It felt like the bottom just fell out of my stomach. It was one thing to have Dane tell me about Stubbs threatening his family, and another to see what that asshole was capable of doing, simply because Dane had ignored his phone calls. What would Stubbs do the next time he felt slighted or ignored?
“You need to go to the authorities, Dane—and you, Slater, need to go to the hospital.” It didn’t matter that I’d already gotten the FBI involved behind the scenes. I was still hoping that Dane would accept their help willingly, so that I wouldn’t feel like I was betraying him by going behind his back. “It’s stupid to think that Stubbs is going to let you and your family off the hook once you’re done, when he knows he can just continue to bully you into doing his bidding.”
Dane shook his head no, his jaw clenched with anger even as he spoke. “He won’t—’cause he knows he’ll start a war between our families. He may be willing to push our buttons to get this job done, and we may be tolerating him because there’s a quick end in sight, but he’s well aware that this will escalate if he doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain.”
“Dane’s right, Avery. Stubbs doesn’t want to deal with us any longer than he has to, and from what I overheard, it sounds to me like he’s taking some heat from whoever he’s doing this job for.” Slater shifted in his seat and grimaced in pain, making it clear that his injuries went well beyond his face.
“Take off your shirt.” Seeing Slater battered and broken had left me shaken, wondering what lengths Stubbs would go to in order to get what he wanted. I had to do something. Dane and his family...they couldn’t continue like this.
Slater gave me a crooked smile, as he started to pull off his t-shirt. “I always knew you wanted to get me naked.”
“You’re so fucking funny.” Dane glared at him, grabbing Slater’s t-shirt and helping him out of it when it became clear that his movements were restricted from his injuries. “Fucking hell...Avery’s right. You need to go to the hospital.”
I swallowed down my gasp and tried to ignore the sting of tears that burned my eyes at the sight of Slater’s injuries. His sides were already bruised and mottled with deep shades of purple, and if he didn’t have a broken rib or two, it’d be a damn miracle.
Of course, Slater brushed it off. “I’ll heal just fine. But Stubbs is growing impatient—or rather, his buyer is. I don’t know that they’re going to give you a whole lot more time to get this thing sorted out.”
“Impatient? I’ll fucking show him impatient if he thinks he can just come after one of us and there won’t be consequences.” Dane grabbed his phone and headed down the hall to his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Don’t look so worried, sunshine. You know Dane will find a way to sort it all out.” Slater grabbed my hand, and gave it a squeeze. “I can’t believe you’re back—not that I blame you for going. It’s just that I fucking missed having you around.”
“I know. I missed you too.” But after the way Dane and I split up, I couldn’t bear to be around anything or anyone who reminded me of my heartache. And Slater, unfortunately, had been collateral damage, even though we’d talked a handful of times soon after, since he’d been worried about me.
“So...the two of you...you’re back together again?”
Slater’s words hung in the air as I tried to find an honest answer to give him.
“I honestly don’t know. Things still feel raw. But...you know I still love him. I’m just not sure that getting back together is in the cards.” I refused to get my hopes up, only to find that I couldn’t get over our past. It was a tough pill to swallow, and though I wanted to move on, I wasn’t sure moving on meant that I’d be moving on with Dane.
“I know he fucked up. But I swear, not a moment’s gone by that he hasn’t beaten himself up for what he did to you.” He squeezed my hand, his blue eyes kind, despite the scrapes and bruising. “Avery...he hasn’t been himself since he lost you.”
“He didn’t lose me, Slater—he threw me away. Like what we had didn’t matter to him one bit.” Though my eyes were stinging with threatening tears, I refused to let them fall.
Slater let out a grunt, his face lining with pain even as his eyes begged me for forgiveness. “Fuck...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Avery. I know how hard this has all been on you.”
Yet before I could say anything, Dane returned, no longer on the phone as he tilted his gaze, settling on his brother. “Stubbs won’t be bothering you again. I’m just sorry you got dragged into this mess.”
“Don’t be fucking apologizing when this whole thing is no one’s fault but that asshole’s. He’s the one trying to manipulate our entire family just so he can get his hands on those plans—and he’s the only one who’s dragged us into this.” Slater growled out his words, and I couldn’t blame him one bit for being angry.
Now more than ever, it was clear that the Blackthorns really were trying to distance themselves from the life of trouble they’d once been involved in. To have someone drag you back into a life of crime when you’d been doing all you could to stay straight had to be frustrating. But that was just all the more reason to get the FBI involved so that we could lock up Stubbs and his associates, once and for all. If not, I had no doubt Stubbs would find a way to keep dragging them from one job to another if someone didn’t put a stop to it.
When Dane draped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, kissing the top of my head, I let him. My body melted into his as I held onto him, not caring that Slater was taking in every little interaction.
Still holding me close, Dane turned his attention to Slater. “I won’t push you to go to the hospital if you don’t want to go, but I need you to be honest with me about just how serious you think your injuries are. The last thing I want to have to do is explain to Mom that you’re in critical condition because you had a broken rib that punctured some vital organ and I didn’t take you to the hospital.”
“It hurts, but I don’t think anything is broken.” He cringed and cursed under his breath as he pushed himself out of the chair, prompting Dane and me to help him, even though he waved us away. “If I could get a ride home, though, that would be great.”
“Yeah...of course.” Dane turned to me, Slater’s arm hoisted over his shoulder for support. “You should be safe here, if you want to stay. I won’t be long. Twenty minutes tops.”
I debated going, in case they needed help, but I knew Dane would manage just fine, and I needed to get in touch with Turner. The FBI needed to know that Stubbs was escalating his threats, and I needed their altered plans of Chameleon before things really got out of hand. I was trying to stall Dane, by pretending that I was having a hard time accessing the information he needed, but in reality, I was just trying to buy some time.
I stuffed my hands in the back pocket of my jeans, and gave him a shrug. “I can stay. Get the dishes cleaned up. Unless you need me?”
He gave me a look that said he’d always need me, making my heart hammer, especially when he stole a kiss. “We’ll be fine. Twenty minutes.”
I gave Slater a careful hug and kissed his cheek. “You take care, okay?”
Slater gave me a crooked smile, filled with mischief. “Always.”