After the FBI agents left, Zoe felt a massive weight slide off her shoulders and barrel to the ground. She was free. She was finally free. All those years under Dima’s thumb, all these months of being terrified she’d be killed or imprisoned, she was now finally free. Gratitude and relief spilled over inside her, and she could barely contain her emotions.
Rollo kissed her hard on the mouth and all the guys in the station made teasing kissy noises at them. Rollo looked up at the men and smiled, still holding her tight.
“You are all just jealous I found my mate,” he said.
“We are,” Knox admitted with a good natured grin. “But we’re happy for you too, Commander.”
“I should go,” Zoe said, suddenly realizing that she was at Rollo’s work in the middle of the day.
“I’ll give you a ride back to the Institute,” Rollo said.
As they drove up to the institute, Zoe couldn’t help but think about her life. Now that she didn’t have Dima and his gang to worry about, her relationship with her brother came into full resolution at the forefront of her mind.
She’d been a serious bitch to Corey yesterday. Maybe she’d always been a bitch to him. Maybe he deserved it, in a way. But she didn’t want to be on bad terms with her brother any more. She loved him more than anything. She was his flesh and blood, and he’d taken care of her for years. She couldn’t just leave things the way they’d ended the day before.
When Rollo parked in front of the dorm, she gave him a kiss and climbed out of the car, saying goodbye before he drove off back to work.
She went to her room and looked around, realizing that she had no idea what she was going to do next. This place wasn’t really a home. She’d just come here to study woodworking so she could break into Caitlin Somerset’s Louis the Fifteenth chest. Now she had an apprenticeship with Angus, a mate, and a family.
That’s when she remembered she hadn’t showed up to her job in days and hadn’t giving Angus any word as to why. Great. Had she ruined her chance to learn from one of the top woodworkers on the West Coast?
She picked up her cellphone and gave Angus a call.
“Zoe Bright. I’ve heard you’ve been up to no good,” he said in a stern tone.
“I’m sorry,” she stuttered.
“I’m just teasing. I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you, Angus. I’m sorry I ditched work without giving you a call.”
“You’ve had a lot on your plate. The job is still here for you if you want it. You’ve got a knack for this work, Zoe. I hope you decide to use it.”
“I definitely plan to. I never would have suspected I’d love working with wood so much, but I do. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I have to go talk to my brother about some things today, if that’s all right.”
“You do what you need to. I’ll see you in the morning.”
They hung up the phone, and Zoe suddenly felt a thousand times better about everything. Angus was as sweet as they came, and she couldn’t wait to learn everything he could teach her.
Now that she’d smoothed things over with her mentor, she had to figure out what to do about her brother. Zoe paced around her room for a few minutes, memories of every time Corey had ever made her feel small flashing through her mind. Finally, she decided to just go over there. It was better to get it over with, like ripping off a bandage.
“Okay, Zoe Bright, you can do this,” she said, taking a deep breath as she opened the door.
She walked over to Corey’s house, noticing that his and Willow’s cars were both in the front driveway. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. No one answered at first so she rang the doorbell. A moment later, Willow answered, looking a little perturbed.
“Did I interrupt your work?” Zoe said apologetically.
“It’s fine. I’m glad you came. Come in,” Willow said, her face moving into a bright smile.
Zoe stepped into the front room of their house, and Willow led her through the front hall into the kitchen.
“Are you hungry?” Willow asked, opening the fridge.
“I came to talk to Corey,” Zoe said. “I feel terrible about yesterday.”
Willow closed the fridge and crossed the room, taking Zoe’s hands in hers.
“Corey feels terrible about it too. You know he loves you. That goes without saying. But I know my mate as well as anyone, and he can be difficult. He doesn’t share his feelings readily and when he does, it often comes out all wrong.”
“I know,” Zoe said, looking down at her hands. “I don’t know how to get through to him.”
“Don’t let his sharp edges bother you so much. He doesn’t mean to be unkind. He just wants you to be happy.”