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He stood tall and proud, a barrier between us and them, but I saw the wince he was trying to hide and could practically feel the ache of his wound. Had it been anyone else standing in front of us, I’d have told him he was a fucking idiot for moving when he didn’t need to. But we had to be a united front from here on out. We couldn’t let the world see a single crack.
Griz and Two-Bit looked at each other before the bigger man stepped into the hallway. “Take some time to think about it, but just know we don’t have forever. This needs to end fast.”
With a nod to all of us, Two-Bit headed for the door.
“Thank you.” The words were ripped out of my chest, but looking at Nate standing there, Dominic lounging back on his bed, and feeling Grey’s skin warm underneath mine, I couldn’t help but say it. He didn’t have to save us. Hell, he probably shouldn’t have.
Even if he did it because he wanted something from me, he’d kept my family alive when I couldn’t. That deserved gratitude and the respect of considering his proposal, at the very least.
Two-Bit inclined his head and left the room, shutting the door behind him. The second we were sealed off from the rest of the world, our shoulders lowered, and we all seemed to relax. Greyson’s hand was shaky as it stroked my greasy hair back. “Are you really all right?”
“I’m fine,” I promised. Nate paused as he passed me, leaning over to press a kiss to the back of my head and hissing through his teeth when he straightened up again.
“Lie down, moron,” Dominic snapped. “You’ll rip your stitches.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“You wish your mom was this gorgeous.”
Nate laughed, then grabbed his stomach with a wince. “Shut up.”
Dominic didn’t laugh with him, and it was obvious there was still tension there. Confessions needed to be made and discussions to deal with anger, but I saw the slow thaw in their interactions too. Dominic understood that we were better together. He could hate Nate if he wanted, but it wouldn’t last. He was already halfway to forgiveness, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
I heard the rustling of sheets behind me and Nate’s half-pained, half-relieved sigh. Were his burns hurting him? It wasn’t all that long ago that he’d run into a burning building for me, and then he’d been shot. I felt like his bad-luck charm, though I doubted he’d agree.
After deciding to corner him with the doctor later, I snuggled deeper into Greyson’s side as he reclined us again. Bone-deep exhaustion made my eyes sandy and dry.
“We should discuss his proposal,” he said.
“Not today,” Nate said, his voice getting further and further away. “She hasn’t slept since we got here.”
It was true. I’d had some catnaps here and there, plus falling asleep upright in the one shower they’d forced me into that first night, but that was it.
A hand on my hair, a soft, slow sigh, followed by, “Later, then.”
Grey hauled me against him until my nose was pressed to his neck like he knew that was what I needed. The scent of him, the sound of my men talking quietly, the reminder that we were all together. All safe. It was everything to me, even if I wasn’t sure how to make it last.
Chapter Two
Nate
Mari slept like the dead in Greyson’s arms. The three of us lapsed into silence the moment her breathing evened out, and I’d closed my eyes to listen to those soft inhales. She’d been run so ragged that Dominic and I had discussed sedating her. Thank God Grey woke up when he did.
Even as removed as I still felt from my family, I couldn’t help but be grateful.
We were alive, Mari was safe, my brothers were here, and I was free.
Cash wouldn’t let me go. I knew too much. Worse, he’d come after Mari even harder because I’d abandoned him. But I wasn’t sure that mattered. I would do whatever it took to make sure that we stayed safe, even if it cost me my soul.
Her breathing hitched, and I was smiling before I even opened my eyes, knowing she was awake. I didn’t expect her to be turned over, staring right at me. “We need to talk.”
The darkness under her eyes made my chest tight. I was used to her full of life, not this pale imitation of my Mari.
“Take a shower first, angel.” She needed to wash away the fear that still clung to her. I could see the fight in her, desperate to refuse, but Dominic cut her off.
“Seriously, mariposa. You stink. We’ll watch the invalid.”
“You’re all invalids.” There was the rub. We’d all been shot—not that she seemed to remember the graze on her arm—and we’d terrified her. I couldn’t imagine what that had been like for her. Watching her hurt was bad enough, but she’d watched all three men she loved go down. That was going to have repercussions.
