Page 219 of Cross the Line
“Not my problem,” is all I say before I walk away.
“Eli…” Fin chases me to our door. “She has nowhere to go. Look at her…”
“I have.” I spin so fast bile licks my throat. “I won’t again.”
“She’s hurt,” Fin pleads as Jayden slips to my side.
“What’s going on? Why is Presley’s wife here?” he asks, anger grinding every syllable.
“She’s hurt,” Fin repeats, like that explains everything. “He hurt her…”
“Not our problem.” I’m not budging. “We have enough shit on our doorstep.”
“Salem helped me. She…”
“Did she? How? What did Salem do to make your life better? What did Salem do to protect you?”
Finley’s quiet for a beat, her eyes downturn with her defeated sigh.
“Fin…” Jayden starts, only for Finley to pull back when he attempts to tuck her wild hair behind her ear.
“She’s pregnant.” The pleading whisper has my gaze darting past her to the woman standing behind her.
Salem’s watching me carefully. Eyes bloodshot, hair hacked short and uneven.
All I can see is Finley standing in my grandmother’s kitchen. Her hair being pulled and violently cut.
Fuck.
“I have nowhere else to go. He’ll kill me and my baby.”
“Hiskid.” I open my mouth to say the bastard won’t hurt his child; I can’t, because he hurt Finley. His sister. His twin.
Salem shakes her head with a vehement glare that’s flooded with tears. “I… he’s…”
“The baby isn’t Presley’s,” Finley murmurs.
“Shit,” Jayden groans at the same time as the lump in my throat drops to my gut.
The weight of it makes it impossible to move when my head nags me to turn around and walk away for real this time. We don’t need any more drama. Things are getting good…
Fuck.
“Where’s the father? Get him to help you.” I say, reminding myself on repeat that none of this is my problem.
Except Salem’s right here in front of me. Her face is bruised, and every time she moves, it twists with a pained grimace.
“She can’t,” Finley says at the same time as Salem sputters, “He’s gone. Casey’s gone.”
Casey?My chest wrings so tight that my words come out strangled. “Cavanaugh? Clover?”
A long sob wracks through her with a snort I feel in my gut.
“The Wolves’ D-man? Casey Cavanaugh?” Jayden asks, his voice is dry with the surprise of the revelation.
“What do you mean, he’s gone?”
Finley levels me with a glare as she takes a step back and wraps a protective arm around Salem. “He’sgone, Eli. He’s dead.”
