‘Does anyone else know what just happened here?’ Mick asked impatiently.
Joss grunted. ‘I think Jo just said she believes Cam didn’t sleep with this Blair chick.’
Braden grumbled, ‘If only you were that intuitive about our relationship.’
She glowered at him. ‘If I wasn’t so damn worried about you going off to face this guy, I might just dump your ass.’
I raised an eyebrow, looking over my shoulder at her fiancé. Braden narrowed his eyes and I watched another silent conversation unfold. Whatever he said in it made her squirm.
‘Och, enough of this,’ Mick groused cantankerously as he wrenched open the hotel door and stormed out, followed by Braden. Cam gave me one more meaningful, soulful look before he disappeared behind them.
My stomach flipped as I thought about what they were going to do.
Another cab ride took Joss, Olivia and me back to the flat. Although I was exhausted, I was awake enough to shoot the door to Cam’s flat a glare so ferocious it was a wonder flames didn’t erupt from the doorstep and devour it with the heat of my anger.
‘He explained everything to me and Dad,’ Olivia suddenly said, obviously catching my look. ‘You need to talk to him.’
‘She doesn’t need to do anything but rest right now,’ Joss insisted softly, taking my keys out of my purse as we climbed the steps to my flat.
‘It’s okay,’ I muttered. ‘I believe him. Seeing her was a shock, I didn’t think clearly … but Cam wouldn’t do that to me. Still doesn’t mean he isn’t thinking about doing it, though.’
‘He’s not,’ Olivia assured me, but I was too weary to listen.
We tried to be quiet as I settled on the couch with Olivia while Joss made us all a cup of tea, but I heard Cole’s door open nevertheless. I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath.
‘What’s going on?’ I heard him ask, obviously talking to Joss.
She whispered something to him and the next thing I heard was his light footsteps across the hardwood floor.
‘What the hell?’
My eyes flew open to find Cole standing over me in his pyjamas. His eyes were wide and frightened as they took in my face, and just like that he was a wee boy again. ‘I’m okay.’ I attempted to reassure him, stifling a flinch of pain as I reached for his hand and dragged him down beside me.
The fear began to melt out of his eyes, to be replaced by something that was all too familiar tonight: the promise of male retribution.
‘Who did it?’
Despite all the crap that had happened in the last twenty-four hours I was starting to feel rather loved, given all this anger and bristling on my behalf. ‘Dad,’ I answered honestly, having already decided I wasn’t keeping this from him.
I told him everything. And not just about tonight. Bracing myself, I confessed to all three of them of my dad’s abuse when I was young.
The last word had spilled from my mouth minutes before and still no one had said anything. We sat in the living room in a heavy silence. My stomach churned as I awaited my brother’s response.
Joss was the first to speak up. ‘Well, now I hope Mick kills the swine.’
‘You don’t mean that,’ I muttered.
‘Doesn’t she?’ Olivia asked, surprising me with her anger. She was always so laid-back. ‘People can be … well, they can be wonderful. And sometimes, unfortunately, they can be monsters we hide from inside our homes. We worry that those monsters will find their way inside. We’re not supposed to fear that they already are inside. Your mom and dad are supposed to protect you from that. They’re not supposed to be the monster.’
‘She’s right.’ Cole leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees, his head bent low as he stared at the floor. ‘Mick needs to teach him another lesson. One that’ll stick this time.’
Hating to see him distressed, I put my hand on his back and began to rub soothing circles between his shoulder blades.
He looked back at me. ‘That’s why you fly off the handle when Mum says I’m like him.’
My mouth flattened. ‘You’re nothing –’
‘Like him,’ Cole finished. ‘Aye. I get that now.’
We were silent again for a moment and then my wee brother looked over at me. ‘You have to stop trying to protect me from everything, Jo. I’m not a kid any more. You handle everything by yourself and it’s not fair on you. So stop. We’re a team.’
Pride and gratitude bundled together to create a lump in the back of my throat, so I nodded, brushing my hand affectionately through his hair. His eyes closed at the caress and to the surprise of everyone, he tucked himself into the side of me that wasn’t sore and hugged me close. We sat there so long that I drifted asleep …
30
The whispering of hushed but agitated voices seeped into my consciousness, thankfully pulling me out of a murky dreamscape of wet leaves, blood and pounding footsteps. My sore eyes fluttered open, the blur of colour focusing quickly to reveal that I had a busy sitting room.
Olivia and Cole still sat beside me, Joss was on the armchair, and Braden was perched on the arm of it, his fingers massaging the nape of her neck. Cam and Mick stood by the fireplace with an older man I didn’t recognize, and Mum was seated on the other armchair.
They were all staring at me.
I was staring at Mick.
The air around him crackled, and although I could tell he had calmed somewhat, he had the aura of a man back from battle. There was a lot of pent-up energy around him.
My eyes travelled down his arm to his hand.