Page 38 of Resisted

“You know nothing about the bullshit you spout,” Silas countered.

“Well, enlighten me,” Vince pushed. “I’ve got nothing but time and curiosity.”

“She deserves so much better than us, Vince, and you know it.” Silas’ fight was draining, his voice low, and I suspected he didn’t want Bella to hear them. Though what was the point? Her hearing was as good as ours, and anyone with half a brain would know she left the door cracked to listen in.

“She could do worse than us.” Vince rubbed his face. His voice was almost hoarse as he said, “It just felt so right.”

I didn’t have to ask what felt right. I knew. The kiss. I’d been there, and how right it felt terrified me. It had left me in turmoil for weeks. The want had gnawed at me until I’d had to force the thoughts from my mind and move on, though nothing had ever felt right since.

“She’s made for more than being held down by men like us—men who kill as their source of income.”

“Men who rescue as their source of income,” Vince corrected.

“You cannot have one without the other,” Silas argued. “And she deserves more than that.”

“Is what she deserves your decision to make?” He looked at Silas dead-on, challenging him, always challenging his authority.

“You get a little tongue, and suddenly you’re thinking of white picket fences and violet eyed kids? That’s not in the cards for us, Vince, and you know it as well as I do.”

“I just meant—”

“I’m looking for her family,” Silas stated, cutting him off.

“You’ve been looking for fucking ever and come up empty. What makes it different now?” Vince stood, stretched, but never took his eyes off Silas.

“I’m close. I can feel it,” Silas insisted.

“Who are you doing this for, Silas? For her, when she’s had plenty of love right here this entire time? Or yourself, because you know there’s something? You can feel it.”

“I—” Silas looked from Vince to me, as if I would offer him up information. I had nothing. I was curious about why he was so insistent when it came to Bella. “I want her to be happy.”

Vince nodded his understanding. “And you get to decide what qualifies as her happiness.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Vince walked past me. “What Silas wants, Silas gets, after all.”

There was nothing left to say that Vince hadn’t already, so I followed him, leaving Silas in the dining room alone. It had been a fun night. We’d been having a blast, but Silas, the fucking stick in the mud, had to come ruin it. When Vince kept walking, I stopped in front of Bella’s door and saw I’d been correct—she’d left it ajar. I pushed it open and slipped inside before shutting it behind me.

“What did I do to him to make him hate me?” she asked, her hands folded in her lap as she sat on the end of the bed.

Hate her? “No one could ever hate you, Bella. I suspect it’s the opposite.”

“I’m sorry I ratted you out.” I wanted to halt that thought before it could take root. Never did I want an apology for one of the best memories of my lie.

“Do not apologize.” My words left my mouth harshly, and I saw her flinch. “I wouldn’t take it back.”

And that was the honest truth. I could make Silas angry a hundred times over, but I never wanted to erase her lips from my memory. I’d thought about it more often than I should admit. When we were out on a mission and the rain pelted down against us, the freezing drops of water slamming against my skin, I would think of that moment, if only for a second. It warmed me. The thought of our kiss always warmed my soul.

“Maybe I should go stay with a friend.”

“Like fucking hell you will. Do you think Vince would allow that?” I saw her lick her lips as if the memory of his kiss were imprinted onto them. “Even if we didn’t enjoy having you around, he would never let you leave now. He likes ticking Silas off.”

“You know, mentally, I wanted Silas to come out. I kept wondering where he was because I thought… Hell, I don’t know what I thought. That maybe a fun game of truth or dare would lighten him up a bit? A little alcohol couldn’t hurt.”

“I can promise, even with alcohol, Silas still has the humor of a rock,” I assured her.

“Doesn’t that get old?” She flopped back onto her bed, and I followed.