Tammy released her from the hug and wiped her damp cheeks in a rush. Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, she asked Wreck, “Can I go now?”
Wreck canted his head, his phoenix eyes glowing with flames. “I think you should stay.”
“Why?”
A couple of loaded moments passed before he twitched his chin toward the trees.
When she looked in the direction he’d intended, Tawk stood there in the rain, just on the edge of the tree line.
He wore a soaking wet white T-shirt that had gone translucent, and a baseball cap pulled low over his glowing eyes, the bill dripping with rainwater.
Tammy froze. “Tawk?”
He looked at the others, lingered on Jess, then back to Tammy, then sauntered toward them with powerful strides.
“What are you doing here?” Dylan asked. “I thought you left.”
He gestured to Jess. “She begged.”
“As she fuckin’ should,” Cash murmured.
“Enough,” Kade barked out.
“If she’s going to apologize to Tammy, she sure as hell should apologize to Tawk. This isn’t what we do here. We don’t eat our own!”
Jess stood beside Kade, leaned against his shoulder and rubbed his hair in the back, trying to block his view of Cash.
“Tawk, I messed up. And worse, I didn’t see anything wrong with the mess-up until you reminded me there is someone onthe other side. Yesterday you said something that sat with me. You said you don’t do friends, but Kade and I are close, and to me, that’s the same as calling me a friend. I didn’t know it was like that. And now I have to live with using a friend.” Jess shrugged her shoulders up to her ears and her eyes were filled with such raw emotion. “You are my friend, and I will never do that to you again. No matter what. I promise.”
Tammy didn’t have the gift of hearing lies, like the shifters, but the conviction in Jess’s tone was convincing.
Tawk was here.
Tawk was really here.
Tammy had tensed, and she was having trouble looking away from him. He looked so handsome, glowing red eyes and all. Every curve of his strong muscles was pressed against the wet, white fabric of his T-shirt, his face was so chiseled, his jawline strong. Tawk dragged his attention from Jess to Tammy, and back again.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she stood and made her way around the others sitting in their chairs. Sorry for what? She didn’t know. Interrupting the intense moment?
She came to stand five feet away from Tawk, just needing to be close to him. She didn’t know where they stood after everything, but she did know he had fixed her truck again, just to make her life easier, and that had to count for something. He felt something for her. His face was angled toward her, eyes on her. She scooted closer by a foot and offered a tremulous smile.
“I wanted to ask a favor of Cold Foot,” Jess said, lifting her voice. “I’ve thought about it so much since Tawk showed up here. I’ve done the research, I’ve had the open conversations. A Sentry Dragon’s purpose is to protect the witch or the coven he feeds power from. And while he has made it clear that I don’t need protection, and that I am enough on my own, and that my Crew is full of monsters, I do still think I need theprotection from a Sentry Dragon. Protection from myself. I need the callouts if I start pushing my powers. If I lose my way. If my magic starts tasting too dark, he can tell me and steer me back to good. I need him to keep me being…me. For my mate, for my friends, for my quality of life, and someday for my children. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to stop the path I was on without him flinching so hard at what I was doing. I want to stay good.” Jess swung her gaze to Tawk. “I might not like the callouts, but he can keep me good.”
“What are you asking of us?” Wreck asked.
“A vote. I want Tawk to stay here with Tammy. I want him to grow that beautiful bond with her. I want him to be part of Cold Foot. Part of Wreck’s Mountains. Part of Damon’s Mountains. I want us both to move on from Sister’s Edge with no villain origin story. I want us to stay fucking steady. Here.”
“I vote yes,” Cash said, hand in the air.
“Yes,” Timber and Sasha said at the same time.
“Yep,” Reed said, followed by, “I say yes,” from Harley.
“Yes,” King and Katrina said.
Kade nodded yes, and raised his hand.
Jess raised her hand, and her eyes were so full as she said, “I vote for you to stay.”
