brother
Chapter 227: Penny
The second the door closes behind me, my chest clamps shot.
The last time I stood here, I’d just survived a bat ambush. And now–again. Different place, different night, same goddamn gang.
I shouldn’t be here.
This isn’t my home. This isn’t Asher’s arms. This isn’t safety.
But Boomer’s already locking the door, checking the bolt, the window shades. Every move is efficient. Quiet. Like a man who’s done this before. Like a man who’s prepared for war without ever raising his voice.
“You’re safe now,” he says, low and
ertain. “Sit.”
I do. My body listens even when my brain can’t.
The couch cushions give under me, soft and unfamiliar. My hands are shaking again and I hate it, I hate how weak I feel, how wrong it is to be here. I don’t even take off my jacket. I just… sit.
Boomer disappears into the bathroom.
I press my palms to my eyes and try not to break again.
It doesn’t work.
He comes back out with a first aid kit in one hand and something unreadable in his expression. Not pity. Not panic.
Anger, maybe. Cold and hard, aimed at whoever did this. But not at me.
He drops to one knee in front of me and nudges my knees apart just enough so he can sit between them. Close. His big frame takes up so much space it should be intimidating–but it’s not.
It’s anchoring.
“I’m fine,” I lie, because that’s what you do when you’re not.
His eyes flick up to mine. “No, you’re not.”
The words are quiet, firm. Not a challenge–just a fact. And when he says them, something inside me starts to crack again.
He leans in.
Two fingers under my chin, tilting gently. I flinch, but not away. Just from the contact, from how careful he is..
He inspects my face like it matters more than anything else in the world.
Like every inch of bruised skin is something sacred.
He checks my neck, my jaw, my temple. His brow tightens when he sees the mark there–the one from the guy pinning me down but his nostrils flare. A muscle ticks in his jaw.
esn’t say anything,
Then he glances down at my hands. Takes them without asking. His palms are huge around mine. Warm. Solid. He checks each finger, each knuckle.
“You’re not bleeding,” he mutters. “But that’s not saying much.”
“I said I’m-”
He cuts me off. “Don’t say you’re fine again.”
1/4
Chapter 227: Penny
And something about the way he says it, low and sharp and laced with that rough command it shuts me up complemly
He opens the kit and starts cleaning a scrape on my palm.
I watch his hands move. Steady, practiced His forearms tense under the sleeves of hit hoodie. The veins along the backs of his hands. His kauch ir prob but there’s nothing delicate about him. He’s all restraint and purpose.
And it makes something inside me splinter.
“I can’t-” My throat closes.
Boomer looks up. His gaze lands on mine, and this time I can’t hold it.
I start crying. Harder than before. My whole body folding in on itself.
“Hey,” he says, quiet and firm.
He drops the gauze, presses a hand to the back of my head, and pulls me against his chest, I fall into him like I’m made of paper.
My knees are tucked under me. My face buries in the space between his collarbone and shoulder. His arms wrap around me–tight, grounded, sure.
“Breathe,” he says, one hand stroking slow down my spine. “Just breathe. I’ve got you.”
I try.
But the sobs rip through me like aftershocks, messy and unstoppable.
“I was so scared,” I choke out. “Boomer, I–I thought they were gonna-”
“I know.” His voice is low. Controlled. “I know.”
His arms tighten just enough to remind me I’m not alone.
“Why wouldn’t he tell me?” I gasp. “Why–why would he shut me out now?”
Boomer doesn’t answer right away. He just keeps holding me. Keeps me wrapped up in that terrifyingly strong embrace that somehow makes the world feel
small and safe,
“He probably thinks he’s protecting you,” Boomer finally says, voice like gravel and steel. “That whatever it is–he has to fix it alone.”
“That’s not fair,” I whisper.
“No,” he says. “It’s not.”
I press my fingers into his chest, trying to breathe through the panic still rising in me like water in my lungs. “I can’t do secrets again. Not after Tyler. I can’t trust someone who doesn’t trust me.”
“I know.” His voice softens. “I’d feel the same,”
I tip my head back to look at him. His expression is unreadable. Sharp. Intense.
But not unkind.
His thumb brushes under my eye, collecting a tear.
“You’re safe with me, Penny,” he says. “And with him. Even if he’s doing it wrong right now, he’d burn down the world to keep you safe.”
“I don’t want the world burned,” I whisper. “I just want honesty.”
Chapter 227: Penny
Boomer doesn’t say anything.
But he leans in and presses his forehead to mine. And for a second, the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Only the sound of our breathing. His strength. My brokenness.
And the unbearable weight of everything unspoken.
I don’t know how long I cry. Long enough that my head starts to ache and my voice is nothing but a rasp in my throat. Boomer doesn’t let go de li when my breathing gets tagged, not when my hands clutch his hoodie like a lifeline, not even when I finally go quiet and just sit there, curled ledd hon
He’s so still. So solid. Like if I let go, the world might spin out of control again.
But eventually, I feel him shift. Just enough to lean back and look at me.
“You need to sleep,” he says softly, brushing a piece of hair off my face.
“I’ll sleep here,” I whisper, already pulling away from his chest. “The couch is fine.”
He gives me a look. A look. Eyebrows raised, mouth set, that unreadable SEAL expression that means there’s no point arguing.
“No,” he says firmly. “You’ll sleep in the bedroom. Door locked. It’s safer.”
My head jerks up. “Boomer-”
“Penny.” His voice is gentle but leaves no room for argument. “If anything happened to you again tonight because I let you fall asleep on a damn couch, d never forgive myself.”
There’s a long pause. I swallow hard, trying to read his expression. It’s not pity. It’s not overstepping. It’s control and calm and care, braided together into something that silences the argument in my throat.
“But it’s your bed.”
“I’ll take the couch. Or the armchair. Doesn’t matter.” He stands slowly, offers me a hand. “The bed has the only lockable door in this place. And you’ll sleep
behind it.”
I hesitate.
Not because I don’t want the comfort. I do. My body’s trembling, my heart hasn’t stopped racing since the alley. But the idea of taking his bed while he crashes somewhere else… it doesn’t sit right.
Still, when I look up at him–tall and broad–shouldered in the dim apartment light, jaw tense, eyes serious and steady–my feet move on their own.
I slip my hand into his, and he helps me up like I weigh nothing: His fingers are rough, warm. He doesn’t let go until I’m steady on my feet.
“Come on,” he murmurs.
He leads me down the short hallway and into the bedroom. The sheets are dark. The bed is big. A little messy, but the kind of messy that feels lived in
He looks at me. And this time the corner of his mouth quirks up, just barely.
“You’re safe in my space, Penny. But right now, you need rest. Not confusion.”
I bite my lip and nod.
“Door stays locked,” he reminds me. “I’ll be right outside. If you need anything–anything–you call me. Don’t care what time it is.
“I will.”
Chapter 227: Penny
He lingers a second too long, like he’s not ready to leave,
Then he reaches out slow, careful–and places a hand on my shoulder.
His thumb drags once along my collarbone, just a comforting touch, and then he pulls away.
“Sleep. I’ll stand guard,”
And then he’s gone.
I sit on the edge of his bed, the door clicking closed behind him. The lock slides into place with a quiet snick, and my chest finally loosens a fraction
I’m still angry at Asher. Still scared of the nightmares I know are waiting.
