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"And bad things could happen," she supplied, the heaviness in her words suggesting she understood full-well what that could mean for any of them, but especially for the young, unprotected women. She sighed, sitting her ass down on the coffee table and burying her head in her hands for a minute. "Tell me again why I can't disappear? I'm sure you guys could arrange that, right?" she asked, looking right at Wolf as if sensing he was the only one who would give her a straight answer, and being completely right about that.
"Could do that," he agreed with a nod. "But won't," he added and Amelia jumped back off the table and started pacing.
"Well why the hell not? Girl in possible mortal danger here and are we going to get her hidden away so she can live her life? Oh no. We're the big, bad guys. We don't back down from a fight. We need to put our Neanderthal heads together and find out the most efficient way to swing our clubs," she mocked as she paced, oblivious to the shit-eating grins she was getting from all of us. "It must suck to have all that testosterone flooding through your system. 'Cause from where I'm standing, all it does is make you impulsive and dumb and..." she turned back, her cheeks taking a turn toward red as she stared at all of us.
"Babe, think maybe all that estrogen is making you a little loopy," Cash teased right back, knowing his woman would wring his neck if that got back to her and not caring. "Be a good girl and make us some sandwiches," he went on and it was hard as fuck to keep a laugh in as Amelia's eyes got small. "Let the men handle the important stuff."
She sucked in a breath and looked over at me. "So these guns you always have around," she started, "where might I find one of them?"
At that, Cash finally let out a laugh, swinging out of his seat and wrapping her up in his arms for a second, whispering down by her ear. "Just trying to get you out of the doom and gloom, sweetheart."
"By being a chauvinistic pig?" she asked, but she was smiling a little.
"Figured that would get a rise outta ya," he said, releasing her. "Know this seems like some heavy shit, but trust me honey, this is light as feathers compared to what we are all used to dealing with. We just need another day or two, three at the most and we will have a plan. Think you can live with that?"
Amelia visibly deflated, letting out a breath that came out like a sigh. "Fine."
I sat back and watched as she talked to the guys for another minute, feeling a bit too pleased at the ease in which she did it, like they weren't the scariest guys she had ever met, like she wasn't trying to keep them at a distance. In the span of ten minutes, she had let them see her vulnerable and worried, scared and mocking, angry and ranting. She hadn't even thought to try to put her shields back up. She didn't try to keep them away with her thorns. I didn't know what the change was, all I could say was I liked it. I liked seeing her smile at my friends and make fun of them. I liked the way that they found her amusing and interesting and worth going through all the trouble for.
Fact of the matter was, I was liking having her in my life, not just in my bed. I liked realizing she would fit in with my people, regardless of her feelings about their various professions. That mattered to me. It shouldn't have because I knew she had every intention of going back to her life eventually, of leaving me, but it mattered.
"And, furthermore," she was saying, sitting by Cash's side and, apparently, giving him a stern talking-to while I was lost in my thoughts. "Women don't just... cook for men because they demand it."
"She's right. Just show her your empty fridge and she'll do it without you having to say anything," I added, winking at her when she rolled her eyes at me.
"Good, huh?" Paine asked, grinning.
"Took one bite and asked her to marry me," I agreed.
"Johnnie..."
"Should I tell them about dessert?" I asked and her eyes went huge. It would have been funny, but her face sort of fell at the same time. "Angel, come here."
"I don't think I want to."
"Come here," I said again, holding a hand out and she reluctantly walked toward me where I pulled her up onto my lap again. I dipped my head toward her ear and made my voice quiet. "I was teasing. What happens between you and me, darlin', that's between you and me. Okay?"
Her head nodded. "Okay."
"My fridge is empty," Wolf said suddenly into the quiet of the room.
Everyone's eyes snapped to him and Cash laughed. "You have a woman."
It was then that a small smile tugged at his lips. It wasn't a look anyone was used to. Up until a few years ago, he was one of the most severe people you could ever encounter. Janie, his woman, had softened his edges a bit, had given him a reason to let some of the anger he held inside go. "She don't cook," he said and everyone laughed.
"Fuck man, neither does Alex," Breaker commiserated. "What is it a hacker thing?"
"Hacker?" Amy asked, looking at me.
"Janie and Alex are hackers. That's what they do for a living. Janie dabbles in other things, but mostly she hacks."
"Other things?" she prompted.
"Never met someone as good with explosives as she is," I said with a smile.
"Explosives," she parroted, looking around. "Cash, what does your woman do?"
Cash looked a little sheepish for a moment. "She runs Hailstorm, honey."
"Hailstorm?"
"It's kinda hard to explain. It's like an army base except they ain't army. They do a little bit of everything: chasing skips, hits, private security, investigating..."
