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“I’m fine.”
I blow out a breath and enter the code on the keypad. The door clicks and low murmuring hits my ears immediately. I thought she would be asleep after everything in the last twenty-four hours. Dante and I are used to going long stretches of time without rest, let alone sleep. I’ll be damned if something happens to her tonight because my brother distracted her while she should’ve been resting.
Dante turns right, heading into the bedroom he shared with Madison earlier, no doubt to drop off the guns.
A light giggle glides through the air and hits me in the stomach like a physical blow. When’s the last time I heard her laugh like that? I grip the back of my neck, and my eyes narrow.
I’m going to break their little lovefest up and have her rest on the couch, catch a nap even. Yeah, that’s what she should be doing right now, not laughing it up with Rafe. We only have a couple hours before we have to leave, and we all should be as fresh as possible.
At least that’s the reason I’m going with if anyone asks. And not because jealousy burns hot and bright in my gut. I want her giggles and her moans and her fucking everything. But I can’t allow myself the distraction of all those things right now. We’ve got a fucking job to do tonight and despite the fact that she’s going with us, it’s risky.
Curiosity flares against the top of my scalp, pricking me. What are they talking about? I'm perversely intrigued by her relationships with the others—especially my brother. He forgets that despite our distance and time apart, I can still read him. Rage bubbles underneath his skin, just fucking waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Like recognizes like, after all.
I can only guess who his intended targets are. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m on the list, hopefully, temporarily. We all have our reasons for our choices, even if they fall apart like wet paper in the end. I did what I thought was right, to protect him from our father. Given the choice, I’d do it again.
My brother and I are on a collision course, and I have no doubt once we get Leo home, we’re going to collide. Fuck, maybe we’ll take a page from Santorini’s book and work our shit out in the ring at Dante’s place.
I slow down my pace as I get closer to one of the sitting rooms at the end of the hallway. My footfalls are virtually silent on the gray patterned runner. I stop just outside the doorway, listening and watching.
He murmurs something against the side of her face, too low for me to hear. She tips her head to the side, giving him more access, and I see the smile light up her face from here. The sun streams in through large windows, bathing them in natural light.
My neck feels warm and I run my hands through my hair, pushing it off my forehead. For fuck’s sake, we shared a womb for nine months, we should be able to share a girl without the biting sting of jealousy harpooning my lungs. I swallow down the bitter taste in my mouth as I watch the way her face brightens when she looks at him. His back is to me, but I can only imagine the look on his face. He’s probably smiling and open—nothing like the closed-off snarling man when he’s around me.
I scowl and shove my hands into my pants pockets, exasperated with my own thoughts.
“What's going on?” Dante murmurs from next to me.
My shoulders jerk, the only sign that I was so wrapped up in my head I didn’t hear him approach. I spare him a glance before I look back at them. Rafe stands behind her, his back flush to her front, his arms over hers, his hands sliding over her as she points a gun at the far wall of the sitting room. I’m not worried about it going off. I trust Rafe enough to take the necessary precautions.
“Apparently, Rafe is teaching my girl how to hold a gun.”
“Your girl?” He grunts the words.
I huff and shrug. “Habit. It’s going to take some time to break my mind of thinking of her as my girl. I have been for years.”
“Me too.”
I look over my shoulder at him, and he folds his arms over his chest and meets my gaze. “We’re going to have to talk about that, you know. I have questions like what the fuck, how long, what happened, and what the fuck.”
He smirks and if he wasn’t my best friend, I’d fucking shoot him for being so smug. “I know.” He tips his head toward the couple inside the room. “It's a good move. One we should’ve done the moment we reached my safe house. She needs to learn how to handle a gun. It might make the difference between life and death.”
I slowly turn from truth ringing in the air and watch with my heart in my throat. The idea of her being in a life-or-death situation seizes my lungs. I want to preemptively eliminate anyone or thing that could be a threat to her so she’s never in those situations again.
But that’s not our reality. We’re in the family business for life. We have plans—big fucking plans—to take it all over. Danger, enemies, and threats will become her new normal.
“You’re right, we should’ve. Set it up for her first thing when we get back.”
“Though, I have to say, she looks surprisingly natural holding a gun. Don’t you think?”
“Beginner’s luck maybe.”
He nods and anything else he says is lost to me as she tips her head back and laughs again. I don’t consider myself a religious man, but I swear angels would fucking weep at the sight and sound. It’s so honest and pure. One of the sweetest noises ever to grace my eardrums. Second only to the sounds she makes when she comes.
There are things in this life that I have to live with. Horrible things I’ll never forget, no matter how many times I try to scrub them from my brain. And then there are things, sounds, memories that I’m desperate to hold on to. Very few things in this world make that list.
Almost every single one revolves around one particular redhead.
Madison Walsh. My future wife.
