So Far Gone in You(Primal Heat 2)(29)

Olin wiped at his eyes and turned away from Coop, as if humiliated that he’d been vulnerable in front of someone.

“Hey.” Coop gripped Olin’s chin and tugged until Olin was facing him. “Even the strongest have moments of weakness. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He smiled as he wiped Olin’s tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “Now, tell me about your mom and dad.”

“You’re not ready to run from me?” Olin asked teasingly, but Coop could see the fear in the man’s eyes.

“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. If you deal with my family, then I’ll deal with yours.” He winked at Olin. “Now stop stalling.”

“My mom’s name was Megan,” Olin said, and then he sighed as if saying her name out loud relieved some sort of pressure valve inside of him. Olin gave Coop a wobbly smile and then added, “I remember her singing me to sleep. Her voice would rival an angel’s.”

“She sounds like a beautiful woman,” Coop said.

Olin nodded. “My dad’s name was Drew.”

And after that, Olin burst with all the memories he had held inside for so long. He and Olin spent the better part of the night talking and laughing, comparing crazy family members until two in the morning.

And on the stone step, there in Aunt’s Mya’s garden, Cooper Dalton fell in love.



* * * *



Samson McBride glanced up when one of his Enforcers entered his office. He moved his hands away from his temples that he’d been rubbing. “What is it?”

“Alpha Talyn Bourne’s two top Enforcers were spotted entering our territory. Craig and Fisher followed them, and they’re at Mya Taylor’s house.”

Samson nodded.

The man frowned. “What do you want us to do about it? They don’t have permission to be here, and from what I hear, both men have a heavy bounty on their heads.”

Samson shot to his feet and slammed his fists into his desk. “Did I give you an order?”

The Enforcer appeared even more confused. “No.”

“Then get the fuck out of here!” Samson dropped back into his seat once the guy ran from his office. He turned in his chair and stared out the window. He hadn’t spoken to Talyn since the night of the big fight. He wasn’t sure where Talyn thought they stood.

And Samson didn’t care anymore. He couldn’t get the image of killing his own father out of his head. The memory clung to him like black mold. Samson hadn’t slept well in the past two months because, when he closed his eyes, the memory became a nightmare.

He growled as he flew from his seat and slammed his fist through the window, hoping the pain made the memory disappear. Samson stared down at his bleeding arm and felt…everything.

Samson had been emasculated by his father his entire life. Pushed around, blindsided, and treated like shit. He’d been the ruler of this territory, only to end up as a pawn when his father returned. Samson had given until he bled, and still, even that was never good enough for Ethan.

Respect. Devotion. Compassion. Disgust. Hate. Lies. He felt it all as he stood there, and then every last emotion slipped away from him.

All his faith in what he could have been, what he could have accomplished with his coalition went up in a blaze.

He wasn’t a hero or a villain. Neither good nor bad.

He just…was.

And that was when Samson McBride realized that insanity had been enveloping him like a legion of demons, swallowing him whole since the night he had driven that knife into his father’s black heart.





Chapter Seven




Olin tossed and turned and then finally gave up and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep. Not after the wonderful time he’d had with Coop earlier.

“Stop fighting it and just go to him,” Ollie said from across the room as his sheets rustled. “Because, if you don’t, I won’t get back to sleep. You’re tossing around so much that I’m getting restless.”

“Then I’ll have to send Karidon in here,” Olin said. He didn’t want to put Ollie in that sort of position. He didn’t want to send a virtual stranger in to sleep in the same room with his twin.

Ollie was quiet for a minute, and then his voice came out as a whisper. “That’s okay.”

Olin sat up and gazed across the room. “I’ll have Karidon sleep on the couch.” He didn’t like the small inhale of breath Ollie had given before he’d answered.

“Aunt Mya will kill you,” Ollie said.

“I’ll take my chances.” Although he liked Karidon, Olin wasn’t going to send a fox into a hen house. Ollie was too innocent, and if Karidon smooth-talked Ollie into anything, Olin would kill the guy.