Page 42 of Triple the Secrets
Hell, maybe Scarlett wouldn’t even want him around. His very presence would be a constant reminder of everything they’d seen.
His phone buzzed and he muttered a curse. Who the hell was texting him? He pulled it out and froze when he saw the girls’ names.
Wren: You’re back to being a stalker again?
Winter: Or did Scarlett kick you out?
Shit. How was he going to answer? He took a deep breath and went with his gut.
Rogue: More like I don’t want to risk getting bashed upside the head again. Got a big enough bump as it is.
As soon as he hit send, he cursed. What the hell kind of response was that? This was exactly why he needed to keep his distance. His phone buzzed again.
Wren: Be glad you got the broom and not the lamp. I’d have knocked you the hell out. Good pictures to send to your biker buddies, though. They’d never let you live it down.
Rogue almost laughed because it was true. He relaxed a bit. If they were joking with him, then maybe they were okay. He wasn’t going to push it though, he promised himself.
Rogue: I’m tougher to put down than you think.
Wren: So are you going to sit out there all night or are you going to come inside?
Winter: Or have we scared you away and you don’t want to be around us anymore?
Shit. Fuck. Damn. All the curse words. He wasn’t sure what to say. He glanced up at the house and saw that the porch light was now on, and the girls were standing in the window, watching him. He hesitated. Scarlett had asked him to go home, but if the girls wanted to talk, he wouldn’t say no. It was time for him to grow some balls and handle this situation the best he could.
I’m going to fuck up, but at least I can say I tried,he thought as he made his way towards the house. When he reached the porch steps, the door opened and Wren stood there, watching him expectantly. Win stood just behind her, and they were both wearing large sweaters and baggy sweatpants. If he didn’t already know who was who, he might not have been able to tell them apart.
Both stepped back to let him inside, and then they shut the door quietly. He glanced around but didn’t see Scarlett. “She went to bed,” Win told him softly.
“Besides, we need to talk to you,” Wren added with a small smile, but he saw the tension in her shoulders and the wariness in her eyes.
He nodded and gestured for her to go ahead. Both girls turned and headed for the kitchen and he followed. Both of them went around the small island and leaned against the back counter while he leaned on the island and waited for them. They exchanged a look and then looked back at him. “Are you done with us now that you know what happened?” Wren asked bluntly.
“No,” he said firmly. “If I was, you think I would be sitting outside?”
“You do have stalker-ish tendencies,” Wren smirked. He glared at her.
Win snickered softly. Then she lost her smile and said, “Seriously, though, we don’t want you to look at us any different. We survived, and so did Scarlett. So that’s all that matters.”
“Far as I’m concerned, you’re damn brave and strong for doing as good as you are now,” he answered honestly. This wasn’t a time for thinking, and he was going with his gut. “Look, I’m going to be straight with you both. I’m not a nice or a good man, but I will never allow them to touch you again. Either of you, or Scarlett. Not going to lie, I’m fucking pissed, and when I find out who those bastards are, I’m going to kill them, slowly. Painfully. On that, you have my word.”
“Maybe we want to kill them ourselves,” Wren said calmly.
He should be surprised, but he wasn’t. These girls weren’t weaklings. “Ain’t going to let that happen,” he told her firmly. Wren opened her mouth to protest, and he put up his hand to stop her. “You don’t need that stain on your soul, little girl. But you can get a few hits in.”
Wren grumbled, and Win smirked. “So you don’t think we’re damaged?” Win asked quietly.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You are not fucking damaged,” he seethed. “Who the fuck put that nonsense in your head?”
“Cool it on the cursing, asshole,” Wren said with a roll of her eyes. “Scarlett will have our fucking heads if she hears us. We’re supposed to act like ladies, not like sailors,” she mimicked.
“Besides, no one told us we were, but we can’t always help but think it either. We’re fifteen, and we should be out partying and having fun with our friends and dating boys. The idea of a guy touching me at all makes me want to vomit. And I don’t know that I ever will be okay with that,” Win admitted.
“You don’t need no boy,” he growled. “Teenage boys are a bunch of hormonal shitheads that only think with their dicks, anyway. Besides, you shouldn’t be dating until you’re fifty.”
They both snickered. “Hate to tell you, big guy, but it ain’t going to happen,” Wren sneered at him.
“Will be if I take you to the compound and never let you leave,” he sneered back. Then he internally cursed himself for making a terrible excuse for a joke. Not that the girls seemed to care.
