Page 50 of Bound By Them
“Dmitri,” I call after my brother, “I’ll catch you later. I have another ride.”
After he waves a hand in acknowledgment, I march over to the truck to give Troy and Edmund a piece of my mind.
Troy
Instead of needing to be coaxed to join us, Dani yanks open the door and hauls herself inside my truck. She climbs over Edmund and perches in the middle seat like a queen. “What do you want?”
I angle my body toward Dani’s. “Dani. I’m sorry about your cousin.”
“Yes. Well.” She shrugs a single shoulder. Her dark gray dress is simple, but she looks elegant all the same. “My feelings about him are complicated.”
Edmund reaches for her hand, but she yanks it out of his reach. “If you want to talk, Danica, we’ll listen.”
“No. I’ve told you several times to leave me alone.” Her chin juts out and she folds her arms across her chest. She looks about two seconds away from tears.
I want to hold her again, like I did that night at my apartment. I want to comfort her in whatever way she needs. This distance between us is painful.
“Right, but listen.” Edmund’s gaze zeroes in on her. “The Laytons didn’t kill Patrick.”
“Sure.” She closes her eyes and wipes away a tear. “Whatever you say. It doesn’t matter one way or the other.”
“It does.” Edmund frowns at the way she tucks her hands back, folding her arms and closing herself off from us. “It matters because we didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. And you can’t keep hating us for something we didn’t do. It…it hurts me and Troy. I think it hurts you, too.”
“Would you know if someone in your family killed him?” Danica’s voice is quiet. “Or could you have ordered someone to kill Patrick, even if you didn’t do it yourself?”
Edmund looks like he’s taking a deep breath, searching for patience.
“We wouldn’t do it ourselves,” I say. “We might hear of it happening. But Dani…we don’t kill people. Rough them up, sure. Maybe follow them. Scare them a little. But more than that, no.”
She turns her head to look at me with those gray eyes. Now that I’m sitting this close to her in the light, I see a darker circle of blue-gray surrounding them. “So then if your family didn’t kill Patrick, who did, huh?”
It’s a good question.
“No idea,” Edmund says. “But I promise you, Danica. It wasn’t us. Nobody in my family. I’m certain of it.”
“Okay.” She nods to herself. “Okay. Then I have to ask you both—please. Let me be. Our families have some kind of weird…dynamic. They don’t get along. My first guess was your family killed my cousin. I shouldn’t have to wonder if the guys I’m seeing are killing my family, you know? I don’t think that this will work.” She gestures between us. “Whatever this is. You get it, right? Am I crazy?”
“We get it.” I meet Edmund’s eyes over her head.
His jaw tenses. He wants to argue, but what kind of argument could he have? Dani’s right, as much as it hurts.
Falling asleep with her at my apartment felt…it felt incredible. Her head against my chest, her soft body curled against mine. Waking up, making love to her. It felt right.
And then there was the night before that, at Edmund’s. Having her between us in bed, sweet and small and so ours. If she’s hurt because of us, I’d never forgive myself.
Does Edmund remember his father telling him to use Dani? If we spend more time with her, we risk Ed Senior finding out, and using Dani through us.
“Yeah.” Edmund nods shortly. “You’re right. It won’t work.”
We take Dani home. Edmund climbs out so she can get out of my truck.
“Danica, wait.” Edmund clears his throat. “There’s been a lot of back and forth between us?—”
“Don’t worry, this is a real goodbye.” She twists her lips in an almost-smile.
“Please listen for a second.” He reins in his exasperation, but I can see it simmering in the way he holds his shoulders. “I won’t contact you. I’ll leave you alone so you can be safe.”
“Good.” She stands straighter.
