Chapter 17
LARK
As Coop shuffles out of the auto shop, Hal grabs my hand and leads me to the back of the building.
The other mechanics are curiously staring at the two of us. I duck my head to avoid their gazes and pretend like I’m not the gossip of the shop.
When we reach a door along the back wall, Hal puts in a code much like he did when he showed me their bike collection. The door beeps, and he pushes it open, tugging me along behind him.
We walk silently down the worn red-brick hallway and over to a flight of stairs before Hal stops.
Turning to face me, Hal gives me a look brimming with remorse before hanging his head. He mumbles, “I’m sorry, wild girl. I’m sorry I didn’t stop the fight. I’m sorry I didn’t intervene before Azrael hurt you. And I’m sorry I didn’t stop him from being such a fucking asshole.”
Unlike usual, he doesn’t put his hands on my waist or step into my space. Instead, he stays a few paces back, giving me the space he thinks I want. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’d love nothing more than a hug from him.
“Hal,” I start, hating seeing the usually happy man so down. When he doesn’t look up, I gently poke him in the chest. His eyes flick up to mine in surprise, making me smile a little. “None of it was your fault. I’m not upset at you for what happened, not even slightly.”
Instead of making him feel better, my words cause his lips to twist in a frown.
“You should be. I hesitated when I saw you tackle Az. I knew it wasn’t going to end well, but I froze from the shock of it all.
By the time I shook myself out of it and ran over, Az had already let you go.
I failed to protect you, and you’ll never know how damn sorry I am for that. ”
I’m shaking my head before he even finishes speaking. “You didn’t fail me. None of us expected that to happen, and it’s not like we’ve ever been in this situation before. And, at the end of the day, the only ones to blame for it are Azrael, Coop, and me.”
“You are not to blame,” he growls as he steps into my space. He places a hand on my lower back and tilts my chin up with his other hand to force me to look at him. “You are never to blame for someone hurting you, no matter what fucked-up shit they’ve been through.”
My eyes bounce between his for a long moment as I try to figure out what got him so worked up.
“I mean, that’s true to an extent, but I did tackle him.
I chose to get physical with Azrael, and he responded.
I don’t think it was a conscious choice, though, so I really can’t be upset at him for that part. ”
Blowing out a breath, Hal gently rests his forehead on mine. “You’re too good for us, you know that, wild girl? Azrael doesn’t deserve the grace you’re giving him after what he said, but you’re right that he wasn’t really seeing you in that moment. He was lost to his own demons.”
“We all deserve understanding when we fuck up, Hal. Including what you perceive as messing up. I don’t think you did anything wrong, but I forgive you if it helps.”
I’m self-aware enough to understand the irony of saying that everyone deserves grace when I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for my role in what happened to Wren.
His lips tip up in a half smile before he steps back. “It does. Now, let’s get you upstairs and resting before dinner.”
Offering me his hand again, he leads me up the natural wood staircase. I run my fingers along the delicately twisting wrought iron of the banister as we climb, our footfalls nearly silent.
When we reach a landing illuminated by a skylight, Hal leads us toward the plain black door at the end of the short hallway. He pushes it open and tugs me inside with him. “Anyone home?”
His voice echoes through the bare wooden rafters in the industrial space. Light wood floors, white brick walls, and the open-floor plan give the first floor, with the living room, kitchen, and dining room, an airy feel. Plenty of windows keep the space from feeling dark.
A black spiral staircase leads up to the second floor with five dark wood doors and not much else.
“I’m here. Remy and Rook are upstairs. I haven’t seen Az all afternoon.” Colt stands up from the light gray sectional and stretches his arms over his head before turning to face us.
I almost swallow my tongue in surprise when I see that he’s shirtless and only wearing a pair of low-slung charcoal sweatpants.
His starkly defined muscles seem to go on forever.
Unlike Hal, Colt doesn’t have any ink on his chest. Instead, both of his arms are full sleeves that stop after his shoulders.
His deep growl is enough to make me tear my gaze away from his six-pack.
“What the fuck happened? Why is she bruised?” Colt demands.
My eyebrows jump up in surprise as Colt stalks over to me. I rush to answer before Hal can. “I fell.”
I hide my wince at my lame excuse. While I haven’t had a chance to look in the mirror, I can guess where I’m bruised, and a fall wouldn’t cause that.
But I don’t want to tell him it was Azrael. I don’t want to get in between the five of them or cause any problems in their friendship. Plus, from the horrified look that was on his face, I’m betting Azrael is already beating himself up enough and doesn’t need his friends piling on.
Thunderclouds roll across Colt’s icy eyes, and his features darken. He steps up to me until we’re toe to toe.
My body unconsciously sways closer to his bare chest. I try to move back when I realize it, but his hand whips out to wrap around the back of my neck. He hauls me against him until I can feel his hard body pressed up against every inch of mine.
Colt leans in until his lips are even with my ear. “Falling doesn’t leave fingerprint-shaped bruises around your throat,” he rasps. “If you’re going to lie to me, you damn well better make sure you can do it flawlessly, sweetheart.”
My eyes close as I try to think up some other lie to cover for Azrael.
I’m still hunting for something to say when Colt gives my neck a warning squeeze that makes me arch into him and let out a small gasp. Heat rushes to my core, but I do my best to ignore the extremely inappropriate sensations.
A rough chuckle sounds in my ear that does nothing to douse my arousal. “You like that, do you, sweetheart? That’s good to know.” He pulls back and stares me down again, his expression now devoid of any humor. “Who gave you those bruises?”
I stubbornly press my lips together, unwilling to rat out Azrael. Unfortunately, Hal isn’t on the same page. “It was Az.”
A deep growl rattles in Colt’s chest, vibrating through me. He looks like he’s seconds away from going to find Azrael and beating him to a pulp, which is so not what I want.
“Don’t be mad at him,” I rush out. “It’s not his fault. I tackled him, which took him by surprise. I don’t think it was even me he was seeing. He stopped as soon as he realized it was me.”
Colt’s brows raise almost to his hairline. “You’re defending him?”
“Yes. Azrael didn’t mean to do what he did. He doesn’t need you dogpiling on him for a mistake he’s already aware of.” What he could use is a lesson on how to talk to people because he sucks at it, quite frankly.
With how pissed off Colt already is, though, I’m not going to bring up any of the comments that started this whole thing.
Colt considers me for a long moment, his fingers tracing small circles on my neck as he does so. “Are you always this understanding and forgiving?”
A wry smile tilts my lips. “I wish I could say no, but, yeah, pretty much.” I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and see the good in them. The world is a shitty enough place without assuming the worst of everyone else.
The corners of his mouth twitch. “Has it ever bitten you in the ass?”
I snort. “Many times. But I’d rather get hurt by being too forgiving than hurt others by not being forgiving enough.”
I’ve caused enough hurt for an entire lifetime. I can’t go back and fix anything for Wren, but I can do my best to be a good person going forward. Not that it will ever be enough to make up for what I did, but I still keep trying anyway.
Colt huffs a laugh. “Your sugary scent makes sense with how damn sweet you are.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I ask, trying hard to keep the vulnerability out of my voice. I’m not sure I succeed, though.
I want to be what Colt wants, for some unknown reason. My heart twinges uncomfortably at the thought of disappointing him.
He huffs a laugh and presses a lingering kiss to my forehead. “No, sweetheart, it’s not a bad thing. Compassion, empathy, and forgiveness are all selfless traits. Unfortunately, the sweeter you are, the more the world likes to hurt you, it seems.”
“Don’t I know it,” I mumble.
Colt surprises me when he doesn’t press me to tell him who hurt me. He seems like the pushy type. Instead, sadness rolls across his blue eyes as he silently contemplates me for a moment.
He then leans in until he’s nose to nose with me again. “When I earn your trust and you tell me who hurt you, I will make sure anyone who ever harmed you meets a violent, bloody, and painful end.”
My eyes widen as he steps back, like he didn’t just threaten to murder everyone who has wronged me. It’s sweet, in an incredibly fucked-up way. But I’m an incredibly fucked-up person, so it’s fitting.
Colt turns to Hal but keeps his warm palm on my neck. “So, what exactly happened that resulted in Azrael putting his fucking hands on her like this? Because he’s a raging asshole most of the time, but this is pretty extreme, even for him.”
Hal sighs. “Azrael said some pretty fucked-up shit about Lark to Cooper Finch, one of our mechanics. Finch, rightfully, lost his shit on Az and started a brawl that Lark tried to break up. She crashed into him when he was in that headspace, and, well, you can imagine the rest.”
“Fuck,” Colt mutters while shaking his head. “That sounds like a shit show. He’s lucky I wasn’t there, because he would’ve gotten another beatdown for pulling that shit. Where’s Az now?”