Page 41 of A Dove To Break (The Dove Institute Collection #1)

Adrian

“Hug yourself, asshole. Fuck you,” she says with venom in her tone and tears welling in her eyes.

“Fuck,” I say with a sigh as I get back into the truck.

“She will be okay. She just needs time to cool off,” Brent says reassuringly. “She is a brat when she gets her feelings hurt.”

“Yeah, but I will take her being mad at me over going to her funeral,” I say as I drive. “The way she shut down after hearing that video… I’m not sure she could handle hearing a gunshot in person.”

“I agree,” Raul says. “She can be mad, as long as she is alive.”

“She is a lot like her mother. It’s crazy to see,” Cian says. “Cara was so sweet and sensitive, but had a nasty temper. When she was mad, scared, sad, whatever. It came out as rage. Cormac was her calm. He helped level her out when everything got too suffocating.”

“So, we need to be her calm?” I ask.

“Yes. Pushing back will only make it worse. Her anger may be directed at you, but it’s not about you. She needs a place to funnel that rage, and she will always do it where she feels the most comfortable.”

“And that’s us,” Brent says. “She was very hot and cold with me growing up. If I was nice or went out of my way to help her or be with her, she was the biggest fucking brat. Looking back, it’s like when you go to pet a dog that has been abused its entire life.

They will snarl and snap, because that’s all they know.

It’s a defense mechanism. I used to get so upset with her because I didn’t understand, but now that I do…

She’s been hurt so badly for so long… She needs to be anywhere but near him, even if that means sacrificing the chance to watch him pay for what he did. ”

“How far of a drive is it?” Cian asks.

“About an hour,” I say. “She will hopefully be asleep by the time we get home.”

“We should probably have Julio join us,” Raul says.

“I texted him. We are going to stop by the office and get him and some supplies,” I say.

As we drive, I can’t help but think about Alania.

I know she is mad at me, and she has every right to be mad, but I can’t risk losing her.

Edward would make sure to cause Brent as much emotional damage as possible.

Call me selfish, but I don’t think I’d survive this world without her, and I think Raul and Brent are in the same place.