“Were you going to tell me?” My voice came out grated through clenched teeth.
“Nope,” she snapped back. “Not your problem. It’s mine.”
What was truly foreboding about this whole standoff was the absolute moderation of our voices. Mine was low, calculated. Hers, steady and cold.
But that was about to change.
“What the hell are you thinking, Lily? Not telling me about something like this?” I knew I was getting loud, but I couldn’t rein it in. “Jesus Christ. Did you think this through at all? Where did you get it?”
“I was thinking it’s not your problem!” She moved off the table, throwing a finger out while glaring holes through me. “That I can damn well take care of myself, and I don’t need you or anyone else to handle my business for me, Shaw. Back. Off.”
“Bullheaded—” I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at the curls. “Home? Did you find it at home? What if Hayes and I had just escalated this shit by asking in pet shops? Did you think of that? Fuck, do they know where you live?”
She rolled her eyes. “It came here. No return address, with a Dallas postmark.” She smoothed her hair. “Man, are you a drama queen.”
“Damn it, Lily, you can’t just roll your eyes and act like this didn’t happen! Did you think about the pet shops making matters worse?”
She clenched her jaw, glared at the wall over my shoulder.
Hell, yeah, she did. “Fuck me. You did think about it. But didn’t tell me because you wanted to charge ahead without me pissing on your parade. Your plan.”
When she scowled, I knew I was right.
“Does anyone else know? Tell me you at least told somebody. Anybody. The police or the rest of our team?”
“No. This is a scare tactic, is all. I won’t run off that easy or back down from this, and I didn’t need anyone trying to convince me that I should. I’m not afraid of these assholes.”
“Not afraid, she says.” I pushed off the desk to pace so I didn’t punch a wall. “Sonofabitch. What happened to us being a team, Lil? I know you know how to work as a team. You do it with Jet. But beyond that you’re being goddamned selfish withholding this from me and everyone else! It’s about more than you and your fucking bent to never depend on another human being as long as you live.”
Her lips parted, angry color cresting her cheeks, and as angry as I was with her, she was fucking spectacular to see in that moment. “That’s not what I’m doing! Of course, we’re a team.” She motioned between us. “I didn’t think it was a legit concern, is all. Those dogs have much more to lose than I do.”
Hands on my hips, I stopped a couple feet in front of her. “Oh, really. What about Mack and Jet? They threatened your dogs, too. Ever think that if they know where you work, they know where you live?”
I didn’t give her a chance to answer. “You seem to think you’re the only one in this room that cares about finding those dogs, the only one responsible for seeing this through. Well, I fucking give a shit, too. Not only about them, but about you! I care about you, Liliana, and so help me God, if you get hurt because your stubborn, yet very nice, ass seems to think you have to do it all alone just to spite the world...”
Her eyes dropped away, her anger draining. “You...what? Brody—” she said with a softness that wasn’t there before.
But I wasn’t done. I knew I’d gotten too loud, too, and people could probably hear me.
I didn’t care. If it meant getting her to see reason, I didn’t care who heard. “We’re also not a team of two anymore. Kate, Melissa, Carrie, Everett. They’ve all got a stake in this. Did you ever stop to think that if these guys know who you are, they might know who they are, too? Are you willing to risk their safety like you’re willing to risk your own? Fuck!” I tangled my fingers in my hair.
That’s when the door popped open and Hayes walked in. “Dude. Everything okay in here? They’re starting to worry out front.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m almost done.”
Hayes pushed the door the rest of the way open and leaned on the frame with a sleeping puppy cradled in his arm.
I let all the worry I felt for this woman blanket my stare. “It’s not all about you, Lily, and whatever it is you think you need to prove to who the fuck knows, other people are sticking their necks out for you. For us. The way I feel about you...” I hesitated. “Swallow your damn pride or you’re going to lose more than the dogs that need rescuing. Because I’ll be damned before I sit and watch you get yourself hurt in the process.”
Her eyes were glassy, but if that’s what it took to make her understand she wasn’t alone—that she mattered—so be it.
Without another word, I walked around her and shut the door behind me.
Damn her.
I did care about her. No, care was what you felt for a cousin. I had feelings for her. Maybe I was starting to fall for her.
Hayes nudged me on the way to the truck. “You okay?”
I wiped my bottom lip with my thumb. “Fuck, I don’t know.”
“You were pretty hard on her in there.”
Unlocking the truck, we both crawled in the cab. I wasn’t blind. I knew I wasn’t the only one in the room that didn’t trust easily. I was afraid, too. After we found the mill, she wouldn’t need me anymore. I was a means to an—albeit, justified—end.
Yet here I was.
She was the first person I thought about in the morning and the last one before I fell asleep. Yet, she couldn’t tell me about a threat to her damn safety because she was afraid I might step on her toes.
Is what I feel for Lily deep enough to get past my own shit and let her into my heart?
Deep down in my bones, I already knew the answer. It’s why I’d told her how I felt about her.
Lily Costello was my perfect inevitability. I could only hope we wouldn’t raze any cities or each other’s hearts, when we came out on the other side. And if one of us hadn’t let our guard down soon—invited the other inside our own personal shitshows—we might never find out.
I’d cracked the door for her. I just hoped she’d take the invite.
Chapter Eighteen
Clean up on aisle six.
Lily
Well, shit.
“Hey, you okay?” Rob, the center’s senior trainer, stood in the doorway.
“I’m fine.”
“You guys got pretty loud. You sure?”