“How so?”
“With all my brothers in one,” I point at the house, “place. They might not like the way you speak to me and teach you a lesson.”
“And I might just like that.” His face stretches in a wide smile. A very scary one. Something clicks in the back of my mind: I think Alex had mentioned at some point that Archie doesn’t bare visible scars; his are of a different kind.What are they?
I start rolling the window back up, but he puts his palm on the top and stops it. “Really, Leila. Don’t leave because of me.”
I let out a tired sigh and take pity on him. “It’s not because of you. I’m just—” I chew on the inside of my lip, thinking about what I can tell him, and then I decide on nothing. I can tell him nothing. “I just really need to go home.”
His face changes. He becomes Stephan in front of my very eyes, the man I met on the bridge. The one who doesn’t hide behind a sexy smile and swagger.
“Is it because of the message you got? What did it say?” His nostrils flare as he squeezes his jaw tight.
“How do you—” Then I stop myself and shake my head. “You know what, never mind. I really need to go.”
I roll the window up, and he lets me this time. Then I hit the gas, and the front of my car slides to the side, nearly hitting him. Good thing he has quick reflexes and jumps out of the way. My heart squeezes as I dare to glance in the rearview mirror, but he’s standing there watching my tailgate with a maniac smile on his face.
Chapter Six
ARCHIE
I watch her leave, and an uncomfortable feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn’t right. I wanted to leave her opinionated self in that corridor, but something made me stay. She received a message, and after that, her whole posture changed. She became defensive, anxiously looking around, and quickly ran away.Who was it?
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder.
“Don’t go there.”
I turn to Alex, whose eyes are focused on mine.
“Don’t go there, Archie. You are my brother, but I don’t want you near her.”
“Why?” I square my shoulders, even though I know the answer, and I know he’s right—we don’t go for our brothers’ families, no matter what. My body language is just a dumb bravado for nothing—I don’t know who I’m trying to prove anything to.
“You and me,” he shakes his head, “we’re not the same as the others. We didn’t come back whole, and she is too young to deal with all of that. That’s why I stay away—I love her from a distance. And that’s how you should too.” His stare is filled with heavy meaning. It screams ‘stay away.’
“Don’t worry; she is safe from me.” I switch my attention toward the direction her car disappeared.
“I still do.”
I glance at him.
“Worry,” he continues. “She likes to fix broken things, and you’re just about as broken as they come.”
I quirk a brow—we’ve never beaten around the bush, but it’s a little harsh even for two vets chitchatting.
“Don’t give me that look,” he chuckles. “You know I’m right. I came back half a man.”
I shoot a glance down his front, and he punches me in the chest, laughing. “Not there, asshole. Everything is man enough there.”
“You sure?”
He snorts. “Just ask Freya.”
“I just might.” I smile, not intending to ever start that particular conversation with his soon-to-be wife.
“Yeah, you actually might. Forget I said it.” He shakes his head, most likely trying to erase the image he pictured in his mind. He looks at me, his expression somber. “But Archie, don’t go there. I’m serious. She tried fixing me, but I just barked every time she said something. I just can’t talk to her because she just—” he wipes his face with his hands, pressing into his eye socketswith the heels of his palms. “She’s just so damn intuitive and stubborn, and she sees so fuckin’ much. And when she speaks, it’s always a fuckin’ bull’s-eye. I just don’t know how to behave around her.”
“Yeah, man,” I side-eye him, “smooth you are not.”
