He softened quickly, his irises dimming until they were almost lost in the shadow of the cab.
The door opened, Isaac unfolding himself with a pained expression.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Didn’t want you to be alone with my brothers.”
“Then why bring me here in the first place?”
“You’re scared of me. I thought you would be more comfortable around Cady.”
I snorted. “I don’t know, she might be scarier than Saul.”
Isaac’s exhale was one part amusement, one part relief. “I know I fucked this up.”
“Which part?” I asked too quickly, my words sharper than I meant for them to be.
He roughed his hand through his hair, and I realized this was the first time—outside of the bedroom—that I’d seen his hair like that. Windswept, no gel in sight. The jeans were different too, faded Levi’s that might have been bought second-hand by the look of the seams.
Without the style and that confident air, Isaac looked vulnerable. More human, as ironic as it sounded.
“All of it. The night we met. The way I barged into your life—I was an asshole.”
“Would you have left me alone if I asked you to?”
His answer came fast. Honest. “No.”
“Why not?”
He swallowed, glancing away to stare at the trees, then back to me. “What did my brothers tell you?”
“Oh, you know.Centuries of secrets.”
“You seem unreasonably calm.”
“I had a complete mental breakdown when I saw you earlier,” I said, not bothering to hide the wobble in my voice. “I’m not the same person anymore. My entire worldview has changed in a matter of hours. I don’t know what to believe.”
“Would you believe I’m sorry?”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“For letting you get hurt. I should have been there with you this morning.”
“You didn’t want to be there. Anyway, you didn’t send them after me. Your cousin did.” I backed away from him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Ididwant to be there. I got held up with Eli.”
“Doing what?” I had no right to demand that answer. We’d been clear about what this was.
Imadehimleave.
I wanted him to stay.
His tone sharpened when he said, “Saving Cady’s life.”
Okay. That was a good reason to be late.
“But why did you block the house off?”