Chapter 24

Everything was slow. Muffled.

Morgan tried to listen to what Vin was saying. She needed to run. To get away from…something. She couldn't remember what. Her vision was blurred and she blinked to clear it.

A gentle hand was on her arm and Morgan pulled away. She couldn't let anyone touch her. She knew that much.

"Vin?" she asked, confused. She saw Nathan standing with Vin. She could trust them, right? She wasn't running from Vin, was she?

The frantic pressure in her chest was fading and she wasn't sure how long she had been fighting the feeling and the shadows. It felt like weeks and it felt like five minutes. Had Ezra come to the apartment to get her?

"I'm here," Vin said.

Morgan let him put his hands on her this time. Her heart thudded dully, nothing left to drive it.

"Morgan," Nathan's deep voice said.

Morgan tilted her head toward him. Her hair was in her face, but lifting a hand to move it seemed like an impossible task. The cement weighing down her limbs grew heavier and heavier.

"You feel like you're breathing ok?"

Morgan looked at him. Finding words seemed hard. She didn't manage an answer.

"See if she'll go inside now," Nathan said. "She's going to need to rest now. The worst should be over."

Morgan wanted to correct him that the worst was in front of her. In front of her, behind her, all around her. There was no escaping the memories of Chad. Or what he had taken from her when she was expelled from school. She just had a future at the strip club now.

Her feet stumbled across Buck's lawn and Vin caught her.

"I'm really tired," she mumbled.

She barely registered where she was. Just that Vin was with her. No one was chasing her for now. She could rest. For now, she could rest.

#

Buck stood when he heard the back door. The football game was on, but no one was watching.

Morgan finally had slowed her frenetic movements. She shuffled through the living room, Vin supporting her, not looking at the men. Nathan came in after them.

Buck opened his mouth, wanting to ask if Morgan was ok now, if this meant she had made it through the hurricane.

"She'll be fine. Gonna need to sleep it off," Nathan said when Buck didn't manage to get the words out.

Buck nodded. Ok. Sleep. Morgan just needed sleep.

Inez rubbed a hand lightly over Buck's back.

"You can…" Buck's words caught. He cleared his throat. Tried again. "Her room's ready upstairs," he said to Vin. And then strode out of the room.

All the tension and fears of the last fourteen hours slammed into him, like a wave that threatened to drag him under.

Buck dragged in a breath.

Then another.

He lifted a shaking hand to his face.

A gentle hand found his shoulder and Buck tried to get himself under control. He didn't want Inez to see him falling apart. Any hope of a date with her had gone out the window, but he didn't want to lose his last bit of pride.

"Buck," she said softly.

Buck couldn't get any words out.

Inez didn't make him turn to face her. Her arms came around his waist and Buck could feel her head resting against his back.

Buck closed his eyes, feeling her warmth against him. For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel like he was on his own with Morgan.

#

Vin sat in the desk chair he had pulled up next to the bed.

Morgan was collapsed on the bed on her stomach, breathing evenly, finally still.

One arm was flung across the bed towards him. Vin looked at the raw marks her nails had clawed through her skin.

With a light touch, he ran his fingers over the marks.

"What are you doin', Morgan?" he asked quietly.

She didn't stir.

"You know what's goin' on with her."

Vin didn't turn at Chris' entrance. Chris' words weren't a question. But they weren't an accusation, either. He didn't answer Chris.

"This ex of hers in Vegas," Chris said. "He still causing her problems?"

Vin kept his eyes on Morgan. They way her long lashes rested on her cheeks. How warm her skin was under his hand.

"He could," Vin answered honestly, thinking of Morgan's job at the strip club that was owned by her ex boyfriend's father. The man their team was investigating.

Chris cursed softly under his breath. Vin didn't offer anything more. He wondered how Chris had found out about the ex. He waited to find out what more Chris knew. Like sitting in a sniper's post, waiting out a target, not giving himself away.

But Chris didn't say anything more. Vin watched every rise and fall of Morgan's back.

"She could use someone in her corner," Chris said.

"She's got me," Vin said, feeling his defenses rise as he waited for Chris to say why it shouldn't be Vin.

Vin had been in her corner since the day he met her. He thought of her scarf slipping, the bruises showing. The look Morgan had given him, fear and a hard wall to keep him at a distance.

He brushed at a strand of hair that fell across her face.

"It's—" Chris started, then stopped abruptly. When he didn't say anything more, Vin looked over his shoulder at him.

Chris was looking at Morgan, his jaw working.

"It's good she has you," Chris finally got out. He met Vin's eyes. "Buck and me, we aren't enough. Not for whatever she's dealin' with. Not when she won't talk to us."

Vin could see what the words cost Chris and he hated seeing the man at a loss.

"If you think you can do this—be with Morgan—and not get ripped apart, then…" Chris looked over at Morgan and the hard planes of his face softened. "Then she's lucky to have you."

It wasn't a ringing endorsement. But it was something. He could see the hopelessness on Chris' face that drove him to give Vin a reluctant blessing.

Vin stood and shoved his chair over for Chris to take. He pulled over a stepstool that had been leaning against the wall and unfolded it for himself.

He sat next to Chris in silence. He tried not to think of how Morgan was making everything worse for herself. How she wouldn't let him help.

Morgan didn't stir, and eventually Buck made his way into the room.

"She still sleepin' in off?" Buck asked.

Morgan mumbled something at the sound of Buck's voice and cracked an eye open.

"Hey there," Buck said softly, kneeling down to eye level with Morgan.

Morgan grunted. She looked at Chris, then at Vin. Vin saw the confusion, followed by guilt, before she looked away.

She shoved herself up to sitting, pushing her hair back from her face.

"I need to go," she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

"No, Mo," Buck said. "You need to rest. You were pretty wired for a good sixteen hours."

"I…" Morgan trailed off and she closed her eyes. "Meth."

"Yeah," Buck said, his words crisp. "Meth."

It was enough to have Morgan set her jaw. "You should've expected that, Buck. Just another bad decision." She leaned back against the headboard and her eyes fell shut again.

"I just want to know what's goin' on. The meth, the jerk who abused you in Vegas. Talk to me."

Morgan's eyes flew open. She glared at Buck, then pinned Chris with a look. Vin shifted slightly, thinking maybe he'd try to smooth things over, keep her calm, but Morgan snapped first.

"You told him?" she demanded, eyes drilling into Chris.

Chris didn't deny it.

"Unbelievable," she hissed. Morgan kicked off the blanket Vin had put over her earlier. She got to the edge of the bed and closed her eyes like she was light headed. But when Buck put a hand on her arm to steady her, she jerked away, opening her eyes again.

"As long as you were sharing secrets, did you tell him everything?" she asked Chris, her eyes glinting.

"Morgan…" Chris said, a clear warning in his voice.

"Tell me what?" Buck asked.

"Morgan," Vin said quietly. He had no idea where she was going with this, but he wanted to stop her before she launched whatever grenade she had. Now wasn't the time.

"I kissed him," Morgan said, ignoring Vin and looking at Buck. "More than just a friendly kiss." She looked at Chris. "Go ahead, tell him."

Chris hissed a breath out between his clenched teeth.

"Look, we know you've been havin' a rough spell," Buck said. Vin could see how hard Buck was trying for calm.

"Oh that's not the best part," Morgan said sarcastically. She smiled humorlessly at Chris. "Tell him how much you liked it. How you responded. I felt how much you wanted me."

Vin found himself staring at Chris. After everything Chris had told him. Warned him for weeks to steer clear of Morgan, and he had been doing the very thing he told Vin not to do.

Chris' jaw worked.

Morgan stood and took a furious step toward Chris. "Don't you dare ever judge me again," she said through clenched teeth. Then she stepped back and Vin could see the tears that threatened in her eyes, the way she blinked them away.

She stormed toward the door, weaving slightly, and down the stairs. Vin gave Chris one last hard look before going after Morgan.

She was in the small entryway at the bottom of the stairs, a hand pressed to her forehead, holding onto the wall like she might pass out.

"Hey, it's ok," Vin said, moving closer to her.

She was shaking when he laid a hand on her.

"I need to get out of here," she said wanly. "I need…" she looked around blankly. "My phone. My car. They're still over at Derek's…where I was last night."

Vin tried to not let her see how any thought of her going back to where Ezra had found her riled him. "We'll get 'em for you. Let's just…" He didn't know what to say after what she had said about Chris. "Let's get out of here."

She looked at him, her eyes still hazy from the hangover of her high.

"Come on," Vin said. "Let's just get away from this." He needed to get out of there as much as she did.

Morgan looked at him then. The hopelessness in her eyes was worse than any sort of anger.

"Let's go," Vin said gently, focusing on Morgan, rather than his anger at whatever had happened between her and Chris. He put a light hand on Morgan's back but didn't pressure her to move. As soon as she started to move on her own, he guided her toward the door.

He saw Ezra in the living room, watching them and gave him a look. Ezra nodded. He was on Vin's side, helping with whatever Morgan needed.

Morgan didn't say anything on the drive to Vin's. She slumped against the passenger side door.

When Vin pulled to a stop in the lot, she looked over at him. "This doesn't mean anything," she said, a frown pulling at her lips. "Me being here. It doesn't mean…" she trailed off.

"I know," Vin said. This didn't mean she was lowering her guard or letting him in. It just meant she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Morgan got out of the vehicle and followed him to his apartment. Without a word, she fell into the bed when he pulled the covers back and closed her eyes.

"I have to run out for somethin'," Vin said.

She cracked an eye and looked at him in question.

"Make yourself at home." Vin waited until she closed her eyes and gave a little sigh as she burrowed down under the blankets. He tried not to think of what seeing her in his bed did to him. What it made him want. What he wanted and what Morgan was stubbornly insisting on were two entirely different things.

Vin called Ezra as he headed back down the stairs to his Jeep. He asked Ezra if he wanted to ride along with him and Ezra didn't hesitate in his agreement.

He pulled back up to Buck's house and Ezra came outside before Vin could get out of his Jeep. Vin saw that Chris' truck was gone and figured that couldn't be a good sign of things between Chris and Buck, but he also couldn't bring himself to feel much sympathy for Chris.

Ezra got in the passenger side and Vin shoved aside thoughts of whatever had happened between Chris and Morgan. Wondering when it happened. Why she would have kissed Chris.

"Turn here," Ezra said, interrupting the dark trail of Vin's thoughts.

Vin dragged himself back to the presence.

Ezra directed him to the other side of town and Vin pulled up in front of the utilitarian building that had seen better days.

Vin started to get out, then stopped. He was going in there no matter what, but he needed to know what the risk was from the fallout. "Any of them have ties to the club?" he asked.

Ezra shook his head. "I didn't recognize any of them. The women who Morgan said she worked with were in other rooms, or had left, otherwise…occupied."

Vin gave Ezra a single nod of understanding, then followed his teammate through the sorry lobby space to an elevator, up to the apartment Ezra said Morgan had called him to last night.

Ezra looked over at Vin. Vin could read Ezra's unspoken question. He was giving Vin a chance to walk away. But Vin could also see that Ezra was going in there whether Vin backed away or not.

Vin wasn't backing away.

Ezra gave a single knock on the door. Vin waited, everything in him narrowing to just the focus of what he was there for.

A scrawny guy with lank hair pulled open the door.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Vin gave him a hard shove, sending him backwards. Ezra followed him into the apartment.

Two men lounged on the couch. They sat up slightly at Ezra and Vin's entrance.

Ezra crossed directly to them. "Do you remember me?" he asked.

The look on their faces was nearly comical. One of them nodded, a hand going to his head and rubbing at a knot there.

"I trust you had an unpleasant night with the headache I left you with," Ezra said, sounding like he was making pleasant conversation.

The men eyed him warily.

Vin looked around the room. There was one other man, watching them dully from a recliner. Vin recognized him immediately. He narrowed his eyes and crossed over in two steps to Cobra.

Cobra looked up at him, his lip curling slightly.

"You just let those two get their hands on Morgan?" Vin asked quietly.

Cobra let out a snort. "They didn't do nothing. She needs to lighten up."

All the fury Vin had been trying to keep suppressed surged forward. He grabbed the smaller man by the front of his shirt and dragged him out of the chair.

Cobra swung at Vin, but didn't reach him. Vin spoke through gritted teeth. "I wish you knew how low she's sinkin' to be with you."

Cobra grinned. "Yeah. But she's with me, isn't she?"

Vin held back what he wanted to unleash on the man. Every cell in his body was vibrating with anger.

It took the last of his control to shove Morgan's boyfriend away from him. He saw Ezra picking up keys and phone from the floor near the couch.

"Let's go," Vin said to him.

Ezra pocketed Morgan's keys and phone and started toward the door with Vin. They were about to leave when a heavy weight landed on Vin's back, a wiry arm coming around his neck and pushing against his windpipe. Ezra whirled around just as one of the men from the couch landed a hit to his face.

Vin fought out of Cobra's hold. The three men paused at the looks on Vin and Ezra's faces.

Vin narrowed his eyes at the men. He and Ezra took a step toward them, the men stepped backwards, eyes darting nervously now that they didn't have surprise on their side anymore.

Vin was glad they had started it. Glad he didn't have any excuse to hold back. He lunged for Cobra as Ezra put his fist into the soft midsection of his attacker.

They would give these guys exactly what they deserved.

#

Morgan heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

She rolled over and blinked at the darkness in the room. It had been daylight when Vin had brought her to his apartment.

She rubbed at her eyes, feeling how dry they were. She looked around Vin's bedroom. No Vin.

With a groan, she pushed herself up and brushed her hair back from her face. She padded across the worn carpeting, pushing open the bedroom door. A light came from the kitchen and she could see Vin at the sink.

She paused in the living room, watching the strength of his back as he washed the few dishes in the sink, setting them in the drying rack. She was about to say something, let him know she was there when he paused, bracing his hands on the edge of the counter and lowering his head.

She saw the line of defeat in his shoulders then. Saw the exhaustion pressing down on him.

He took a long breath, blowing it out slowly. Then lifted his head and went back to his task.

"Vin." Morgan stepped toward the kitchen, curling her fingers in guilt, knowing she was the one who was causing this decent man to bow beneath the weight of what she had brought to Denver with her.

Vin turned and looked her over before he said anything. Not that Morgan gave him a chance. She saw the split lip and the bruise on his jaw and hurried forward.

"What happened?" she asked. She stopped herself before she reached up to touch his injuries.

"Nothin'," Vin said. He nodded toward the counter. "Ezra got your keys and phone for you. Your car's out in the lot."

Morgan didn't look at where he motioned. She kept her eyes on his wounds. She knew what he wasn't saying. He had gone with Ezra to get her things.

"This is what Chris said would happen," she said.

Vin's eyes darkened when she mentioned Chris.

"I brought all my problems with me when I came here. And you're the one getting hurt." She clenched her jaw and tried to push down the lump that formed in her throat.

Vin looked down at her. "I can take it," he said quietly.

Morgan shook her head. "You shouldn't have to," she said. "That's the point." She took a step back. "I should go."

Vin stepped with her. "You don't have to."

Morgan forced herself to look him in the eye. "You know I do."

Vin shook his head. "You can stay here."

Because his words pulled at her, made her want to say yes, Morgan let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. "And what? Play house? Until I ruin your life, your career, your friendship with Chris and Buck? That sounds like a great plan."

"It doesn't have to go that way," Vin said.

"I have to go," Morgan said. She went to the counter and got her keys.

"Don't do this," Vin said. "Stay here. At least stay tonight."

"I have to work tomorrow night," she said. Then she turned away before she saw the pain in his eyes when she said that.

At the door, she paused. "I…thanks," she said. "Thank you for what you did," she said.

And then she left before the lump in her throat dissolved into the weakness of tears and she gave in to what Vin was offering. Before she destroyed him.

#