Aftermath by Bailey Bradford (most important books of all time txt) 📗

around the counter, trying his best to appear unaffected as his thoughts raced as fast as his pulse. There’s only one reason Lee would show up here. He was looking for me, and now he found me, and there’s nothing I can do but tell him it was my fault his brother died. The idea was terrifying and yet Darren found himself wanting to confess his failure, his guilt. Maybe if he did, he could find…not exactly peace, never that, but something close to it. Something that would make it a little easier for Darren to live with himself.

Decision made, he set the plates in front of Laine and Severo, avoiding both men’s eyes. He knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid their questions and Laine proved him right almost instantly.

“You know that guy at the counter?”

“Yes, sir,” Darren said. “I’ll be right back with your coffee—”

Darren froze when Laine grabbed his wrist. He shot a surprised glance at the man then immediately looked away.

“Darren, I saw you when you saw him. Do I need to get involved?”

Laine probably would no matter what Darren said but he tried anyway. “No, sir, he was my best friend’s brother. I just didn’t expect for him to show up here—but he isn’t a bad man, not at all.” He hoped. He hadn’t ever known Lee well—the man was almost ten years older than Darren, and he’d joined the military not long after Darren and Stefan had met.

“What do you mean, was?” Severo asked.

Darren cringed inwardly. He should have been more careful. Now he had to admit something that still turned him inside out to say. “I mean, he is, but Stefan, he was—he died,” Darren muttered, unable to explain any better. Those two words made him feel like something was ripping into his guts with fiery claws.

Severo hummed something under his breath as Laine squeezed Darren’s wrist, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to get his attention.

“And he just showed up here…why? Maybe I should just ask him that myself.”

“No,” Darren whispered, his teeth clenched to keep from yelling the word. “He probably wants to talk to me and that’s fine. Lee was serving with the Rangers when Stefan passed, I don’t even know when he found out about—it.” Darren wasn’t able to bring himself to say ‘Stefan’s death’. He was already on edge, his eyes stinging. The last thing he wanted to do was break down in front of everyone. Anyone. “Just, please, let me see what he wants first. I don’t want you to make him leave.” Darren tugged against Laine’s hold but his relief was short lived when Laine pushed back his chair and stood up, looking at something over Darren’s shoulder.

Darren took a step back and felt a wave of heat from a body close to his own. He peered over his shoulder, unsurprised to find Lee behind him, his handsome face devoid of expression.

The hand on his hip, though, that surprised Darren so much he yelped. Instead of moving his hand, Lee merely tightened his grip as he asked, “Is there a problem here, Darren?”

The words were different from Laine’s question moments earlier, but not by much. And apparently Lee wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Laine’s dark scowl. “That’s what I was asking Darren. Maybe you should let him go.”

Darren felt like he was caught between two alpha wolfs vying over a prized meal. He didn’t relish getting caught in the middle. “It’s fine, Laine, really, he just surprised me, that’s all.” God, people were staring. Darren wanted to curl up into a ball and hide. He hated drawing everyone’s attention. “Can you please stop?” Darren begged quietly of Laine, “Please. Everyone is looking and I—” He stopped, his throat clicking as he swallowed. “Please.” He didn’t know why he was begging Laine instead of Lee but he was. If he were honest with himself, Lee’s hand felt really good where it was, warmth seeping through the layers of material to warm Darren’s skin. The fact that the hold was possessive didn’t escape Darren’s notice, and neither did the aching hardness pinned uncomfortably between his thigh and his jeans. That part of him really liked Lee’s touch.

Laine finally nodded. “All right, for now, but we will be having a talk a little later, Mr.…”

“Lee Bausch.” Darren shivered when Lee’s breath whiffed over the back of his neck.

“Laine Stenley. I’ll be looking for you to stop by and see me”—Laine hitched a thumb in the direction of the Sheriff’s Office—“two blocks that way. Before noon.”

Darren didn’t hear a reply but Laine nodded again then sat down and took a drink of his coffee. Lee tugged at Darren’s hip. “Can you take a break?”

Darren glanced around at the diner, blushing all over again as he saw the curiosity on the customers’ faces. “Maybe. Let me refill a few cups and make sure everyone has what they need then I’ll ask.” He turned and walked around Lee, telling himself the man’s hand did not linger, it was only Darren’s pathetic wish that it had.

Lee trailed his fingers over the sharp blades of Darren’s hip. Even through the apron and jeans, he could feel the prominent bone. Darren had always been thin, but now he had more of a lean athlete’s build. And that bruise… Lee wanted to know how Darren had got hurt, and if there was anyone he needed to deal with over it. The protectiveness was sudden and fierce, so much so that Lee hadn’t been able to sit there and watch the sheriff touch Darren, even if it was just a loose hold on the younger man’s wrist. If Lee hadn’t been used to keeping his emotions buried he’d have snarled at Laine and likely threatened to rip the man’s hand off if he touched Darren again.

It was an unreasonable reaction and Lee didn’t understand it, but as he’d struggled to hide his shock at finding Darren working in the café, Lee had also found