“I’ll take care of it.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Get some sleep. Things should look brighter in the morning.”
Raine certainly hoped so because everything looked damn bleak now.
Storming into the bar, Hammer grabbed a bottle of Patrón. He tore off the cap and slid onto an empty barstool, tipping the bottle to his mouth for a long swig. Beside him, Liam tossed back shots of Scotch. Beck sat around the corner of the L-shaped bar. The big pussy nursed a bottle of beer and looked at him expectantly.
“Don’t I get a thanks for bringing Raine back? And she’s even in one piece,” Beck drawled.
Hammer really tried not to punch him.
“Shut the fuck up,” Liam snarled and shot back more Scotch.
“What he said.” Hammer glared.
“You’re not happy to see her?” Beck mocked.
Happy? Laying eyes on Raine again had been like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and a kick-ass New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. He’d never been so damn relieved in his life. But now that she’d returned, his latent rage boiled up. She’d run off without saying a fucking word. And when she’d returned, had she wanted his protection or comfort? Oh, no. Instead, she’d warded him off by shoving a hand in his face. While still reeling from that silent “fuck you very much,” she’d had the balls to ask him for a Domme.
Not on your life, precious.
“Of course I am,” he finally managed.
There. That didn’t sound like he wanted to rip Beck’s face off. Or give in to the impulse to snag Raine by the arm, haul her ungrateful ass over his lap, and paddle her backside. Sucking in a breath, Hammer cordoned off his anger. If he punished her now, that would make him the worst sort of player. No real Dominant should ever punish a sub who asked for help. Raine might not have come back for him—or Liam—but someday she would understand the depth of her betrayal. Then… Well, his hand itched for that day.
“It doesn’t show. She decided to come back all on her own and ask for help. That’s a big step for her.”
Tossing back another gulp of tequila, he shrugged. “Huge.”
The small part of him that wasn’t horrifically pissed off felt proud. He’d never seen Raine so resolved to grow and blossom. The rest of him? Downright furious at her version of “help.”
“Just drink your beer.” He didn’t want to talk to Beck. Or anyone. He had to figure out what the hell to do.
“Stop soaking your brain with tequila and use it for a minute. Raine has a good idea. A female Dominant could teach her the basics.”
“Raine has lost the bloody plot! A Domme?” Liam shoved his tumbler aside, opting to swig from the bottle instead.
Yeah, this was going to get down and dirty. Hammer was so there.
“It’s a terrible fucking idea, Beck.” Hammer glared. “Until Raine feels the connection with a Dominant who commands her body, heart, and soul, she’ll be like a race car with a compact’s engine. She’ll run, but not like she should.”
He slammed back more booze. The tequila burned, but he welcomed it, hoping it would numb the sting of Raine’s desertion.
She needed more than another woman could give her. Goddamn it, she needed him—his guidance, his boundaries. His love. Fuck if he didn’t want to banish everyone from Shadows and wrap Raine in his arms until he’d bound her to him in every way possible. But damn it, her little speech tonight had tied his hands. Yeah, he could still tell her that he loved her. He probably should. But then he’d have to stand back and let the chips fall.
The control freak in him hated that idea.
“Exactly,” Liam agreed, leaning onto the polished wooden surface and looking past him to stare at Beck. “What the fuck did you do to her these last few days? Brainwash her?”
“Good question. I never thought I’d live to see the day that Raine sought out a woman.” Hammer shook his head.
“Pull your heads out of your asses,” Beck complained. “She just wants happiness.”
“I can make her happy,” Liam countered. “But I don’t think I could bear to see her give her affection to anyone else. How did everything get so fucked up?” Liam tipped his bottle back once again. “I’ve gotta figure out how to win her back. I need a plan.”
“In case you haven’t been keeping score, you’re batting a big fat zero with your last two grand ideas,” Hammer jeered.
Liam flipped him off. “At least I tried.”
“Yep.” Hammer nodded. “You’re the most trying man I’ve ever met... Just saying.”
“Ha fucking ha,” Liam sneered.
Beck nearly fell off his barstool laughing. “You two are hopeless, you know that?”
“What the hell do you know about love?” Hammer bristled. “Someday, somehow, Raine is going to choose one of us…then, of course, the other will have to die.”
Slugging back another drink, he wondered if Raine would ever let him love her the way he should have all along.
Liam peered at him. “I might be tempted to beat you ugly so that she’d never want you, but I swear I’d never kill you. That’s just bad form.” Liam frowned at Hammer. “There’s only one person that I’d like to unload a forty-five on, and that’s her dad.”
“Here. Here.” He agreed, raising his bottle and clinking it against his old friend’s.
“Neither one of you paid attention to her hands when she came in, did you?” Beck piped up.
Both he and Liam turned. The burly sadist wore a grave expression.
“Her hands?” he asked, wondering what part of the conversation had slipped past him.
“Yeah. She went to visit her father yesterday.”
Hammer’s heart nearly stopped.
“What the bloody… You’re serious?” Liam blinked.
“You’d better not be,” Hammer warned.
When Beck gave a curt nod, he felt as if he’d been blown clear to the other side of the room. Anger burst in his veins. Raine had gone back to that shithole, to see that animal, without him. She could have been hurt. Or Bill Kendall could have killed her.
With cold precision, Hammer turned his head, leveling Beck with an icy glare. “Why?”
“Do you really have to ask?” Beck sent him a mocking stare.
No. Hammer had known she’d eventually seek out Bill for answers, vindication…closure. But damn it, he’d imagined he’d be beside Raine, supporting and protecting her. “You didn’t fucking let her go alone, did you?”