“You don’t know that,” I rush out, tears filling my eyes. “You could have taught me the basics. Or at least taught me how to get him off me long enough to have called out to you in the club. It didn’t need to go that far. You could have saved me before it was too late.”
“We didn’t save you,” Levi says, sitting on the edge of the coffee table to meet my hard, pained stare. “You saved yourself. You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You broke that motherfucker’s nose and knocked him out cold. You got yourself out of that bathtub and through the hatch when other people would have given up. All we did was mend you up at the end.”
“Don’t act like I didn’t see his fucking head rolling around in the back before you knocked me out.”
“Well,” Marcus grins, a sick sparkle hitting his eyes. “We couldn’t exactly let him go unpunished.”
“You cut his fucking head off.”
Marcus laughs. “Give credit where it’s due,” he says. “We didn’t just cut it off, we hacked at it with a serrated knife. It was pure brilliance. No, it was a masterpiece. A work of art.”
My stomach churns. “Ugh, you’re going to make me throw up.”
Marcus gently pushes my feet off his lap and stands. “Then my work here is done.”
Without another word, he walks out of the living room, and before getting too far, a low whistle echoes behind him and two big wolves go bounding through the room. My eyes widen in surprise. I hadn’t even noticed they were in here.
Roman watches the wolves bound after Marcus before glancing back at me. “We good?” he asks.
I raise a brow. “Are you forgetting that you kidnapped me and practically painted the target on my back for your father? Not to mention all the other shit you’ve put me through since being here. In what world would we ever be good?”
He rolls his eyes. “It’s not like we tied you down in a bathtub.”
“How’s that any different to stalking me through a maze and letting me think I was going to die?”
“Because we never intended you any harm. You were always safe with us; you just didn’t know it. We just like watching the fear in your eyes, whereas he had every intention of ending your life. We are not him. So I’ll ask you again. Are we good?”
I let out a heavy huff and clench my jaw. “Make me a morphine smoothie and I might just consider letting you off the hook.”
Roman holds my stare and, judging by the gruff expression on his stunningly wicked face, I’d dare suggest that he’s struggling to hold his tongue. The seconds tick by and I refuse to break his stare until he finally gives in and turns toward the big entryway of the living room.
“Hey,” I call after him before he can get too far away. Roman turns back, his obsidian gaze narrowed on mine as he waits impatiently. “I, umm … thank you. I know I kinda gave you guys a hard time, but whether I want to admit it or not, you saved my life. You didn’t have to go down into that storm cellar, but you did. I would have always feared that he’d come back for me. If you guys hadn’t … you know,” I say, drawing my thumb across the front of my throat. “I never would have been able to sleep at night. I’m just … I’m glad it’s over.”
Roman watches me a moment longer, his hard stare slowly softening as silence fills the room, then he simply nods and tears his addictive gaze away. He strides out of the room as though he couldn’t get out of here fast enough and I find myself glancing back at Levi. “What’s his problem? He looks like someone just lit a fire under his ass.”
“Believe it or not,” he chuckles, leaning back onto the coffee table and getting comfortable. “I think you’re probably the first person to ever thank him for saving their life.”
“No shit?” I mutter, my brow arching with disbelief. “What about you and Marcus? Out of all the fucked-up situations you’ve been in, you’ve never once been backed into a corner and had to rely on your brother to save you?”
He shakes his head. “Shit like that doesn’t happen to us. We only ever go into a situation where we know we can win. We don’t foolishly risk our lives.”
“What about with your father?” I question. “You don’t think he’s ever taken the brunt of his abuse to keep his attention off you two?”
Levi’s brows furrow and he quickly sinks into a deep silence. “I guess,” he says after a long pause, his eyes on me yet focused somewhere far away. “It’s possible, but he wouldn’t. We’re all more than capable of handling his shit.”