Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 103356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Tanner just stared at him in shock. He wasn’t even mad at the assumption that she might not want him as her guardian. Because he understood it.
That didn’t mean that she was choosing anyone else.
Nope. It was becoming abundantly clear that Lilac was so busy looking after everyone else that she was failing to take care of herself.
That would stop.
Someone needed to put her safety and health first.
That person was going to be him.
And he’d be telling her that.
Just, please, let her be all right.
“That won’t be necessary. Where would she be going so early in the morning?” he asked.
Linc shook his head grimly. “I don’t know. Jake isn’t happy about any of this, so he’ll want you to tell him once you find out. Keep me updated too.”
Tanner nodded and started pacing after Linc left. He couldn’t settle enough to sit.
His phone buzzed.
Alec.
“Hey,” he said into the phone. “Sorry I had to bail today.”
“You know I don’t care about that,” Alec replied gruffly. “Are you all right?”
Their father had never really been in their lives. He’d been around but not involved, happy to leave them with a parade of nannies. But Tanner had never really felt his loss that badly.
Because he’d always had Alec. Even when he was young, Alec had watched out for him, taken care of him. So yeah, he might have had a useless father, but he’d had the best big brother he could ask for.
“Yeah, I’m all right.”
“Tanner.” That was all he said.
Letting out a deep breath, Tanner told Alec everything. About meeting Lilac. About her showing up in Haven. To their argument yesterday and the call this morning from Linc.
“Right,” Alec said after a few seconds of silence. “And you don’t know why she came to Haven with her friends?”
“We haven’t talked about that yet. She’s so closed-off. So . . . scared at times. I don’t know everything that’s happened to her, but I can tell it’s bad. But I’m not sure she trusts me enough to tell me.”
“I think she trusts you more than you realize,” Alec replied. “If she came here because of what you told her about Haven, I think that’s a good sign.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“It might be that they were searching for safety and thought Haven might give them that.”
“I hate the thought of her in trouble, and not knowing what it is.”
“I’m going to call Jake, see what he knows,” Alec told him. “Then I’m coming to the hospital.”
“Alec, there’s no need for you to come here.”
“Are you going anywhere without her?” Alec asked.
“Of course not!” Fuck, no. He didn’t plan on leaving her again.
“When she’s allowed to leave the hospital, are you taking her back to Linc’s?” he asked.
“No fucking way. She’s terrible at taking care of herself and Linc has his hands full. Plus, he can’t handle her.”
“Obviously,” Alec agreed. “Then you’ll need support too. And she needs to know that if she is with one of us, the rest come as a package. And that we defend our own. From any threats.”
“No one fucks with the Malones,” Tanner repeated the family motto.
“Exactly.”
“She’s so thin, Alec. She wasn’t this thin before. To lose that much weight in six months . . . what if something is really wrong with her?”
“Then we’ll deal with that like a family too. We’re all here for you, Tanner. And for her. The biggest challenge will likely be convincing her to let you in. To allow you to take care of her. And find out what is going on with her.”
Yeah. He knew that.
That’s why he wasn’t going to give her a choice.
27
Why were people talking? And what was that smell?
“Opal, turn the TV down. And I think you used too much hairspray again. Think of the ozone layer.”
A low chuckle greeted her, and she stiffened.
“That isn’t Opal,” she muttered.
“No, it isn’t. Also, I’m afraid I don’t use hairspray and it’s not the TV making that noise.”
Lilac opened her eyes, looking around in fright. This wasn’t Linc’s guesthouse. She was lying on a bed in the middle of a stark white room. “Where am I? What’s going on?”
As she attempted to sit up, Tanner moved into her line of sight, his face filled with concern and affection.
What the heck?
“It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “You just need to stay in bed.”
“In bed?” she asked.
Panic started to take hold. This was . . .
“Am I in the hospital?”
Oh God. She couldn’t be here. What if they’d used her real name? How much was this going to cost?
“I can’t be here. I don’t have insurance.”
Fuck.
“They can’t enter my name into any databases.” Her breathing grew rapid.
“Shh.” Tanner stood, leaning over her. “Okay, baby, you really need to calm down, or I’m going to get a nurse in to sedate you.”
“You wouldn’t!” she cried.
He just shot her a stern look.