Page 46 of Breaking the Alpha
With the final signing, the mood of the room shifted from tense and alert to somber.Birch joined Jocelyn in the kitchen when she touched base with the lawyer, her authoritative voice providing a small reassurance the guys hadn’t made a huge mistake.
River turned on the TV and they sat curled up on the sofa together until they heard a knock on the front door.Muting the television, River cocked his head to listen as Birch answered it.Moments later, his brother appeared in the entrance to the living room, a large box in his hands.
“The security system I ordered is finally here,” Birch chuckled without a hint of humor as he dropped it onto the solid wooden coffee table.“Only two weeks behind schedule, right?”
River went on alert, as though he sensed something in his brother’s demeanor.His reaction had her own internal alarm bells blaring.Everyone was already tense and stressed and she’d been feeling the rise in temperature in the house all day.It was a walking-on-eggshells kind of day, where there was no telling what would be the final breaking point.Her own nerves were frayed with the uncertainty of who was going to snap.Or how.
River looked at her for a moment then turned his attention back to Birch.“Why don’t you and Jocelyn go pick up something for dinner?I’ll check out the return instructions.”
Birch didn’t seem to be listening as he used his keys to slice the tape securing the package.He opened it up and began unpacking each piece, unwrapping the plastic coverings and setting them aside one by one.
River sat up straighter, moving over to partially block Angelina’s view of his brother and glancing over his shoulder at Jocelyn who stood in the entrance, her brows furrowed.“Birch.I said I’ll go through it.”
“I’m almost done,” Birch said, as he unwrapped the last item and examined it.“Grey recommended this model.It’s supposed to be one of the best you can buy without going professional.”With the same precision he’d used to unpackage the system, he placed the various pieces back in and folded the box top closed.“It was supposed to arrive thirteen days ago.”
Before her mind caught up with his speed, Birch had booted the box clear across the living room and into the wall.River was on his feet in an instant, a grimace of pain on his face as he limped toward his brother.
“We’re getting him back,” River stated, moving cautiously between Angelina and Birch.“We’re getting him back and we’re going to take every one of those motherfuckers down.We just need to keep our heads.”
“Getting him back?”Birch yelled, shoving his hands through his hair.“He never should have been taken.I’ve been there day after day alone.They could’ve grabbed me at any time.But they didn’t, did they?They waited until I fucked up and left the two of you on your own.”
“Yeah, thetwoof us,” River snarled as he took another halting step closer to his brother.“They weren’t after you, because you’re the one they need to make shit happen.They came for Grey because he’s the perfect leverage.If anyone fucked up, it was me for not noticing.I wasn’t watching.I wasn’t thinking.And when shit went down, I wasn’t strong enough to stop them or fast enough to catch them.”
“When shit went down, I was at home on the goddamn couch!”
Both men stood toe to toe, Birch vibrating with rage and River swaying slightly on his feet.Jocelyn inched into the living room, her worried eyes on Birch as he took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face.
“Grey would lose his shit if he saw us hollering at each other,” he sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
River’s shoulders relaxed a bit and he limped closer to the wall, leaning on it for support.“He’d be calling Winter to rat us out.”
“I never could break that tattling streak of his.”With a tight smile, Birch exhaled a shaky breath.“I shouldn’t have lost my cool.I just…Winter trusted me to be the one to give you two a decent chance.Instead I managed to get Grey kidnapped, you beaten to a pulp by a drug gang, and both of us signed up to work as narcs for the Feds.I don’t think this is the chance he was hoping you’d have.”
She could tell River’s frustration was deflating, the muscles running along his forearms no longer primed and tensed for action as he slumped against the wall.“You got Grey through his first engineering degree and halfway through his second, Birch.We’re gonna have a fucking PhD in this family in a few years.And you got me out of Epson, just like you promised Winter you would.”
Birch went silent for a moment.“And when this is over and Grey is home, you’re going back.You have a life away from this place.A life you busted your ass to build.”
River glanced over at her, his expression unreadable while he muttered in half-hearted agreement.
*
As midnight approached,River left Birch sitting at the kitchen table, his silent phone in hand and Jocelyn at his side.With his mind heavy, he abandoned his crutches in the foyer and hobbled up the stairs to his room, the scent of Angelina’s lavender lotion hitting him when he opened the door.
“Any news?”she asked quietly as he walked in and his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Pulling his shirt over his head, he tossed it toward his hamper.“Nothing.Birch is going to wait up for another hour but I doubt the cops will have any breakthroughs.”He plugged in his own phone and set it on the bedside table, every thought and movement feeling robotic and dulled.“But I have my ringer on in case.”
He could make out the silhouette of the spaghetti-strapped nightie she was wearing as she approached him, the blue one with the flowers.“Did you remember to take your meds?”
“Jocelyn stood and watched me take them as soon as you got in the shower.”Leaning into the wall for balance, he pulled his jeans off, grunting when he accidentally yanked at the dressing on his thigh.
She was at his side in an instant, kneeling down in the dim moonlight and smoothing her fingers gently along the tape holding the gauze to his leg.“We’re going to redress all of these in the morning.I want to make sure everything is healing up properly.”
Standing, she skimmed her hand along the cuts on his face then pressed her wrist to his forehead.He took the opportunity to capture her hand in his and brought it to his lips before ducking his head down for a kiss, the numbness he felt since Birch’s outburst sliding away faster than he could process.He could feel the day’s desperation and frustration rising up as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to him, his need to connect with her becoming almost painful.
Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers and squeezed his eyes shut, his breathing ragged.“We better not start this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.“There isn’t a calm or controlled bone in my fucking body right now and I’m scared as hell I’ll hurt you.”
Instead of backing away, she rose onto her toes and nipped at his throat, her hand reached between them to cup his erection through his boxers.“You won’t.I promise.I’m more worried about you hurtingyourself.”
