Page 68 of The Return
“Kiss the man, Kinsey. Let’s make this official.”
Kinsey winced when he reached up and curled his fingers in Matt’s hair, then pulled him down. The kiss wasn’t soft or delicate—it was claiming in much the same way Jonas had done with me.
“And with that, I pronounce the two of you joined. Congratulations.”
Matt sat up. “Thank you.”
“Now get out,” Kinsey growled. “All of you.”
Everyone laughed as we made our way to the door. Before I closed it, I stood and smiled as Kinsey pulled Matt onto the narrow bed, sighing when Matt wound around him gently and laid his head on Kinsey’s shoulder. He glanced up at me and mouthed, “ Thank you.”
Yes. I trusted my pack with my life. Someone else was responsible, and I would figure out who.
CHAPTER18
COREY
The house wasquiet with Matt staying overnight at the hospital. Jonas had called four of his wolves to stand guard, simply as a precaution, he said. Matt was grateful. Kinsey was… less than thrilled. Hemighthave made a few threats and said unflattering things to Jonas, who stood there with a big grin on his face until Kinsey ran out of steam and hung up.
While he was talking to Kinsey, I made some phone calls of my own. I wanted to check on DD and Sawyer, the fire chief who Jonas had helped escape the flames. DD said she was getting better, but by her voice, I could tell she was still in pain. I called the florist and had him send a chicken soup bouquet, with flowers, a big mug, and several containers of soup. She called me back and thanked me, saying it wasn’t necessary, because I was Alpha Mate, and—I told her to shut up.
I owed her so much. She tried to save a building. Yes, I was wrecked when I first heard, but then DD, Sawyer, and Jonas got hurt, and it made me wonder, how important was the shop in the grand scheme of things? The answer was not very. Jonas had been right. The shop could be rebuilt, but death was forever.
Sawyer was grumbly when he answered. As we spoke, he was berating someone in the background, telling them he wasn’t a “fucking invalid” and that they should go home. The warm laugh told me that wasn’t likely to happen.
“Please, tell Lance I’m fine on my own,” Sawyer pleaded.
“Put him on the phone, please.”
Sawyer yelled for Lance to come to the phone. A moment later, Lance’s voice came on the line. “I’m not leaving.”
That made me chuckle. “I wasn’t going to ask you to. Keep an eye on him, okay? Tell him I said for you to stay as long as you deemed necessary.”
“Okay!” he cried happily, his voice rising an octave. “Sawyer, you grumpy bastard, Corey said I should stay as long asIthought I needed to.”
“What? No! Gimme that phone!”
“Oh, sorry. He already disconnected.”
And with that, I did.
Strong arms encircled me. “What are you smiling about?”
“Sawyer’s going to be loved to death, I think.”
“You mean Lance? I think it’s cute that Sawyer believes he has a chance in hell of getting out of this with his heart intact.”
I turned in Jonas’s embrace and wrapped my arms around him. “You think Lance would hurt him?”
“Oh, no. I mean Sawyer is going to be kicking and screaming, but Lance isn’t going to allow him to back down.”
I stood on tiptoe and kissed Jonas’s chin. “Funny how you can get when you really want something.”
An expression slid across his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“We should talk.”
