Page 140 of The Forgotten

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, waving a tired hand in the air. “You bully, bark, and force me to do things I don’t want to do. The last time I saw you, you slammed me into a wall and strangled me. Of course I’m fucking afraid of you.”

“That ass kicking is still on the table,” Storm muses, cracking his knuckles.

“Stay out of this,” I mutter. “Tommy would kill you without a second thought.”

“He said that you were scent matches,” my brother says warily. “Did he lie to me?”

“Remember how you treated Cerenity when you first met? That’s the kind of scent matches that we are,” I say. “He trashed my car with his buddies, and then disappeared to let the cops help me figure out how to get the rest of the way to Minneapolis. My car? Yeah, it’s still in repairs and costing me a fucking fortune.”

“I’ll buy you a new car,” Storm says immediately. Tommy winces, knowing this is a sensitive subject for me. I don’t take handouts. From anyone.

“Fuck you,” I say succinctly. “You can’t throw money around and expect things to work out. I can’t be bought.”

Tommy stretches his neck from to side and I recognize the signs to get the fuck away.

“I suggest you get off your bike if you don’t want it trashed,” I say as Storm’s only warning.

“What? Ah, fuck, man,” Storm groans, moving quickly before Tommy tackles him.

Blowing out a breath, I decide it’s a good thing they’re in front of the ER. I’m going to walk home I suppose. Pulling up my GPS, I begin the trek to the shelter, wincing when I see that what was a quick ride on the back of a bike is actually a thirty minute walk.

I’m fifteen minutes into my walk when I hear a truck and a motorcycle’s engines rumble loudly behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I dismiss them both and continue walking.

“You owe me a date,” Storm says. “Are you going to wiggle out of it?”

“I always settle my debts,” I mutter, not caring if he hears me or not. It’s why I won’t take a loan from anyone that I can’t pay back right away.

“You don’t owe him shit,” Tommy yells. “Reject the fucker and move on, Marie. You deserve better than this.”

I love this for me. This is exactly how I wanted to spend the morning.

“I can’t,” I call over my shoulder. “He alpha barked me so I couldn’t. I can’t even say the word without feeling sick to my stomach.”

Rubbing my hands together as I shiver in revulsion, I want to scream. I fucking hate having my choices taken from me.

“You were mad,” Storm says, idling alongside me. “Don’t you have a rule or something about acting rashly? It sure as fuck feels as if you have a rule for other things.”

“You’re a real piece of work, Storm!” Tommy snarls.

“Yes, because the only person who can be mean to me is my big brother, huh?” I ask sarcastically.

“Ugh, Marie,” he groans. “I’m sorry. I’ve been working on anger management with Cerenity.”

“Ew,” I mutter. “I really don’t need to know about your sex lives.”

Tommy snorts in amusement, and I turn to look at him. He has blood running from a cut on his eyebrow and his smile is also bloody. Glancing at Storm, I see that he’s got the red spot underneath his eye. My brother goes for the body shots typically, and Storm is moving stiffly as he drives. He’s not currently wearing his helmet, and I wonder for a brief second if it’s hidden in one of the compartments of his Harley.

Nope, I don’t care.

“You’re idiots,” I sigh. “I’m not patching either of you up. Figure it out yourselves.”

“I wouldn’t dream of asking you,” Storm purrs. It kind of sounds like he’s asking to fuck me, so I roll my eyes at him. I don’t think so.

“What do you two want?” I ask. “I’m working so I can get an apartment, Tommy. I’m safe and perfectly fine.”

“Walking in the city at this time is hardly safe,” he grumbles. “I want you to fucking call me back. That’s what I want.”

“You’re a judgmental ass. Work on it and I’ll consider it,” I say. “It’s clear that Cerenity’s frying pan therapy isn’t working.”