Page 42 of Dark Wolf Soul
I don’t answer.
It’s not that I don’t trust Dutch. He’ll have my back, no matter what. But what he’s asking… I’m not ready to admit it to myself.
Avoiding his gaze, I get up and head for the fridge, changing my mind about having that drink. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The lie doesn’t convince either one of us, but he lets it go.
My phone dings with a text that I ignore. A second later, my phone rings, but I ignore that too.
Dutch looks at me pointedly. “You gonna get that?”
“Nope.” I crack my beer and take a swig.
Dutch just stares at me, clearly waiting.
“It’s Ramsey,” I say.
Dutch’s brows lift. “You two feuding or something?”
“No. The opposite.” I take another long drag of my beer. The longer this day gets, the more I think alcohol is the answer. I drop back into my chair and look at Dutch, who is clearly waiting for an answer. “He’s been calling nonstop since I got back. They all have.”
“They missed you. What do you expect?”
“That’s not it, and you know it.”
“I don’t know shit.”
I glare at him. “You’re a lying sack of balls.”
He shakes his head. “Dude, you should talk to them. After you left… I know you can tell shit’s different now than it was.”
“We’re all different,” I toss back.
“The squad isn’t the same frat boy party crew it used to be.”
“You trying to tell me you, Ramsey, and Razor don’t still burn it down?”
“Sure,” he shoots me a grin I recognize all too well. That smile has led me into some dumb shit over the years. Just thinking about it makes me shake my head. “And Crow still picks us up when we’ve had too much, the little homebody. But we want more than booze and ass in our future, man. Ramsey’s calling you because he knows you do too.”
“That’s the problem.” Dutch starts to reply, but I cut him off. “I was only supposed to come back for this one last favor. Now, I’m dragged into the middle of his fucking war, which is what he wanted all along.”
“You got anything better to do?”
He wants to see if I’ll choose my other friends over him. I won’t. My time with Levi taught me a lot. Training to be a soldier made me stronger and wiser. Less likely to rush into danger like I did the first time. But they aren’t my pack, and even if I hadn’t been dragged back here, they never would be.
Dutch is my pack. He knows it too.
“The Hills aren’t all bad,” he says when I don’t answer. “And this place needs you more than you think.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, so instead, I drink until the can is empty and Dutch’s words are no longer ringing in my ears.
When I’ve drained my beer, Dutch keeps watch, letting me catch a short nap, but even after I wake, Dutch informs me Lexi hasn’t come out of her room once. For some reason, that only sours my mood further. I consider going to check on her, but my pride refuses to be the one to step onto her turf. Not that her bedroom—in my family’s apartment, no less—is her turf, but it feels like giving in somehow, so I don’t.
Instead, I take out my phone and use my family’s private concierge app to order her some clothes. My father had promised to send some over, but I have a feeling it’s not exactly high on his priority list. I consider calling Mia, but she’d only bitch at me for avoiding her calls, and that’s not a conversation I want to have. I wasn’t even sure she’d show up for Claire last night, considering how badly I’ve ghosted her, but Mia’s not the type to take out her feelings on the innocent.
I sigh because that’s exactly what the fuck I’ve been doing to Lexi.
Maybe getting her some clothes will help tip the scales somehow. The sizing questions throw me off until I’m reminded how little she wore during that dance, grinding her sexy body against mine. I never put my hands on her, but I can remember clear as fucking day what it felt like to have her pressed against me. Using the memory to pick out sizes and styles, I smile to myself. If some of these items are a little snug on her, I won’t mind it at all.
