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Letting out a deep breath, Tanner told Alec everything. About meeting Lilac. About her showing up in Haven. To their argument yesterday and the call this morning from Linc.
“Right,” Alec said after a few seconds of silence. “And you don’t know why she came to Haven with her friends?”
“We haven’t talked about that yet. She’s so closed-off. So . . . scared at times. I don’t know everything that’s happened to her, but I can tell it’s bad. But I’m not sure she trusts me enough to tell me.”
“I think she trusts you more than you realize,” Alec replied. “If she came here because of what you told her about Haven, I think that’s a good sign.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“It might be that they were searching for safety and thought Haven might give them that.”
“I hate the thought of her in trouble, and not knowing what it is.”
“I’m going to call Jake, see what he knows,” Alec told him. “Then I’m coming to the hospital.”
“Alec, there’s no need for you to come here.”
“Are you going anywhere without her?” Alec asked.
“Of course not!” Fuck, no. He didn’t plan on leaving her again.
“When she’s allowed to leave the hospital, are you taking her back to Linc’s?” he asked.
“No fucking way. She’s terrible at taking care of herself and Linc has his hands full. Plus, he can’t handle her.”
“Obviously,” Alec agreed. “Then you’ll need support too. And she needs to know that if she is with one of us, the rest come as a package. And that we defend our own. From any threats.”
“No one fucks with the Malones,” Tanner repeated the family motto.
“Exactly.”
“She’s so thin, Alec. She wasn’t this thin before. To lose that much weight in six months . . . what if something is really wrong with her?”
“Then we’ll deal with that like a family too. We’re all here for you, Tanner. And for her. The biggest challenge will likely be convincing her to let you in. To allow you to take care of her. And find out what is going on with her.”
Yeah. He knew that.
That’s why he wasn’t going to give her a choice.
27
Why were people talking? And what was that smell?
“Opal, turn the TV down. And I think you used too much hairspray again. Think of the ozone layer.”
A low chuckle greeted her, and she stiffened.
“That isn’t Opal,” she muttered.
“No, it isn’t. Also, I’m afraid I don’t use hairspray and it’s not the TV making that noise.”
Lilac opened her eyes, looking around in fright. This wasn’t Linc’s guesthouse. She was lying on a bed in the middle of a stark white room. “Where am I? What’s going on?”
As she attempted to sit up, Tanner moved into her line of sight, his face filled with concern and affection.
What the heck?
“It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “You just need to stay in bed.”
