Mateo and Warner headed into the backyard, but Lucas stopped in the doorway. “I’m staying.”
He was six inches taller and at least sixty pounds heavier than I was, which made him both stronger and slower. He might only get in one punch before I took him down, but it’d be one hell of a blow, and I couldn’t afford to have to fire another enforcer. Especially one whose brother had knocked up my sister, and whose sister I was in love with. Even when I wanted to kill her.
No family tie had ever been quite so tangled.
“Get out,” I growled, irritated that I had to look up to threaten him. I was losing control of my Pride, my enforcers, and my entire territory, and the only sure way I knew of to get it back would be to unleash more violence. But we’d all seen more than enough spilled blood. “Lucas, I gave you an order. I don’t have to explain it. I shouldn’t have to repeat it. You should know and trust me well enough to do whatever I tell you, without hesitation.”
“Luke—” Abby began.
I snarled at her, and she flinched. He had to go because I’d told him to go. Not because she’d given him permission.
“Don’t make this worse,” I said, turning back to her brother, and finally, Lucas nodded. Then he stepped outside and pulled the busted door shut after him. As shut as he could, anyway.
I turned on Abby the moment the door closed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t done a damn thing right since we got here.” She twisted her fingers together so tightly, I was afraid they’d break, but she didn’t seem to notice any pain. “But please don’t send me home.”
I leaned against the door to keep it closed. “Hell, yes, I’m going to send you home. Even if I had a choice before, I don’t now. You’re insubordinate and disrespectful, and anyone else would have gotten a fistful for shouting orders at an Alpha.” That was standard; for our society to function, an Alpha had to be respected and obeyed without question, and he had to be worthy of both. “But I can’t discipline you like I’d discipline one of the guys”—not that that had ever been necessary—“because…”
“Because you love me?” She reached for me, and I pushed her hands away, even though every instinct I had told me to pull her closer.
“Don’t muddy the waters,” I snapped, fighting to maintain objectivity. “You’re half my size. That wouldn’t be discipline; that would be assault.” Especially considering that she’d only ever been hit by men who followed up their blows by ripping off her clothes and stealing every bit of trust and security she’d ever had. “I would never hurt you, even if you broke every rule we have.”
What I wanted was to kiss her until she couldn’t argue anymore because her mouth was too busy, but that wouldn’t exactly make my point.
“And you know that. You’re taking advantage of how I feel about you, which means you’re getting away with murder. Figuratively speaking.” The council would never let her get away with what she’d done to Hargrove. “I can’t make you obey the rules, but I can’t let the guys see you walk all over me. You can’t be here anymore, and you know exactly why.”
“I’m so sorry, Jace.” Her tears spilled over. “I didn’t mean for any of this to make you look bad. I would never do that on purpose.”
“Any of what?” There it was again—that glimpse of some hidden purpose behind the chaos she’d thrown my entire territory into. “What’s going on, Abby?”
“Nothing.” She sucked in another shaky breath, then met my gaze again. “I’ll go, if that’s really what you want. Can you just give me a couple of days to get my stuff packed?”
“No. I’ll have it shipped to you.” If she stayed one more night, I’d break down and change my mind. Which she clearly knew.
“Please, Jace. I won’t even go back to the lodge. I’ll just go pack up my dorm room, and you’ll never even know I’m in the territory.”
“No.” I crossed my arms so they couldn’t reach for her, trying not to be swayed by how upset she was. She’d dug her own grave and had refused to let me pull her out of it. “You need to go home, where you’ll be safe. And so your father can start working on your defense.”
“I don’t care about that. I need to be here.”
“Why?” I wanted her to say that I was the reason. That she couldn’t stand even the thought of being away from me, because that was how I felt, after only one night with her. Even after everything she’d done. But I wasn’t the reason she wanted to stay.
Not the only reason, anyway.
“What’s going on, Abby? If you want to stay, you have to tell me the truth.”
“Nothing’s going—”
“Don’t lie to me!” I shouted, and she flinched. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I will put you on a plane right now.”
Her eyes watered, but she held my gaze. And her own tongue, possibly for the first time in her life.