34. Gideon
Chapter 34
Gideon
W hen Daren opened the door to Thorn Hill Manor, a hundred lives flashed across his face. Fondness when he saw Bellamy standing in front of me, oversized hoodie hanging down to the middle of his thighs, to bitter contempt, then resignation when he looked up and saw me behind him.
“Can we come in?” I asked.
He shifted his attention over my shoulder. “Did anyone see you?”
“We came around the long way,” I said.
He ushered us in, reaching for Bellamy as soon as the door closed.
“I’m fine,” Bellamy said with a small laugh as Daren shoved up the sleeves of the hoodie to inspect his wrists.
“He’s better than fine,” I grumbled.
Daren opened his mouth like he had something smart to say, but Bellamy pressed his hand against Daren’s chest and he snapped his mouth closed.
“I’m fine,” he said again. “Thanks to you.”
Color flooded Daren’s cheeks, and he covered the place Bellamy’s hand rested over his heart.
“What do you want?” Daren asked, staring at me over Bellamy’s messy, golden hair. “The return isn’t until noon.”
“What if I was here to check on Luca?” I asked, raising a brow. “If I was worried about his welfare.”
Daren narrowed his eyes. “You know he’s safe with me.”
“I do,” I confirmed. “And that’s just one of the many reasons I’m here.”
Bellamy stood between us, the fingers of his left hand still entwined with Daren’s, and I found myself drowning in jealousy. Bellamy was so perfect and pure and so absolutely unaware of the shit show he’d been thrown into with his initiation into the Thorns. He’d gotten me so twisted up in my own head the night before, the demanding way he asked for what he wanted, even through his fear, reminded me so much of the Fletcher I used to know. It hurt to look at Bellamy because he so clearly exemplified the best parts of the man I’d loved for my entire life. A man who put family and loyalty over all else, even to his own detriment, and I was ready to put a stop to it.
Once and for all.
“Fletcher is still in bed,” Daren said. “With Luca.”
“Does that bother you?” I asked, bothered myself with the knowledge Fletcher had another man with him, and bothered that Bellamy stood between Daren and me, swaying toward Daren and back to me then to Daren again, wanting us both, even after how I’d treated him.
The boy had no sense of self-preservation.
“I love it.” Daren lifted Bellamy’s hand to his mouth and dusted a kiss across his knuckles. “I’ll go let him know you’re here.”
Daren climbed the stairs and disappeared down a long, dark hallway, leaving Bellamy and me unattended in the living room. Decorated with rich, overstuffed black leather couches and dark wood furniture, the house reeked of money and power. There was no escape unless we were willing to make one.
“I owe you an apology,” I said, taking Bellamy’s hand and raising it to my mouth. I pressed a kiss against the place Daren had just done the same. Bellamy’s knuckles were warm, and after I kissed him, I held his fingers against my cheek.
“For what?”
He looked so helpless in the middle of that massive room, wearing a hoodie that was easily four sizes too big for him. But he also looked like he could be at home—if he wanted to be.
“Leaving you last night.”
“I don’t think spending the whole night together was ever meant to be part of the plan,” he said simply.
“I think I’m done with the plan.”
“Why now?” Bellamy asked, blinking up at me.
“I—”
The thought was interrupted by three sets of footsteps coming down the hallway, down the stairs. Daren in front with Luca close behind, Fletcher a few paces back. Luca looked like he’d just been fucked, skin glistening with sweat and fresh hickeys peppering his neck. His glasses sat lopsided on his face, but he fixed them before reaching the bottom of the stairs. Fletcher was in the same clothes as the night before, except he was barefoot now and his belt hung undone and loose, the button of his pants open.
The urge to grab Luca by the throat and put him through a wall for whatever he’d just done wrapped around me like a weight, and suddenly I was back at the bottom of my father’s pool, lungs burning with the need to breathe. But I was stuck, trapped and unable to get back to the surface, to get the one thing I needed the most. Violent tears welled in my eyes as my chest fought to find a breath, and then Bellamy slipped his hand into mine, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze. His touch cut the ropes, and I kicked to the surface, sucking in the most beautiful breath I’d ever had.
Fletcher’s stare darted quickly down to our joined hands, and the only sign he gave over having any feelings about it at all was the way his jaw ticked just below his ear.
“Last I checked, it’s not anywhere near noon,” he drawled.
“I think I’m done with doing what I’m told,” I said, tightening my grip on Bellamy’s hand. I didn’t know why he’d reached for me, why he’d chosen to stand beside me. I’d been nothing but rude to him.
Fletcher licked his lips, his bright and thoughtful eyes taking a quick appraisal of everyone and everything in the room. Then, he sighed.
“Daren, take Luca and Bellamy upstairs to your room. Stay there until I come and get you. Do you understand?” Fletcher cocked his head back and to the side, staring down the sharp line of his nose at me, even though I was taller than him by inches. Another tick in his jaw, a twitch of his fingers.
Daren extended his hand and I didn’t realize how hard I’d been holding onto Bellamy until he fought his way out of my death grip. It wasn’t choosing sides, but it felt that way. Luca would be loyal to me, but his heart was with Daren, and Daren stood with the Thorns. Bellamy had no investment either way, and I searched his face for some hint of feeling before he went. He lifted my hand and kissed my palm, the heel of my hand, then he let Daren and Luca take him upstairs.
And once again, I was alone with Fletcher Sinclair.