Anchor of Secrets by Tessa Hale

22

I satat the bend in the drive long after the SUV had disappeared. As though if I stayed right there, I could will the guys back to me. I might not have anchor powers, but maybe I could stir up some of my own magic.

An arm slid around my shoulders. “Let’s go inside.”

“I hate this,” I whispered to Baldwin.

“You and me both, cherub. Let’s distract ourselves with some baking.”

I glanced up at Baldwin, his warm brown eyes full of sympathy and understanding. I swallowed hard and nodded.

He guided me into the house and toward the kitchen. “What do you think we should make?”

The idea of putting anything in my stomach was revolting. “What are some of the guys’ favorites?”

Baldwin grinned. “I like the way you think. Colt and Dash are traditionalists. They love chocolate chip cookies. Trace is a sucker for lemon bars. Ronan has loved my peanut butter M&M cookies since the week he moved here. I still don’t have Declan pegged.”

I glanced at Baldwin. “You were here when Ronan arrived?”

Shadows swirled in Baldwin’s eyes. “I’ve been steering this ship since before Colton was born.”

I worried the corner of my lip between my teeth. “How bad was it when he arrived?”

Baldwin instantly understood I was asking about Ronan, but a wary look took over his expression.

“He told me a little of what happened. About the fighting pits.”

Baldwin’s eyes flared. “He did?”

I nodded.

“How a father could do that to their own child, I’ll never know,” he muttered.

“Me neither.”

Baldwin sighed, leaning against the counter. “There are reasons his walls are sky-high. The people he should’ve been able to trust the most betrayed him.”

An ache flared along my sternum. “The Declan I know would never do that. There has to be other factors at play.”

“I’m sure there are,” Baldwin said gently. “But that doesn’t change how it has made Ronan feel. He wouldn’t let a single person touch him for over a year.”

Pain ricocheted through me. I wanted to grab hold of Ronan and never let go.

“You’re good for him,” Baldwin whispered. “I’ve seen him more alive in this past month than ever before.”

“I’ve turned his life upside down,” I muttered.

“Maybe that’s exactly what he needed.”

I hoped, at the very least, he thought all the trouble was worth it in the end.

I looked up at Baldwin. “Let’s make peanut butter M&M cookies first.”

He grinned.

* * *

The kitchen smelledamazing from a blend of half a dozen treats that were now cooling on various racks scattered across the kitchen. I couldn’t eat a single thing. Baldwin tried to get me to, offered to make anything under the sun, but my stomach couldn’t take it.

I scrubbed the mixing bowl with more force than was necessary. “It’s been too long.”

Over four hours now.

“Give them time. Things can come up on these sorts of missions.”

I was sure they could, but those things were never good.

A trilling ring sounded from Baldwin’s direction, and he pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Yes?”

I watched as the blood drained from his face.

“Right away.”

He was already moving out of the kitchen.

I dropped the mixing bowl, barely having time to shut off the water as I ran after him.

Baldwin was already halfway down a back hall I hadn’t ventured into.

“What is it? What happened?” Panic laced every word.

“I don’t know. Just that Colt was hurt.”

He shoved open a door, and suddenly, we were in what looked like an infirmary. There were several beds and more medical equipment than I could name.

“How bad?” I whispered.

A muscle in Baldwin’s jaw ticked, and he pulled supplies from various cabinets and placed them on a cart. “Bad.”

The cramp that grabbed hold of my stomach nearly stole my breath. This wasn’t happening, couldn’t be.

A door slammed from far away, making me jump.

“That’ll be them. Help me strip the bed,” Baldwin ordered.

I forced my legs to move, helping him pull back the blankets on the closest bed.

Voices rose, but I couldn’t make out the words. A second later, the guys poured into the room.

I stood frozen for a moment as I took them in. Couldn’t have moved if you’d given me all the money in the world. They looked as if they’d just done battle with the devil himself. Clothing was torn, their faces and bodies bloody and covered in a black tar-like substance. And they were carrying an unmoving Colt.

That last piece of knowledge had me jerking forward. He was pale, too pale. Eyes closed. And there was a gaping wound in his side.

“Tell me,” Baldwin barked as they set Colt on the hospital bed.

“It was a fucking trap,” Trace growled. “The caves were crawling with shadow demons. They boxed us in, and we had to fight our way out.”

Ronan’s face was completely blank, shock settling in. “He stepped in front of me. It should’ve been me.”

My heart cracked.

Dash clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You would’ve done the same for him.”

Baldwin worked quickly, cutting open Colt’s shirt.

I gasped. The wound in his side was massive and turning black, as if his flesh was rotting.

Baldwin cursed. “We need to move fast. Cleanse the wound. Dash?”

But Dash was already moving to a farther set of cabinets, pulling out ingredients, then chanting over a bowl.

I moved to Colt’s side, slipping my hand into his. It was too cold, not at all the vibrant, fiery Colt I loved so much. Pressure built behind my eyes. “What can I do?”

Baldwin glanced at me. “Talk to him. Keep him here.”

I gripped Colt’s hand tighter. “Hey…”

I didn’t know what to say. What words I could give that would bring him back to me, to us.

Swallowing hard, I let the first thing I thought of tumble out. “This is so much worse than when you fell out of the tree. Your dad was so mad. He told you those higher branches weren’t safe, but you just had to see for yourself.”

Colt didn’t move a muscle.

“Broke your arm in two places. But you let me sign your cast first. Remember what I said?” Tears pricked at my eyes. “Best friends forever, but no more trees.”

Fingers twitched in my hand.

I jerked my head up to Baldwin. “I felt something.”

“Good. Keep talking,” he ordered, as Dash handed him the potion. “This is going to hurt.” He glanced at the rest of the guys. “Hold him down.”

They moved in around Colt, pressing his limbs and shoulders into the mattress.

“You were out climbing trees the second that cast came off,” I remembered. “You’ll be doing the same here.”

Baldwin poured the concoction into Colt’s wound. It bubbled and popped, thick, noxious smoke filling the air. He rushed to open the window, guiding it out.

A low moan slipped from Colt’s lips.

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” I promised.

The bubbling intensified, and Colt’s eyes flew open. The scream that slipped from his lips was more animal than human as he fought against us.

“Hold him!” Baldwin yelled.

Colt began to seize, his body jerking in staccato movements. Terror gripped me as the guys held strong. Then Colt went limp, and there was nothing at all.