minutes inched by, slowly crawling and taunting me. Every time I checked after what felt like an hour, I’d see that it’d only been ten or so minutes. The entire day was like this too. It’s as if the universe is trying to tell me to reconsider. Giving me one last chance to change my mind.
I haven’t.
Suddenly, Wes and Sutton are getting ready to walk out the door. Now, it feels like time won’t slow down—it’s rushing at me like a freight train and I’ve bound myself to the tracks.
“You’ll call if you need anything, right?” Sutton has made me promise this three separate times already.
I nod. “Yes, I’ll call, but everything’s going to be fine. Focus on the good,” I urge. “You’re going to get rid of that damn car and you won’t have to look at it in the driveway anymore,” I joke, although we both know he’ll be relieved to not have that reminder of his time after the accident.
His mouth curves upwards, the light catching the hoops circling his lip. “You’re right, baby. Now, go curl up by the fire. I got it started for you. Relax and enjoy the quiet. You did amazing,” he compliments, looking around at the twinkling and festive decorations adorning the living room. I put the final touches on this morning and finished hanging ornaments on the tree this afternoon.
“I will. Just an easy night, waiting for all of you to come back home to me. I love you.” I kiss him long and deep, letting his soothing lavender and sandalwood scent consume me.
“I love you, Thea,” he echoes.
I turn to Wes. He’s smiling widely and unexpectedly scoops me up into a hug. “I can’t remember the last night we haven’t slept in the same house. How am I going to do it?”
He’s right. When was the last night we’ve been apart? The night Cole kidnapped me. The thought makes my chest ache. Then, another thought makes it hurt even more. This might be the first of many nights apart and I feel like a goddamn villain for causing it. For keeping this from them. But I’m so close. Tonight’s the night. The one I’ve been preparing for.
“You’re going to get to the dealership safely and then you’re going to hurry your ass back home to me. But don’t be stupid. Get here in one piece.” His mouth finds mine and I bite his lip playfully.
“When I get back, I’m fucking you in front of this fire. I don’t care who sees.” I laugh a little at his feralness, then match it.
“You better. And why not make it a group activity?” Mischievousness gleams in his eyes at my words as he licks his lips.
Setting me down, he tips my chin up. “Get plenty of rest then, blue eyes. You’re going to need it.” He turns to leave, then stops. “Oh, when I get back, I have something really special for you.”
My face scrunches. What a tease. I smile widely. Deep down, this hurts. Whatever surprise he has planned might be pointless. I hope it’s something he can return.
“Yeah, you’re going to flip,” Sutton adds. My stomach sinks. Fuck.
I nod, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “I can’t wait.” I manage to keep my voice from giving me away, barely. I need them to leave before I completely break down. “Okay, you two get on the road so you can get back to me.”
They follow my orders and I watch them speed off in their cars. I love you both.
My phone buzzes. Pulling it from my pocket, I see a text from Adrian, not in the group chat. That’s strange.
Adrian: Be home late, have a last-minute booking.
How the hell did all of this work out so perfectly? Maybe I was wrong about the universe. Maybe it’s helping me out more than I know. I won’t have to drug Adrian and I’ll truly have the house to myself tonight. Thank you. I send up a silent prayer to whoever’s watching over me.
I walk through the house, gathering the things I’ll need and turning off the lights as I go. The only one left is the glow coming from the fireplace. I don’t have time to put it out right now. I’m not sure when Cole will get here, but I need to focus on what’s important.
Heading downstairs, I go to my bathroom and start preparing for Cole’s visit.
In the shower, I have a chair and rope. On the counter, I have my hunting knife, my gun, a towel and my phone with a recording app open.
I take a deep breath. Looking around, I go over the plan again. It has to work. If it doesn’t, I’m dead. It’s him or me.
Cole can’t win.