Chapter 18

As soon aswe got back to Judah's home, I dragged him toward the ground-floor bathroom. The voices upstairs floated down to us, but I ignored them, hoping Hilton and Ellis wouldn't come to see what we were doing. We couldn't avoid them knowing what happened, especially not with the shiners that Judah was going to have, but I wanted to focus on trying to stop as much of the swelling as I could.

I pushed Judah to sit on the edge of the bathtub, and he did as I directed, watching me carefully, even though both of his eyes were ballooning to the point that he could probably barely see out of them.

"Fuck." I shook my head, guilt festering inside me as I opened the cabinet beneath the basin and grabbed the first aid kit out of it. Thankfully, Judah hadn't changed the habits he'd grown up with. There had been one in his parents' guest bathroom. "I never wanted this to happen. Shep's protective of the people he loves."

"He loves you?" Judah bit out, some of the anger from when we'd first run into each other returning. I didn't blame him. It was my fault that he was in this situation to begin with. His mother. His friends. Shep. The Kings. They were all consequences of our relationship.

I sighed as I sat the box on the gray marble counter. "It isn't like that."

"You have a lot of people who love you, a lot of people you let into your life. What about me, Tav?" His tone hardened and a vulnerability weaved its way through his words. "Why won't you trust me?"

"I do," I argued, smiling sadly over my shoulder at him as I opened the box, then pulled out the antiseptic cream. He had a cut under his left eye from a ring that Shep had been wearing, and I didn't want it to become infected. Once I'd made sure that was dealt with, I'd go to the freezer and find an ice pack, or if he didn't have one of those, some frozen vegetables.

"Then why didn't you tell me about Chaz? What did he say to you?"

I closed my eyes for a moment as I unscrewed the lid on the ointment, then opened them again as I squeezed the cream onto my fingers. I coated under his eye, careful not to put too much pressure on it. "I can handle some insults. I'm used to them. Shep only knew because he overheard Chaz."

"That doesn't answer my question." His hand snapped up and he grasped my wrist, holding my arm still. He leaned forward, mouth tugging into a serious frown. "What did he say to you?"

"I need to put ice on your eyes to stop the swelling."

"No." He shoved off the side of the bathtub and stood, towering over me. He leaned in closer, and I didn't move away. "I'll ask again, and I want a real answer. What did he say to you?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Which time? Last night or today?"

His eyes widened, and then he winced in pain. "Fuck. He said something last night, too?"

"I'm a big boy, I can handle myself. What Shep did was out of bounds, but he's always been rash and violent. I guess him being a Kings' prospect makes sense." I shrugged.

Judah gave me a pointed look.

Fine.If he wanted a proper answer, I'd give him one. "Last night, Chaz and Brett made fun of my clothes. Today, he insinuated I was there because I needed charity, and then asked me...." I cursed under my breath and ran a hand over the back of my neck. "He asked me how much I was worth. In a sexual way."

"What?" Judah's hands curled into fists and his jaw went tight. Despite the bruising, he glared. "I'm going to kill him." He moved to stride past me, but I grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"Stop it. I'm not a child, Jude. It's just words, and I can handle him. I wasn't goin' to make anythin' of it, but then Shep overheard and.... Bloody hell. It all went to shite, didn't it?" I ran a palm over my cheek. "After today, I don't think Chaz will be sayin' much else to me."

"Who is Shep? You still haven't told me."

I groaned and slid my fingers between his. I led him back out of the bathroom toward the kitchen. Once there, I guided him to sit on one of the stools at the kitchen bar before I went to the freezer. I grinned when my gaze caught three ice packs, and I brought out two before I snatched up a couple of tea towels out of the third drawer near the stove.

"Ethan Shepherd." I shifted back toward him. I laid the tea towels on the island and wrapped the ice packs into them.

"Ethan.... That's who Ellis was yelling at when I first brought you here?"

I hummed in answer. "He's a King and he saved Ellis's life. It's a long story with those two. All you need to know is that Shep asked me to take care of Ellis when El's parents tried to send him to a conversion camp. I agreed. I think I already said as much." I pressed one of the covered packs against his right eye, and he hissed, jerking back slightly at the coldness. "Shep used to be my neighbor at the park. He and his brother lived there when I first moved in. I was buddies with his brother before he went to prison." I frowned while thinking about Shep's brother, Leo. He'd been younger than me, but we'd become fast friends when I'd first moved to the park. "Leo was killed behind bars, and I took care of Shep as best I could. He needed me. Here, hold this."

He held the ice pack to his eye as I pressed the other one to his left side. "You have a thing for saving young guys who need an older brother, don't you?"

I chuckled. "After Mum died, I had no one. I hated being alone, so I strive to be what I didn't have. Be the good you want to see in the world and all that."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

I frowned down at him. "Don't be stupid. I broke up with you and left. You couldn't've known."

"And the people in my life keep making it harder on you, on us. What does that say about me? Fuck." He shook his head and nearly dislodged the ice pack I was holding to his eye. "I thought my friends were great guys."

"They are," I argued gently, taking a seat beside him. "Eric defended me. He's quiet, but he seems like a nice bloke."

"Eric?" He yanked away the ice from his right eye so he could stare at me through the swollenness of it. "Are we thinking about the same Eric?"

"Why?" I cocked my head, amused. "Brett and Chaz were having a go at me about my clothing, and he insulted them by saying I still had more style than they did."

"Fuck, he must like you." He laughed. "Eric doesn't like anyone, and he certainly doesn't get involved like that. He usually keeps to himself and minds his own business."

"Well, I am charming." I winked, and he laughed. "Go on then, put the ice pack back on your eye or you'll look like a tortoise."

"Tortoise, really?" He snorted but did as I'd instructed.

"Aye, they have those big eyes with black rims around them. Like a pair of glasses, isn't it?" I chuckled, ignoring the guilt that squeezed at my chest. This was all my fault. I hadn't expected Shep to attack Chaz, but I should've. Shep had always been defensive and protective, but he had even more power now that he was a King. Judah coming back to see what was happening was poor timing, and now the videos would hit social media. Judah was an important businessman, or at least, well enough known in these parts, and this could have negative consequences for him and his tires.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs had me wincing.

"Tav? Judah? Are you home?" Ellis called.

"We're in the kitchen," I responded, and almost immediately the door swung open and Ellis and Hilton strode in. As soon as they saw us, they froze.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Hilton screamed a tad too loudly.

"Did you get into a fight?" Ellis asked at the same time, striding toward us so he stood beside me and was directly in front of Judah. "Did you win?"

"El." I shook my head with a chuckle. "You can thank Shep for this."

His eyes widened. "Ethan did this? Why?"

"It's a long story, kid. But Shep didn't mean to hit Jude, he was going for another guy." The last thing I wanted to do was rehash the fight again through words. I pulled away the ice pack and avoided the cut and ointment to place a gentle kiss under the puffiness. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Judah leaned into my lips and smiled. "Puffin, it isn't your fault. I should've fucking known that Chaz would say something. He's always been about money." He stood abruptly, nearly knocking his face against mine, but I managed to move my head fast enough that he wouldn't hurt himself even further. "Fuck. I gotta go."

He dropped the ice pack he was holding onto the island counter.

"Go where?" I blinked in confusion at him as he strode out of the kitchen. I followed at his heels as he picked up the keys I'd dropped in the dish on the hallway table when we'd first come inside. "Jude, you can't drive like this. You have two swollen eyes. Stop."

"I'm fine, I can drive." He was out the front door before I could grab him. He'd moved so quickly that I didn't have time to comprehend what he was doing before he was in the car and reversing out of the driveway.

I frowned from where I stood at the door, unsure what to do or where he was going in such a hurry.

"He really needed to leave," Ellis murmured from behind me. "Where is he off to?"

I shook my head as I glanced at him over my shoulder. "I have no idea."

It took an hour for Judah to return, and in that time, I'd done nothing but sit at the kitchen island and wonder where he was. I'd texted him, but he hadn't responded, and by the time the front door was opening again, I was worried sick. I shot to my feet and stalked out of the kitchen toward the entryway.

"Where have you been?" I snapped immediately, charging at him and only stopping when I was right in front of him.

He had a paper bag clutched in his hand and his eyes looked worse, with the bruising starting to darken. The swelling appeared much the same, though, which was a small blessing. He raised the bag toward me and grinned. "Bear claws. I dropped the other ones, so I went back for more."

"I.... Are you...?" I stared at him in shock. "Are you fucking serious, Jude? I've been so concerned about you, and you went to get more bear claws?" I cupped his cheek and caressed his face with my thumb, my heart slowing down where it'd been racing. "Don't do that, sweetheart."

"Aw, do you love me?" he teased.

I snorted and leaned my forehead against his, careful that I didn't touch his eyes. "You know I do. I never stopped."

He sighed happily. "Me too. Which is why I got these." He raised the bag and waved it. "These bear claws make everything better."

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a laugh. "You are such a nerd."

"Hey, guys!" Ellis came running down the stairs, nearly tripping on one as he went. I shuffled forward, ready to catch him, but he didn't fall and instead landed on his feet at the bottom. Hilton was right behind him, skipping his way down the steps.

The skirt-and-shorts combo Ellis wore swayed as he came rushing over to us with his phone in his hand, Hilton stopping at his side. "Look, Judah, you're famous!"

He shoved the phone in our faces, and I took it off him, watching the video of Jude weathering a punch from Shep, then one from Reaper a little later on. A chirpy song played along with it, and it was clearly edited to make it seem like something funny rather than how serious it truly was.

"There's one of that other guy who got a beating, too," Ellis said, but his voice became background noise in my ears as I watched the video repeat over and over again.

"Not your best angle," I murmured, trying to keep the mood light, even though my stomach tied itself into knots. I'd stood there in the video, shock plastered on my face as I'd witnessed the event play out, and I'd done nothing. Fuck. I'd just let Shep go to town.

"I don't know." Judah stared at it over my shoulder. "It shows I can take a hit."

Ellis laughed. "Trust me, Ethan can swing hard. I've been on the receiving end of that fist."

"You have?" Judah asked.

Ellis pulled back his cheek and was pointing into his mouth while he mumbled something at Judah.

I tuned out their conversation as I continued to focus on the video. The loop of the punch played out in front of my eyes, and I couldn't look away, didn't want to. Fuck. If this was going viral, then Judah's job was in jeopardy. He'd worked too hard for this. Maybe Elizabeth was right—I was trouble when it came to him.

I glanced at Judah from the corner of my eye. He was busy listening to the story that Ellis told him about Shep, which gave me a chance to study his bruising eyes. It might not have been my fists, but it was as good as my doing. Shep had defended me, Chaz had insulted me, and I'd stood there and not done a bloody thing.

"How about it?" Judah grinned at me and held up the paper bag again. "Bear claws?"

I offered him a wavering smile in return. "Sure. Let's eat."