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“Do you think they’re okay?” He paused, his hands snaking up to fiddle with his lip ring. It was a bad habit he had for as long as I knew him. That, and chewing on his nails. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“Addie?” I asked. I was unsurprised that he inquired about her specifically. He was in love with her - had been for a while. Even an imbecile couldn’t help notice the wistful glances he threw her way when he thought no one was looking. It didn’t bother me, his feelings for her, just as it didn’t bother me that he wasn’t the only one. Addie needed all of the protection she could get, and she more than deserved all of the love we could offer her after having to live without it for so long. I wanted that for her, just as long as I remained a crucial part in it.

Besides, we had all shared girls before. Granted, there had never been feelings involved, but this situation was different. Theworldwas different. Conventional went right out the window the second the first tornado had struck the resort and an elfin girl put her life on the line for one of our own.

“Addie’s fine,” I said. And I believed it. She was probably back at the house by now getting babied by the others. She had more than likely threatened castration at least twice by now. She was an innocent badass - an epitome of contradictions.

“She’s a fighter,” Tommy piped in, echoing my own thoughts. His voice was subdued, no doubt traumatized by what he had witnessed, but the pride seeping through was unmistakable. I had nearly forgotten about him, but I was grateful he was safe. The asshole was growing on me.

“As soon as the storm breaks, I can run to the car and pull it up,” Ronan said. Always self-sacrificing. I bit my lip to keep from retorting. Now was not the time to conjure up an argument. He would risk the storm to save me, save us. I both hated and loved him for that.

“And what about him?” Tommy asked. I didn’t have to look to know that he would be gesturing towards Kai.

Ronan and I exchanged an eloquent glance. We may not have been brothers for long, but the bond we had forged surpassed years of shared childhoods.

“We bring him back with us. Let Fallon decide what to do with him.”

Fallon always knew who was friend and who was foe. Who was a threat and who only had the potential to become a threat. A sixth sense, he called it. I had no doubt if Fallon deemed Kai as dangerous, we would not hesitate to leave him for dead. Or kill him himself.

“So we wait?” Tommy asked.

I nodded stoutly. Already, I was itching to get back to Adelaide. To run my hands through her brown locks. To kiss her plump lips. To hear her talk about nonsense. To be with the woman I loved more than life itself.

Patience. I had to be patient. I was no good to Addie dead, despite the fact that I wanted to brave the storm and risk being burned to get to her.

My body throbbed at the thought, phantom pain making itself known from the many wounds on my skin. Fallon was going to shit a brick when he saw the condition I was in. Addie was going to murder me as well. Tag-team murder. Who knew?

“We wait,” I replied to Tommy.