My shoulders sag with relief. At least the physical pain is under control.
Dane’s next words come quieter, tinged with something that sounds like fear. “And what happens when they run out?”
A cold shiver runs down my spine at the dread I hear in Dane’s voice, but Luc’s hand is already wrapped around Alaina’s, and she looks up at him, gaze soft. “Then we’ll find something else that helps me.”
Delacroix smiles, leans down, and presses a kiss to her temple. “Oui,we will,Petite.”
Dane is just standing there, staring at the two of them. His mouth parts, and it looks like tears are welling up in his eyes, but it’s hard to tell from this distance. Then he steps forward and crushes Alaina against his chest.
“Fuck, Dane,” she groans. “I can’t breathe.”
He releases her with a choked laugh and then reaches out for Delacroix. Dane grabs him by the head and pulls him in, foreheads touching, almost like brothers. “Who would’ve thought that you, idiot, would be so good to have around?”
He chuckles. “I like you, too, old man.”
They’re laughing, hugging, healing, and I stand there like a ghost, watching it all from a distance I don’t know how to cross.
Delacroix looks good for her. Strong. Steady. Present. He’s not the idiot I got to know anymore. He changed for her. He holds her pain like it doesn’t scare him, and maybe he doesn’t just look like what she needs.
Maybe he is.
I changed for her, too, the last few days, didn’t I? Gutted my whole life to try to make space for the kind of man she needed, but apparently, I’m still not him, never was.
I swallow hard and step back fully, pressing my head against the cold hospital wall. Maybe this time, the right thing to do isn’t to fight, but to know when to let go.
Maybe I should be the one who leaves.
I make myself peek around the edge one more time, because I need to see her again before I go, but then Dane claps Luc on the shoulder. “I owe you one, Delacroix.”
Luc turns with a grin, and his gaze lands straight on me.
Ah, fuck.
His mouth quirks like he was expecting me. “Oh, you can show me that right now.”
Before I can move, he’s nudging Alaina gently toward Mason. “Go with him to the appointment,Petite. I’ll catch up.”
She glances between him and Dane, clearly confused, but Mason nods and takes the bag from her. Luc leans in and murmurs something I can’t hear, and Alaina gives the faintest nod before walking off with Mason down the hall.
Delacroix turns back to Dane, grips his upper arm, and starts walking straight toward me.
I almost bolt.
But I promised myself, I’m not running anymore. If I leave, I go with my head held high because it’s better for her, not because I’m too afraid to stay. So I step around the corner just as they reach it.
Dane’s eyes narrow the second he sees me, his body tensing. His jaw clenches, and his hands curl into fists.
Here we go again.
Luc steps between us, placing a hand on Dane’s chest. “You said you owe me one, right? Well, what I want is for you to fucking listen.”
Dane scowls, arms crossing over his chest. “You’ve got five minutes.”
Delacroix jerks his chin toward me. “Come here, Greer.”
I take a step closer, my pulse pounding in my throat.
“I don’t know your history,” he starts. “I don’t know your friendship or how deep the shit goes. I don’t care, but I know Alaina, and this fight between you two is giving her major anxiety.”
