been partially responsible for the death of her adoptive parents.
The front door opened and in walked Wren as smooth and silent as a panther. He was dressed in simple dark clothing that made me think Lou was on to something. His dark hair, blue eyes—although one was currently blackened—and powerful body were something to behold. Somehow, I found the will to leave the beholding to Lou, as any good friend should.
Besides, he had eyes only for Lou, the tension between them palpable.
“Did Ever give you that?” she smugly greeted after long moments of extended and meaningful eye contact. They’d both expressed more than either of them realized in that single look.
“Yeah.”
“Good. You deserve it,” she told him with zero sympathy.
Sighing, Wren moved deeper into the living room, purpose in every stride. That was until he noticed me curled up on their huge sofa.
Awkwardly, I waved. “Hey.”
A frustrated gleam entered his eyes before he nodded politely, turned on his heel, and stalked toward the stairs. I watched Lou as she pretended to ignore him and barely hid my grin when she started bouncing her leg. I could tell she wanted to follow him, but her pride and stubbornness wouldn’t allow it.
“You know, I can go and give you guys some privacy if you want.”
“Don’t bother,” she muttered as she flopped onto the couch next to me. “He’ll shower, get dressed, and be gone again within the hour.”
“Do you really think he’s gone back to work for Fox after everything that’s happened?”
I released the air I’d been holding when she shook her head. “No. I think Wren wants to find Fox and kill him.”
Stupidly, I blinked as I processed her words. That was a pretty dark revelation and way outside of my comfort zone. I felt like an accomplice, just knowing about it. I knew that Wren hadn’t always been an upstanding citizen, but was he truly a killer?
“And that bothers you?” It was the only thing I could think to say or do. I wouldn’t bolt when she’d listened to me whine about Vaughn for an hour. Suddenly, my problems seemed smaller, less complicated.
“Wren’s only doing what he thinks he has to. Trust me, no one wants that animal put down more than I do, but I…I don’t want it to be Wren. It took a long time for me to convince him that he deserved happiness. If Wren takes a life, even Fox’s, it will haunt him forever.”
I found myself speechless, and it seemed Lou was done sharing. We didn’t speak for a long time, and after a while, the only sound came from the water running in the shower upstairs.
The sound of glass shattering jerked me out of my sleep. I sat up in a panic that only slightly dissipated when I looked around and realized I was still at Wren and Lou’s. Feeling groggy and disoriented, I wondered how long I’d been asleep as I looked out the window and realized night had fallen. The only light was from the soft glow of the television. The romcom Lou and I had been watching before I fell asleep was paused halfway through. Checking my phone, I saw that it was a quarter past nine and still no text or call from Vaughn.
Ignoring my spinning head and shaking hands, I wondered at the last time I’d eaten as I slowly rose into a seated position. My appetite was nonexistent as I considered swallowing what was left of my pride and calling Vaughn again. The thought fled when I heard what sounded like a whimper.
I froze, hearing the sound more clearly a second time.
Remembering the glass, I shot to my feet. Was Lou hurt? Had someone broken in? Where was Wren? Tiptoeing into the small foyer—because if someone had broken in, the last thing I wanted to do was startle the burglar and get shot in the face—I came to a stop.
There were two figures cloaked in the darkness near the front door.
Oh, shit. I’m so toast.
I started to back away, hoping maybe the intruders hadn’t seen me yet when I noticed the large vase that normally resided on the entry table lay shattered at their feet. Either they were the world’s clumsiest burglars or… Just then, one of them mumbled something too low for me to hear. My lips parted to reply, but no words came. A moment later, the deep voice I recognized as Wren’s beat me to it.
“I said, arch your fucking back.”
My spine became a rod as