Shade began to storm out, but I called after him, "A little help here, please?" He hesitated but then walked back, helping me support Link to the apartment. We settled Link on the couch. The same one Shade had been sleeping on up until now.
As I went to grab the blanket for Link, Shade playfully intercepted it. "No, that one's mine," he said with a rare smile. The lightness in his tone, the playfulness, it was a side of him I hadn't seen much. He winked at me, grabbing another blanket for Link.
"Thank you, Teagan," Link murmured.
"Just get some sleep," I told him, my mind still reeling from the chaos my life had become. With their complex histories and hidden pain, these two towering, wounded men had stumbled into my world, and somehow, I couldn't turn them away.
As I watched them, a s
