Page 34 of Pack Coffey

Later as we're sitting in the coffee shop in the city, purposely avoiding the campus town, we're both nursing our warm drinks when she smiles, saying, "I really didn't think you liked coffee."

"Why's that?" I ask.

She acts like she thinks on it for a second. "You seem like more of a hot tea kind of person."

I look at her incredulously and she laughs. I love the way it sounds, dancing across my skin. Not so much how many heads the sound turns. I know without a doubt that I'm falling for her just as hard as the others at this point. Looking past the superficial things like beauty and even her scent that drives me wild, I love how smart she is and always looking for answers to the things that she doesn't understand.

"I hope you don't mind, but Saint told us about what happened with your brother. Are you okay?" I ask her.

"No secrets in the pack, yeah?" She shrugs. "I'm okay as I'll ever be. The whole explosion has been a long time coming, honestly. He's completely lost it and blames us for putting him there. I just don't think I'll ever understand how one minute he's fine and admitting to what he did, and the next we're to blame."

"Typical narcissist," I tell her. "I witnessed it first hand with one of my mother's pack alphas. It was brutal. He put her through a lot of pain and anguish before he was finally stopped."

She looks down at the table and plays with the handle on her cup like she's ashamed of what she's about to say. "I'm thinking about breaking ties with him and just not going to visit anymore. My parents have."

"That's probably for the best," I say, giving her the encouragement she's seeking.

Her finger taps a rhythm on the table. "I'm thinking about blowing my parents off too. Until my mom decides to come back to reality."

Lifting her eyes to me, she confesses, "She makes me do psychiatric evaluations every month to make sure that I'm not going to turn into a monster like my brother. If I haven't yet and I've made it this far, I should be safe, yeah? I'm done with her controlling me."

I reach out and take her small hand in mine. "You're not alone anymore, love. You don't have to face any of them by yourself. You've got a pack that supports you and loves you. We'll always have your back."

Tears fill her eyes, and she ducks her head to try and hide them. I attempt a subject change so that she doesn't get embarrassed by her emotional outburst in public like we are. "I'm sorry, too, by the way. It didn't trigger my memory when you said that you'd emailed me before. It wasn't until Saint toldus your brother's name that it all came back to me. Forgive me for not reaching out during a time that I'm sure was impossibly rough for you."

She sniffles and brings her head up with a small smile. "You don't have to apologize. You're a busy man, and you didn't know me. I wasn't going to say anything because people get weird when they find out about Dylan. He's the reason I do the podcast, you know? The guilt of living under the same roof as him and not knowing what he was doing. If I'd have paid more attention, I might've spotted something to alert someone. At least the podcast allows the victims of the cases I cover to have their voice back."

"And that's a beautiful thing," I tell her, squeezing her hands. Add one more reason why I'm falling for this girl.

DARCI

The past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster. Ups and downs all over the place. So, when Henry invites me to stay with him at the pack house tonight, I agree easily. He takes me up the stairs to his room, promising that he isn't expecting anything but has another gift for me instead. His room is directly across the hall from Banks and Keaton, and he tells me that Saint's is right next door.

"Lawrence is upstairs by himself?" I ask, glancing up like I can see through the floor.

He chuckles softly. "For now."

He's held my hand the entire time since stepping out of his car, so he uses it now to guide me over to his desk where his laptop sits. Motioning for me to sit in his chair, he waits until I comply before reaching into the top desk drawer and pulling out a USB drive stick.

"Saint and I gathered all the information and included all of our sources about your brother on here," he says, handing it over.

I take it like it's going to bite me if I hold it for too long before setting it on the desk. Looking up at him, I tell him honestly, "Thank you for that."

He touches the side of my face, running his thumb down my cheek. "Of course. You don't have to go through it alone either. Any of your pack would be glad to sit in here with you to look through it."

That one statement touches me more than the flash drive. Standing, I throw my arms around his shoulders, careful of his long dark hair. I kiss his cheek like before but his head turns, capturing my lips with his own. I sink my fingers into his locks as I hold on for dear life as he kisses me. His scent sinks down beneath my skin and puts all my worries to ease. I feel like I'm in my favorite place and never want to leave.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Sometimes as they're just starting to get particularly spicy. His phone rings, pulling us out of the moment.

Someone on the other end starts talking before Henry's even had the chance to say hello.

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there soon," he tells whoever it is.

He ends the call, tucking his phone back in his pocket. He gives me one more kiss before saying, "I've got to run into work for a little while. That was my boss. Please stay with us. You're more than welcome to any room in the house. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Sure," I say, understanding that he's got a responsibility.

We steal just one more moment before he leaves. Left standing in his room alone, I glance around purposely avoiding looking at his desk where the flash drive lays. It was nice of them to get it for me, but I'm not in the mood to deal with more of the same bullshit right now. Going back to my earlier sentiment, I honestly don't even want to be alone in this moment.

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