Maybe in a day or two, I’ll be able to admit that coming back to Sabine Valley has put him into a tailspin, but I’m too busy doing my own spin out to worry about him. If this was any other time, any other place, we’d lean on each other until the ground steadied beneath our feet. It’s what we’ve always done in the past. I’ve grown to depend on the belief that no matter how scary things get, I will always feel Broderick steady at my back. Just like I’ll always have his back, too.

Except… He doesn’t have my back right now. I’m left here, standing on my own, for the first time in years. The man only shows up to tell me what I can and can’t do before disappearing again to hide from his Bride.

Yeah, fuck that.

I lift my hand to knock on Cohen’s door, but it opens before I get the chance, revealing the man himself. He’s big and burly, with red hair and a red beard and tattoos over most of his exposed skin. Not that I can see much of them with his long-sleeved Henley and jeans. He also looks…frazzled. I blink. I’ve never seen Cohen anything less than cold and remote. The relief on his face when he sees me has me taking a step back.

“Is everything okay?” I ask warily.

“No.” He pulls the door shut behind him and grabs my arm, steering me away from the room. He’s moving at such a quick pace that I have to practically skip to keep up with him. I don’t get a chance to ask more questions, because he hauls me up another set of stairs and practically hurls me into a dust-filled room that looks like it might have been a living room at some point.

That’s about enough of that.

I grab his wrist, applying pressure points to make him release me. He does with a curse and then seems to come back to himself. “Fuck. Sorry.”

The urge to rub my upper arm is there, but I resist it. “It’s fine. What’s going on?” As angry as I still am, anything that makes Cohen lose his cool takes priority.

He opens his mouth, seems to consider what he was about to blurt out, and finally curses. “This is going to sound so fucking ridiculous.”

Okay, now I’m really worried. I cross my arms over my chest. “I won’t understand until you explain.”

“I was trying to be fucking nice. Maddox is always telling me I’m too fucking harsh with Winry. She’s so damn soft, I make one wrong move and I’m worried I’m going to bruise her.” He drags his hand through his hair and winces. “Women like to feel wanted.”