Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (31 page)
“Come here.”
“No, I’m pretty tired,” he said, sitting on the mattress. “I think it’s time you go.”
“That’s it? This is how it ends?”
When he stopped talking, the silence took over. It wrapped around me like a promise of the empty years to come. I waited—hoping he’d come to his senses and hold me in his arms. But he didn’t.
***
As soon as Denver heard the door at the end of the hall shut, he released a ragged breath. A monster was gripping his heart and wouldn’t let go. He hadn’t expected her to show up, and his wolf went into watchdog mode. This time he wasn’t protecting her from others, but himself.
“Fuck
. Why the hell did I have to be such a dick
?”
he whispered.
“Because you are?” a voice replied.
He glanced up at Wheeler leaning against the bars. “Shut it. I thought you left.”
“I don’t miss this life one bit,” Wheeler murmured, running his hand along one of the bars. “Not a day goes by I don’t think about it. I know what you’re feeling in there. Like nothing’s gonna save you. Maybe there’s no out, but what the fuck was that with Maizy? If you can’t save yourself, at least save her.”
“That’s what I was trying to do,” he said in a tight voice.
“Ah.” Wheeler nodded with derision. “Nothing gives a girl hope like telling her to go fuck another guy.”
Denver stood up. “And what would you have done? Let Naya sit around with hope that doesn’t exist so she can blame herself? Maizy deserves love more than anyone, and she’ll never move on if she doesn’t let me go. It burns me to even let the words come out of my mouth, but not as much as the thought of her living alone and never settling with a mate. It’s the last thing I can do to protect her—to make sure she’s looked after when I’m gone.” He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.
“Was it necessary to kill Bromus?”
Denver rubbed his face. “I can’t hold my wolf back when my emotions skid out of control.”
“Is that her watchdog talking, or someone else? Your wolf never came out before when someone called Maizy a name.”
Denver stewed on it for a minute. Wheeler was right. That was a wholly new emotion Denver hadn’t experienced before. “What good does any of it do me now?”
Wheeler stroked his short beard and gripped the bar with his other hand. “Mayhap you get out, and then there you are… alone.”
Denver smiled. He could hardly help it. “I heard about your great escape idea. That’ll work.”
Wheeler’s gaze floated to the ceiling. “They don’t usually execute inmates in the jail. I’m not sure where the higher authority gathers for their rulings, but I’m positive it ain’t down here.”
“Your point?”
Wheeler stretched out his arm, flexing his muscle and leaning dramatically to the left. “Just so happens I know a thing or two about weak points.”
“Saving a brother isn’t stupid,” Wheeler said on a harsh breath.
Denver approached the bars. “At the cost of everything? Yeah, it
is
. The pack is doing well right now: land, family, children, stability, income. Not a bad egg in the bunch, except Ben, but I figure he’ll come around someday. Whatever you’re scheming, just forget it. Even if it worked, we’d have nowhere to go, unless you like living in Bolivia.”
He smirked. “Reno knows a guy with a safe house.”
“Will you stop!”
It was too much. Running scared? Denver would never be able to walk with his head high. Living in shame would be worse than dying with dignity.
Wheeler strolled toward the exit. “Just thought you’d want out to win your girl. We just got back from seeing Prince.”
Denver surged forward and reached through the bars, snatching Wheeler’s shirt before he moved out of range. “What about?”
Wheeler peered over his shoulder and gave him a dark look. “Couldn’t say. I was forced to sit in a prissy room with chairs dipped in gold.”
“Fuck,” Denver breathed. “Don’t let her do anything stupid on my account.”
“I don’t
let
her do anything. She’s a grown woman. And right now, I’m guessing she has a decision she doesn’t want to talk about. Then again, I’m not exactly the first person women run to with all their secrets. So maybe you need to quit planning your death and give that girl a little hope. Even if things don’t work out…” A muscle tensed in his jaw and anger flashed in his eyes. “If things don’t work out, it’ll hurt her worse to think you didn’t give a damn, no matter whose bed she winds up in.”
Denver’s throat dried up when Wheeler’s footsteps faded down the hall. He gripped the bars, wanting to call out for Maizy. He needed to hold her and smell the sunshine in her hair. He needed to feel her heartbeat.
Denver knew what it was like to go through life thinking he’d lost “the one.” He didn’t want to put Maizy through the same hell.
Even though in his heart, he knew she truly
was
the one.
As soon as we got home from the Breed jail, I went straight to my room and locked the door.
“Please, sweetie. Just open the door,” my mom called out from the hallway.
I was steaming mad, and people who are mad are like rattlesnakes: better left alone. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Maybe I was pushing too hard and he didn’t share the same emotions. He still hadn’t told me he loved me, and that’s a big deal for a girl to hear.
I set my bare feet on the floor and leaned forward, my long wavy hair creating a veil around my face. My mind wouldn’t shut off—exhausting me with theories. I wasn’t ready to face the pack. I didn’t like the silence when I’d enter a room, the calm, the pressed lips and downcast eyes.
“Maizy, if you need to talk, you know I’m here for you.”
“I love you, Mom. I just need to be alone for a little while.”
Moms firmly believed that; it was in their unwritten handbook. No matter how terrible the situation, their job was always to reassure their children that everything would be fine. But would it?
A few minutes later, I couldn’t sit still any longer. I stormed across the hall to Denver’s room. Austin was planning to go up to the jail later, and Denver had asked me to pack him some clothes.
“You want a bag, I’ll give you a bag,” I mumbled angrily.
I searched beneath Denver’s bed, pulling out a candy wrapper, an old video game, and a small travel bag. I guess he didn’t travel much because it was a cheap thing like what you’d take to the gym.
Avoiding the drawers with his sacred shirts, I went for the two drawers at the bottom where he had always retired clothes that no longer fit or had a funny memory tied to them. I found a pair of jeans four sizes too small and some underwear with an elephant trunk in the front that someone must have given him as a gag gift.
“You’ll be the hit of cell block A,” I said with an evil smile.
Not much was going to fit in the bag, so I needed to find the worst of the worst. I began removing shirts from his closet by the armful. I hurled them across the room and unleashed my rage.
“I hate you!” I screamed, tears stinging my eyes. “Why couldn’t you have just walked away?” Hangers clacked against the floor and shirts littered the room.
I grabbed the pink one in the back with a unicorn—one Trevor had made him wear to a bowling alley on a dare.
I fell to my knees and wiped away the tears, angrily stuffing the pink shirt in the bag. Determined to find a pair of socks with holes, I pulled out bags and tossed them over my shoulder when all I found were old baseball hats and coupons for a barbecue place in town from twelve years ago.
A shoebox caught my attention, so I slid it out and sat back. Maybe he’d have a silly pair of striped socks from a Halloween party I could include with his ensemble. When I lifted the lid and looked inside, I knitted my brows.
My trembling hand lifted a stack of letters—
my
letters. The ones I’d sent, even after he quit mailing me back.
“You kept them,” I whispered. They were organized by postmark, and in a matter of seconds I watched my handwriting mature from a hurried cursive to one that was elegant and relaxed. My anger withered, replaced with every shining moment I’d spent with Denver—then and now. I heaved a sigh and reached in the box, scooping up the last of the loose envelopes.
But there was more.
I set them down and found a bundle wrapped with a rubber band, hidden below a sheet of blank paper. As I pulled the band away, my heart raced and I could scarcely breathe. Each envelope was addressed to me from Denver. These were letters he’d written—letters he’d never sent.
I opened one.
Peanut,
I guess you’re growing up, huh? Eighteen already. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you and all you’ve done. I’ve always been the bonehead working in a bar, but you’ll do something good with your life someday. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to
England
with the pack. Jake couldn’t find anyone to fill in, and I need a job. Sorry this is short, but I included some money inside. People always say not to spend it in one place, but fuck that. Go nuts. Do something fun.
Denny
The envelope was empty because Lexi had given me the cash herself on his behalf. Some of the pack had flown over for my birthday that year. We had an amazing dinner, but Denver’s absence had hollowed me out. Maybe he thought I’d grown out of him as I did my toys, but he didn’t realize he was the one thing in my life I didn’t want to stuff in the closet of my past. I needed him like I needed air. It’s the main reason I’d returned home; my heart needed to know if I’d lost him.
I thumbed through the letters until I reached the last one.
Maizy,
I know I’ve been a dick about not seeing you on your short visits. Something always seems to come up. Tonight I heard the pack was going to Howlers, so I came back to town early from my trip. You had your hair in a braid. Ivy must have had something to do with that. I can’t get over how much you’ve changed. You’re all grown up now. You’re probably wondering where I was, right? Guilt, pride, all that macho stuff that makes us the weaker species. I sat at a table in the back and watched you from across the room, hearing your infectious laugh. Each time I wanted to get up—what kept me glued to my chair was the thought of you hating me.
I fucked up our relationship. I should have been there for you, even though you were in another country. I should have answered your calls, but maybe I was afraid of hearing how great your life was without me. Now it’s too late to fix all that. I don’t have a place in your world anymore. So I watched you for an hour. When I imagined going up to you, the fantasy ended with you crying or throwing a drink in my face. If you want to know the truth, I was more afraid you wouldn’t care. You looked so damned happy that it didn’t seem like you missed my presence anyhow.
I don’t blame you. But I’m writing this letter because something changed tonight. I saw you for the first time as a woman, and the old Peanut went away. Something about you draws people in, like magic. So when that idiot asked you to dance, it felt like someone had punched me in the gut.
I didn’t realize until that moment that I love you. Not the way I once did, but the way I could if I hadn’t screwed it all up. Now I know why I stepped in to be your watchdog from the beginning and why I’ve felt lost without you all these years. You’re my soul mate. Maybe I’ve had too much to drink tonight and I’m rambling. I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. You’re a human, I’m a Shifter, and it would never work out.
Denver
I set the paper on the floor and stared at it, crestfallen.
“He’s been hiding those for years,” William said from the doorway behind me. “Doesn’t think I know about them, but a few years ago, he went on vacation and one of the boys found the box. They were too young to read.”
William entered the room and closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed to my right and laced his fingers together. “Maybe that’s why I gave him a gentle push and set up the picnic.”
“But if he loves me, why couldn’t he tell me?”
“Men are stubborn pricks. I suppose he was afraid you wouldn’t love him back, or that his love wouldn’t be enough.”
I curled my left leg beneath me and leaned against the wall so I could face William. “Do you believe in soul mates?”
A grin tugged the corner of his mouth. “I’ve been witness to a lot of things in my life, and soul mates are the one thing I absolutely believe in, even if I don’t always recognize it when it happens. Only with Shifters, we call them life mates. I would have never imagined Ivy and Lorenzo were fated. Maybe it’s not always meant to work out. Perhaps life intrudes and changes each in a way the other can’t accept.”
“Why would God create soul mates that can never be together?”
He ran his hands through his curly hair. “I suppose the fates have little to do with the choices we make. You can’t blame Denver for choosing to stand up for you, even at the price he’s paying.”
“He didn’t have to make that choice.”
“Indeed.” William stood up and played with the strings that tied the front of his shirt. “Don’t judge a man by his flaws when it’s his character that matters. We all make mistakes. Love is irrational.”
“I love him, Will, but he’s pushing me away.”
William opened the door and glanced over his shoulder before leaving. “Then pull. The ever-faithful watchdog is still trying to protect you from getting hurt. You may not have him for long, but hold on to him for as long as you can.”
***
I spent the afternoon curled up on the sofa next to my mom. We watched comedies because her hope was that laughing would snap me out of my funk. Lexi was baking up a storm—something she often did when stressed out. Reno decided to take a month off from his job and spend it with the pack. He relaxed in one of the oversized leather chairs, April in his lap. The mood was somber and the house empty without Denver’s boisterous laugh. Sunshine trickled in through the sheer curtains like rivers of gold.
Reno swept April’s hair behind her ear and kissed her tenderly. It forced me to look away.
Please, God, take Denver out of my life if you have to, but don’t take him out of this world.
The front door slammed and Austin hung up his keys.
Reno lifted his eyes to attention. “Any news?”
Austin flipped a baseball hat into a chair and kicked off his shoes. “Is this everyone?”
“Lexi’s in the kitchen,”
Reno said. “William’s asleep on the floor; everyone else is at work.”
My mom bent down to the rug and shook William’s shoulder. He rose up with heavy-lidded eyes and a mop of brown curls everywhere. William didn’t have tight curly hair, but those large curls that were attractive on a man as long as he didn’t grow them out past his shoulders or something crazy. He often joked about how he’d tried it once and ended up looking like Captain Hook.
Austin cleared his throat and sat in the chair to my right. William took a position at his side, hands clasped in front.
“What’s going on?” Lexi asked from the hall.
Austin smirked when he saw his mate covered in flour. There was a white handprint on her bare leg and a streak of dust across her brow. “Come here, Ladybug.”
She sauntered across the room and stood in front of him. Austin pulled her into his lap even though she was protesting about the mess it would make. She pinched his nose and left a white dot.
After getting settled, Austin wiped his nose. “I had a long talk with the Council this morning. They’re not budging. They think releasing a wolf who rose up against a Packmaster will set a precedent.”
“They wouldn’t accept the watchdog claim?” Reno asked in disbelief.
Austin shook his head.
“He was in wolf form,” Reno growled. “If he’d committed the crime as a man, they’d have a case. We can’t control our animals.”
Austin patted Lexi’s leg once. “I know this. You know this. And they sure as hell know this. In order to drop charges, they need more evidence against Bromus.”
Reno shifted in his chair. “What about Church? He mentioned something about having problems with him.”
“Not enough. They want either an additional complaint or something substantial. Have you heard anything in your circle?”
When Reno didn’t reply, I scooted to the right side of the sofa and clutched a pillow. Wheeler was still gone, and that made me uneasy.
The silence was cutting.
“I want to go see him tonight,” I said. “He asked me to bring his bag.”
Austin spoke without looking at me directly. “I’ll drive you. I need to talk with a member of the higher authority and see if I can get them to budge. It’s going over the Council’s head, but so be it.”
When the silence descended upon the room again, Lexi got up and crawled across the floor, fooling with the radio. She found a classic rock channel and turned the volume low. “Maze, do you remember when we brought Trevor into the pack?” She let out a bright laugh and looked around nostalgically. “I can still hear you giggling when Denver started shaking his butt to some old disco song.”
“I remember. You guys hung the banners everywhere and I thought it was a party.”
Austin and Reno shared a private look that had me curious. Were they working out a plan? William caught it too. His dark brows furrowed and he crossed his arms.
Austin lifted his hip when his phone went off. “Hello? Yeah, this is he. Okay…”
