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Um, excuse me? Goodbye?
My face furrows. “We just got here, sweetness. And I had to talk your bear out of sleeping on the front porch, so good luck getting rid of either of us.”
Cassian steps closer, his big body pressing into her side. “We can do whatever you want, butterfly,” he vows. “Order food, go out. If you wanted to leave this place right now and never come back, we would take you home with us.”
Remi’s scent is the first giveaway. It turns dark again—somehow sweeter and more stressed than before. I realize it’s confusion when I see the way her mouth opens and closes, grasping at words. Tears fill her wide eyes and spill down her face.
Fuck, the sight of her crying is like having a cracked rib. My other hand immediately flies up so I can cup her head between my palms and press my forehead into hers. “Shh, don’t cry, pretty girl.”
My purr gets louder. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll fix it for you. Or we can make Cassian fix it. Either way, please let us take you home.”
“Smith would never want me there,” she warbles. “And he—he scares me. I’m telling you; he hates me.”
He doesn’t. I know he doesn’t, because he spent over an hour arguing with Celine, begging her to pull Remi’s application out of Forever Matched’s circulation. When Steel-Balls refused, he nearly shattered the door slamming it on our way out.
But I don’t think this is really about how much Smith wants Remi. I think it’s more about how much she doesn’t want Smith.
She’s right; he scared her. It’s understandable and totally valid, which only means there’s no way for any of us to undo it.
Except for him. Getting his head out of his own ass.
Which, based on past performance? Means we probably don’t have a shot.
chapter
twenty
“How could anyone ever hate you?” Damon asks, his smile flirtatious. “Impossible. You should definitely come home with us so we can prove how much we all want you there.”
Her wobbly lips try to flick into a smile, but she doesn’t quite manage it. God. That’s somehow worse than no smile at all.
I know what she’s doing. Remi is trying her best to play with him, even if she doesn’t want to. Trying to please him, even if it means her own feelings have to go by the wayside.
He doesn’t understand. And I’m really fucking glad—because the way Remi’s feeling right now? I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone my best friend.
Her butterfly blue eyes blink up at me, full of pain and doubt. I remember this exact look on a smaller version of her face.
The Remi in my memory is younger and more frail—but every bit as scared and heartbroken. She used to sit at the top of the stairs on Sunday afternoons, watching other kids go with their foster families or visit relatives while she was left alone.
Smith would come get me. I spent all week waiting for those three-hour visits. And every time, as I got to the door and looked back at her, I suddenly didn’t want to go anymore.
Seeing the same look on her face now is enough to rip my beating heart from my chest.
I feel sick. Shattered. And so insanely protective.
My eyes lock onto hers, pouring my emotion into her. The ferocity coiling inside of me gives my murmur a slight growly edge. “Remi, I couldn’t say this before, but I can say it now; come home with me.”
Her breath catches, hitching as her fill. “I want to,” she tells me. “More than anything. But I can’t Cassian. Not if—not if he’s there.”
Damon weaves his fingers into her hair and rubs his temple over hers to scent-mark her. She sniffs. A dainty little sound that would usually make me smile, but right now it’s another arrow to the gut.
“What did he do, sweetness?” D asks, his voice smooth and coaxing.
I wish I had his finesse, but I just… don’t. Especially not now, when I’m torn between wanting to knot Remi so I can purr for her from the inside and hunting my stepbrother down to murder him.
Remi looks up at Damon for a long second, biting her lip, until she suddenly drops her eyes to the floor. “It’s nothing like that. He was just… demanding.”
I can’t keep a hold of my growl that time. It slips out, the sound low and menacing. “Remi.”
