Page 91 of Thor

"She has her sister to worry about too," I said, remembering Amy's cancer treatments. "Without her job, without the health insurance..."

"Exactly," Tyson said. "So while you're justified in feeling hurt, brother, she's the one whose whole life just imploded. And right now, she's facing it without the man who promised to protect her."

The words hung in the air between us. I'd promised to protect her, and at the first test, I'd failed spectacularly. I'd become the very thing she feared.

"I need to find her," I said, pushing back from the table. My head spun from the sudden movement, but I forced myself to stand. "I need to make this right."

Duke's hand shot out, clamping around my wrist with surprising strength. "Not like this," he said firmly. "Not drunk, stinking, and half out of your mind. You'll just scare her more."

"Then what do you suggest?" I demanded, frustration boiling up again. "I can't just do nothing. Not anymore."

"Go home," Tyson said, standing as well. "Shower. Eat something that didn't come in a takeout container. Sleep in a bed instead of passing out on the floor. Get your head straight."

"And then what?"

"Then you figure out what she needs," Duke said, releasing my wrist. "Not what you need, not what makes you feel better. What she needs."

The simplicity of it struck me. All this time, I'd been consumed by my own pain, my own sense of betrayal. I hadn't once stopped to truly consider what Mandy might be going through, what she might need.

"I've been a selfish asshole," I said quietly.

"Yeah," Duke agreed with a hint of a smile. "But you're our selfish asshole. And contrary to all evidence, you've got a good heart under all that bullshit."

"Go home," Tyson repeated, squeezing my shoulder. "We'll check on you tomorrow."

I nodded, suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline that had kept me going for days had drained away, leaving only bone-deep fatigue in its wake.

As I turned to leave, Duke called after me. "Thor."

I paused, looking back.

"She came to your sanctuary," he said. "She trusted you with her Little side. That means something profound in her world. Don't forget that when you're figuring out your next move."

For the first time in days, my mind cleared enough to see beyond my own hurt. Mandy had given me a gift few others had ever received—her complete vulnerability, her deepest truth. And I had thrown it back in her face at the first test of trust.

I had a lot to make up for. If she'd even give me the chance.

What did Mandy need?

All of a sudden, it hit me like a truck.

Chapter 16

Mandy

Icurledintothecornerof Amy's worn couch, knees pulled tight against my chest like a shield. The blinds were half-closed, filtering dusty light across the living room in stripes that caught on my phone screen as I clutched it. Five days since I'd run from Thor in the park. Five days of hiding and crying and wondering how the hell my life had imploded so completely.

The apartment was tiny but neat, with medical paperwork stacked in precise piles on the kitchen counter. Amy was at the hospital for an extended treatment—three weeks minimum—which made this the perfect hiding place. No one would look for me here. Not my former colleagues. Not the Heavy Kings. Not the Serpents. And definitely not Thor.

I scrolled through my emails again, though the words had stopped making sense hours ago. My thumb hovered over the unread message from HR at Prestige Partners. I'd already read it three times, but somehow seeing it again might change the outcome.

It didn't.

"We regret to inform you that your position has been terminated, effective immediately..."

My breath caught in my throat, a familiar panic rising. My fingers tightened around the phone, knuckles white. Seven years at the firm. Seven years of sixty-hour weeks, perfect audits, and impeccable reports. All of it gone because someone had leaked those photos.

My phone vibrated again. Another email from Prestige, this one from my direct supervisor: "Your personal items have been packed and are available for pickup at reception."

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