Page 150 of Paint the Town, Dove
I’ve got a wolf and a lion.
Two alphas, rattling the bars of my cage, ready – always ready – to roam the battlefield.
***
Ryden barrelled through the door an hour after I tucked pig Hank into his lounge chair by the magazine rack, water in hand of course. The vodka pill concoction was long down the drain.
“What happened? Are you okay? I got here as fast as I could.” He pulled me in for a hug, a scent of…
“Is that tequila?” I asked, radiating off him.
“I just had a few drinks at the studio with Pierce and Emmanuel, nothing major.”
“Nothing major,” I snorted, tossing the last of my three shirts into the duffel bag fromGoodwill. “Are you even sober right now?”
“I am, I fucking am –”
“Don’t yell at me today,” I held up a finger, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Hank… he…”Keepsteadykeepsteady. “He…”
“He…” Ryden stepped forward, knuckles white. “Hewhat, Dove?”
I didn’t have time to respond before Ryden fisted the doorknob of our studio, wrenching it open. I ran, throwing my entire bodyweight against the frame, slipping right between his arms.
“NO!” I yelled, slapping his chest. “I…”
“NO?” His eyes were bloodshot, searching mine. “Why NO, Scarlett?”
My voice was small. “I took care of it.”
He didn’t move, arms caging the lion and wolf behind the bars. “Did you kill him?”
“No, I didn’t fucking kill him are you nuts?”
“I would’ve.”
“I know.”
“I still will.”
“I know that, too.”
He didn’t say anything for a beat, only leaning forward, pressing his torso against my chest, grabbing my face with both hands. “Are you okay?”
I choked on a sob.Don’t let him see. Don’t let him see.
“It’s her death anniversary,” I whispered.
He sucked in a breath. “I didn’t forget.”
“Flack’s dead.”
Ryden recoiled. “What?”
I moved away, zipping up the duffel, wiping up a loose tear. “I got a call from the hospital. He overdosed. And Sinead’s in rehab.”
“Scarlett…”
“Don’t ask me if I’m fine, because I’m not. We all know I’m not. But it’s life. Life’s shit and they were shit and everything’s FUCKED!” The rage inside me bubbled to the surface, the lion and the wolfbanging!Banging! Banging!
