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Savannah snuggled intothe hoodie Rami had given her. It didn’t smell like Toth, but the woodsy scent wasn’t unpleasant. The added layer and the heat pumping at her from all angles did nothing to chase away the chill, though.
She needed a hot shower, maybe a cup of tea, and Toth’s body around hers. Then maybe the shock would abate and she could come to terms with what the hell had happened.
“Need somethin’?”
She glanced at Rami. He was as big as Toth but carried the air of a man who didn’t care about anything and surely didn’t rest on morals. Or maybe his exterior was just too rough to allow a glimpse at a softer interior. He was dark and guarded, and he probably frightened everyone who crossed his path. Thankfully he was on their side and she had nothing to fear. “I’m okay.”
He heaved a sigh and stared out the window with a look that suggested he’d be grateful to be anywhere else.
“Thanks for coming.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Didn’t have much choice.” Then, a second later, “Glad you’re okay.” The last part was spoken almost grudgingly. Since he was friends with Lach and Toth, he probably didn’t want her to think he was an asshole.
She tilted her head and studied him in the overhead light he’d switched on moments before. “You know Toth better than anyone. Do you think he’ll carry guilt over Jace?”
Rami grimaced, making the vertical tattoo over his eye crinkle. “Whaddya mean?”
She squirmed in her seat. “It’s just—I know he’s going to kill him. I’m okay with that. But I’d feel horrible if Toth did it for me and then felt guilty for the rest of his life.”
He let out a light laugh. The sound was almost foreign coming from his lips. “No.” The simple yet confident statement piqued her interest.
“How do you know?”
He turned his shoulders toward her an inch. “’Cause like you said, I know him better than anyone. Toth’s many things, and stupid ain’t one of ’em. He’ll take care of Jace, and what’s happening in that forest right now,” he said, nodding at the woods, “won’t cross his mind again unless you ask him about it. So, no. He don’t give a shit about Jace.”
She stared at Rami blankly. He’d spoken more words in that explanation than he had in total in the couple of months she’d known him. He must have meant what he’d said. “That’s good to know.”
“But there is one thing that bugs me,” he said.
“Okay,” she said carefully.
He knotted his fist on the console between them. “I want to make this clear: I don’t care that Toth’s in a relationship with you—”
“We’re—”
“Don’t care.”
She pressed her lips together. She and Toth had things to discuss regarding where things went from here on out. She wasn’t about to sit with his best friend and make any assumptions. Yes, she loved Toth, and he’d said he loved her, but people said and did things in dire situations. Until they were home and things had calmed down, she wouldn’t be able to evaluate where they were headed.
“What I want to make clear,” he said, “is that if your dad tries to do anything like what he did to Jace to Toth, he’ll answer to me.”
A sour taste touched her tongue. She couldn’t explain her dad’s actions without going into her past, and there was no way she was divulging the trauma she’d experienced three years ago to Rami. “My dad made decisions that didn’t involve me. But just so I’m clear,” she said, mimicking his wording, “Jace deserved everything my dad did and more. Toth is nothing like Jace.”
“I guess we’re in agreement.” His voice rang with finality.
Savannah nodded. A bright light flashed outside her window, and she frowned and leaned forward to gaze at the cabin. “Did you see that?”
Flames burst from the side of the cabin with a roar, licking out the window and stretching to the second story.
“Ho-ly shit,” Rami drawled.
Savannah gulped. “Um, where’s Toth? They should—”
“There.” Rami pointed.
Toth and Lach were leaping down the steps. The pent-up air left her lungs, taking the pressure of anxiety with it. Toth tossed a set of keys to Lach, and her brother jumped in Toth’s vehicle.
Rami turned the key in the ignition as Toth got in the back seat. “Warning would’ve been great.”