“What?” I coughed out in disbelief thinking it had to be a mistake. “You sure you didn’t read it wrong?”
“Did I read it wrong?” He barked out a humorless laugh as his jaw tightened. “You tell me.” He tossed me the phone, letting me read it myself.
Mack,
It’s over between us. We clearly want different things and if we continue, someone is bound to get hurt. Please, don’t try and call me, I won’t answer. Trust me, this is for the best. Goodbye.
Hayden
I could feel Tibbs behind me, his eyes reading the same thing I was. “Chief, this has to be a mistake. She doesn’t seem like—”
“Get your sister on the phone now.” The words strangled by his clenched jaw. “She was probably the last person who spoke to her, and I want to fucking know what the hell was said.”
Deciding to do what Mack asked, Tibbs dialed Presley while I handed Chief back his phone. I had no idea what was going on, but there was no way Presley could be involved. She loved Mack like all of us did, and there was no way she’d do anything to hurt him. Her text to me hadn’t been anything unusual, and if something had gone down, surely she would’ve mentioned it. And while I was worried for the chief and the state of his relationship, my need to find out if Presley was okay was higher on my list of priorities.
Something didn’t add up.
We watched while Tibbs relayed the info to Presley, Chief stalking like a caged animal as we waited for more intel.
“Presley said she left the club a little bit ago, so she assumed she was with you. Bartender saw her go outside to check her phone and didn’t come back.” Tibbs held his phone from his ear, taking a swallow before adding the next part, “Chief, apparently she’d asked about Melinda.”
“Fuck!” Mack roared, his fist hitting the desk. “Ask Presley if Melinda is there, I have a hunch I already know the answer.”
Tibbs brought the phone back to his ear and asked Presley, his head nodding when he got the response. “She’s sitting at the bar.”
“Good, tell Presley to keep her there if she tries to leave. I’m on my way.” He grabbed his keys and phone, calling in a replacement for himself as he walked out the door.
“We should go.” I pointed to the doorway, the chief already telling Cap he was leaving. “Whatever the fuck is going on, Presley doesn’t have anything to do with it.”
Tibbs shot me a funny look, my concern for his sister a little more than friendship. “Of course she hasn’t got anything to do with it. But we just can’t leave. Mack’s pissed, but he’d never hurt her. Jesus, why do you look like that? You’re starting to freak me out.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how I looked, and really didn’t give a shit how it made Tibbs feel. But something in my gut was telling me it was all wrong and I needed to see her.
It was my turn to talk to Cap, leaving Tibbs in Mack’s office as I went to find him.
“I need to leave too,” I said, not hesitating as Cap lifted his head.
He popped a brow, probably wondering where I got the balls to make those kinds of demands, but I’d deal with the paperwork later. “Want to run that past me again, Leighton? Because I know you saw the Chief just leave and we’re down North too.”
Tibbs appeared at my side, not saying a word as I continued, “Cap, I’ll take whatever punishment you give me. But I’m walking out that door with your permission or without it. I need to go see Presley.”
“Why the fuck do you need to see my sister?” Tibbs shoved my shoulder. “And what the hell does it have to do with Mack storming out?”
Presley was going to be pissed.
But much like Cap’s fury, I’d deal with all of it later.
“I have no idea about Mack, but something about this doesn’t feel right. And I need to see Presley because I’m in love with her.”
It was like a bomb had gone off; the room pitched into silence as noise ceased to exist. Tibbs blinked—like he couldn’t register the words—unmoving, while Cap’s gaze ping ponged between us, probably lost as well.
Tibbs narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m in love with Presley. I love her. And whatever the hell is going on over there with Mack or Hayden, I don’t want her to be alone.”
His head snapped up, taking a step back as he held up his hands. “Wait a minute. What about this girl you’ve been dating?”
“Presley is the girl. I’ve been dating Presley. I’ve been with her this whole time.”
Didn’t know if that made it better or worse. Sure, he’d seen me turn down any other girl who’d even looked my way, my interest in anyone else nonexistent. But he also knew how many nights I’d spent in “my girlfriend’s” bed; my time at our apartment so limited he’d started to think I was moving out.
Which meant . . .
“You’re fucking my sister!” Tibbs lunged, his voice booming. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Hey!” Cap yelled, standing up and throwing his weight into the mix. “Both of you need to calm the fuck down. There will be no fighting in here, understood?”
I hadn’t even raised my fists, willing to take a punch if that was what it took because honestly, I couldn’t blame Tibbs. And I’d take whatever Cap had to offer too, neither of those things changing the situation.
“Wait!” Tibbs pointed a finger in my chest. “When you met me with her key, you’d been with her the whole time? I was going out of my mind trying to get a hold of her, and you’d been there the whole night fucking—”
“I love her, man. LOVE her. I’m not with her because I was bored or to use her for sex. I could never do that. Not just because she’s your sister, but because I’ve always cared and respected her. But it’s different now, and I can’t be without her. She’s in here.” I tapped my chest, my words not even close to how much I felt for her. I couldn’t back down, my chest rising and falling with each heavy breath as I stood my ground. “You know me, Tibbs. Look me in the eyes and tell me you think I’m capable of ever hurting her.”
Cap was in between us but hadn’t said another word. Not sure if that was because he didn’t know what to say or was waiting to see if Tibbs was going to take another swing. I didn’t know either, looking at him and hating the way he’d had to find out.
But I refused to fight my best friend.
I just wouldn’t do it.
Even if he wanted to lay me out for no other reason than lying to him, I’d take it.
“We were going to tell you.” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. “We were waiting till your old man came back because Presley wanted tell your family all together. This isn’t just a fling, dude. It’s the real deal. And I only have two regrets about this whole thing. One, that I hadn’t made her mine sooner, and two, lying to you.”
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuccck,” Tibbs huffed out a breath, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “You’re making it really hard for me to be pissed at you right now.”
“I won’t hurt her, Tibbs. Ever,” I promised, knowing it was the easiest promise I was ever going to make. “I’m not Lewis.”