Page 83 of Lesson In Honesty

“Is that going to bite you on the ass?”

“I shouldn’t think so. By the time Tabitha gets finished with the brat, I can’t imagine Ms. Kenworth will feel inclined to retaliate, especially since I intend to contact her husband if she does.”

“What if Tabitha hurts her?”

“Grit won’t allow it. Her job today is purely to intimidate, psychologically. God knows that bitch needs some mental reprogramming.” Eli patted Mack’s arm. “Good thinking, calling me before you stepped into shit. This might have turned out a lot differently on the wrong side of the argument if you hadn’t.”

Mack’s jaw tightened. “How can they talk about someone like that without any knowledge or compassion? It’s not even like Sierra poses a threat to them, yet they were tearing into her like vultures—what the fuck did they say to her face if that’s what they were spewing behind her back?”

“Maybe she’ll tell you, maybe she won’t. She didn’t need another blow to her confidence—you and Liam have some work to do, but she’ll find her stride with time. Those two will be banned, so you can reassure her she’ll never see them again.” Eli turned his head, finding whatever he was looking for. “Go find your lovers, Mack. Help Liam get her over the first hurdle. I’ll take care of Maryann and this unfortunate mess.”

“I’ll clean up. It’s my mess, after all.”

“The cleaners have it under control. Blood requires a protocol for health and safety reasons. You know where to find Liam?”

“Yeah. If you’re sure—”

“I am. You did well, Mack, defending Sierra. Take pride in it.”

With a slap on the back, Elias beelined toward the bar, and the pink-blonde woman sitting all by herself with her head in her hands. The woman whose friends left without giving her a second thought.

Blowing out a long breath, Mack wondered whether a stiff drink might relax some of the tension in his aching back and shoulders, then decided against it. A night of loving Sierra demanded sobriety, not giving in to his own desire to relax; whatever stress he felt about the situation was considerably less than what she was suffering through right now.

At least he could go to her, satisfied he’d done his best. After all, he’d drawn first and last blood, left one of her bullies with a physical reminder of what being a cruel asshole reaped, and discovered their friends had their backs no matter what.

If Sierra wasn’t hurting as badly as she was, he’d happily call it a win.

Liam

It crossed his mind more than once to ask Tabitha what she’d charge to annihilate the animals responsible for this current nightmare. He’d sell whatever he needed to, work triple the hours, to set a thick wad of cash in Tabby’s hands and point her in the right direction.

For almost an hour, Sierra was inconsolable.

He’d carried her from the bar on his hip because her legs wouldn’t work. The arms around his neck couldn’t stop trembling, anymore than she could stop the tears.

Whatever they’d said to her—and he believed there was more than the few tidbits she’d already told him—had undone five fucking years of building her confidence and self-worth. They’dunraveled her, plucking at the loose ends still vulnerable, and reduced her to ashes.

Concern began to spread its roots as the time passed and Mack didn’t return. Had he actually done what Liam had been dreaming about and given the savage little brutes some eye-for-an-eye treatment?

Part of him yearned for it, to taste their blood for what they’d done.

Instead, he focused only on Sierra, soothing the shakes and rubbing her back as the heartbreaking sobs threatened to choke her. She’d tried to evade his touch, obviously taking the comments ofyou don’t deserve a Daddyseriously, but he’d shut that shit down in thirty seconds.

Wyatt’s death caused enough of a rift between them, he wouldn’t allow another one to widen it when they were so close to finally healing.

It took forever for her tears to dry, the sobs to slow and finally die, and then for her to relax into his arms and just breathe.

It was days like today when he wished people could feel the damage they did to another human being. That the bullies who stripped others of their dignity could suffer the exact same way as their victims.

Gently threading his fingers through her hair, Liam managed to take his first easy breath in over an hour. Sweat dampened her scalp, tears wetted her hairline. Her pale face was swollen and blotchy, the muscles going slack after what felt like a lifetime of strain. “Babygirl, what am I going to do with you?”

Her fingers clutched at his trousers, kneading the way she did whenever she was persecuted by her emotions. Self-comforting—she had that down to a science. “I’m sorry.”

They couldn’t afford to tiptoe down that alley again, he thought. They traveled the same path each time she suffered a setback—meltdown, apologies, soothing. The system worked,but they never advanced; many of her triggers were still active despite every effort to mute them.

“I don’t want you to apologize for bullies being assholes, Sierra. The horrible truth is, there’s always going to be someone with a nasty tongue and twisted opinions who’ll take pleasure from the pain of others. It’s just life.” Christ, he felt like he was kicking a puppy. Lecturing her instead of comforting her as usual. “How can I make you more secure in us, minx? Five years of loving you, being with you through thick and thin, and three idiots with malicious intentions undermined everything.”

He honestly didn’t expect an answer—he wasn’t sure there was one.

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