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Color stained the blonde’s face and flushed it a pretty pink. Her lips curved with amusement. “Truthfully, it’s hard to say. He’s my protector, my guardian, and more often than not, my lover as well. He’s been a part of my life since Dane died and Mia was eight months old.” She shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “In the beginning, his being there was Sebastian’s doing, but things are different now. There’s something else there. At least for me.”
“Are you ever scared of him?”
The great room chimed with Monique’s airy laughter. “Of course I am,” she said. “I’d be stupid if I wasn’t afraid of Josh on some levels, but he’s not so bad. Honestly, I find him easier and more relaxed to be around than Sebastian. Maybe that’s because he doesn’t have the same pressures, and my brother still feels like he shoulders a lot of the responsibility for me. I don’t know,” she admitted with an awkward shrug. “I just see Josh as gentler and more forgiving somehow. Then again, Sebastian’s never looked at me the way he looks at you.”
Taylor couldn’t help but snicker. “I would hope not!”
Monique reached back and chucked a fluffy throw pillow across the room at her. “You know what I meant! I’m being serious, goofball. You help ease a lot of his edge.”
Taylor grappled with that for a moment, unsure how to respond. “It doesn’t feel like it sometimes,” she admitted quietly. “Last night, I felt like I was on trial for murder in the first degree.”
“I know, sweetie. Josh came home in a mood, too. It goes with the territory. But you got through it okay, right?”
Taylor nodded. A silly smile threatened as she remembered how they’d finished off their night. Her body still throbbed in a pleasant reminder. He’d been so passionate and determined in his efforts to please. Her cheeks grew hot and she lowered her head as Monique pinned her with a knowing stare. A taunting smirk accompanied the playful eye roll aimed her way. Laughing, Taylor ducked as the blonde hurled another pillow in her direction.
“You are so freaking transparent!” Monique teased. “Keep your afterglow to yourself. There are just some things I don’t need to know!”
Taylor grinned and stuck out her tongue. “Aww, what’s the matter? Was someone not in the mood last night?”
A smug twist played on Monique’s lips. “Believe me that is never a problem with Josh.” Her delicate eyebrows wiggled in suggestion before her bright green eyes swung up to Taylor’s. “Just don’t repeat that to Sebastian.”
“Yeah, like I’m going to bring that one up out of the blue,” she scoffed, still snickering. “No worries there. Your dirty little secret is safe with me.”
Sighing, Sebastian looked out the window. It had been a long day. Despite calling to check in three times, he couldn’t tamp down the nagging doubt and worry. He hated the thought of the two people he loved most being alone together like sitting ducks when a vengeful madman was on the loose. Then his mind whirled wondering what Taylor and Monique were talking about, what they were doing. His head fell back against the seat. Three hours of sitting in the car was killing him. Everything was starting to tense up and ache. Three hours and there hadn’t been one single sign of Laychee or his men. Frowning, he picked up his phone again.
“Jesus, Baas. Leave them be.”
Growling beneath his breath, he tossed the phone on the dash and kicked the seat back a notch. His fingers drummed impatiently on his thigh. Josh cast him a sidelong stare before turning his attention out the windshield with a shake of his head. Ignoring him, Sebastian bounced his knee and scanned the perimeter outside the passenger window. Nothing stirred the horizon. Not even a breeze.
“Do you have to piss or something?” Josh asked, swiveling to face him. “You’re fidgeting like a freaking kid.”
“Fuck you,” he muttered, without tearing his gaze away.
“Really?” Josh twisted until his back rested against the driver’s window. “Okay, now I know something is up. That’s way too simple and crude of a response from you. Hell, your heart wasn’t even in it.”
“Are you trying to get my undivided attention?”
“No, Baas. Believe me, nobody wants that.”
“Stop talking. You’re starting to piss me off.”
“I thought we were already there, but since I seem to have one toe on the line, you want to tell me what gives? You’ve been off your game all morning, and it’s been downhill ever since.”
Sebastian stiffened and balled his fists against his lap. “No.”
“You know I’m not going to drop it. So either hit me and get it out of your system or spit it out. We’ve been through this before.”
Blowing out a deep breath, he raked a hand through his curls and fixed Josh with a cold stare. He loved the man. He did, but sometimes he took the line between work and friendship too far. The line was starting to get blurred and that’s when problems started. They were supposed to team up together, not care. This whole sharing feelings phase Josh was creeping into wasn’t just uncharted territory, it was disturbing and uncomfortable. He forced his gaze back to the window. The sad truth was, Taylor aside, there wasn’t anyone else he could talk to…about anything. His lips pursed and whitened.
“Is it this Laychee thing? You know we are going to nail the son-of-a-bitch.”
“No,” Sebastian stated quietly. “I know.” He hesitated a long moment before speaking again. “Do you and Monique ever talk about having more kids?”
He watched Josh’s mouth fall open in the reflective glare of the window. Regaining his composure, his partner snapped his jaw shut and scrubbed a hand across the back of his nape. A nervous laugh flooded the car.
“What? I mean we aren’t even technically dating, let alone married…”
“You’re sleeping with her. That makes you very much together, despite what you may call it.” Peeling his attention away from the storage yard, Sebastian turned to his partner. “Don’t insult my intelligence or my sister like that again.”
Josh paled and lifted his hands. “You know that isn’t what I meant. Jesus, Baas. I love her enough to die for her and you know it.”
He nodded, his expression stoic. “I know. Perhaps it’s time you told her that as well. You and I both know Mia’s not coming back. Marx isn’t going to want the hassle. If she was yours it might be different, but Monique means nothing to him. She’s going to need you.”
A shuddering brea
th left his partner as he slumped in his seat. “To be honest, I try not to think about it. I loved that little girl like she was mine, you know?” His thick swallow echoed in the car.
Sebastian bit the inside of his cheek until the slick taste of copper rolled across his tongue. Focusing on the pain, he managed to keep the emotion at bay. His nephew was dead, and now he was losing his niece—because of his job—because of the things he did—because of the things he didn’t do. It was enough to make his head spin.
“Baas?” Josh’s voice was tense.
Shaking his head, he silenced him. His partner cast him a worried glance, but said nothing else. It was for the best. He wasn’t about to start opening up about how much he craved having a family, kids of his own, or a normal life among the madness and chaos they lived and abided by. In fact, he was pretty sure people like him didn’t deserve things like love or happiness, let alone children. Not with all the things he’d done. What he could do was try to protect the little bit of family and sanity the people he loved had left. Squaring his shoulders, he straightened his spine and called Vince.
“We’re heading out. If you want to keep your job, you watch this car and you make damn sure nothing is tailing us. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You fuck this up and so help me God Vince, I’ll kill everyone you know and leave you alive to suffer.” The tense silence on the other end told him all he needed to know. He was dead serious, and the man knew it. Hanging up, he ignored Josh’s bewildered stare. “Start driving.”
The house wasn’t anything special, just another one of the well-manicured Spanish Colonials prevalent throughout the Southwest. He squinted against the lowering sun as it reflected off the tiled roof. A large privacy fence encased the property, and while it wasn’t anything like Monique’s, it looked like the yard offered plenty of room to play. Josh stared at the house too, and he could almost see the emotions play across his partner’s face as he searched for a reason, any reason, not to let Mia stay. Sighing, Sebastian took in the gated windows and doors. Maybe they were just meant for decoration, as was so often the case in this part of the country, but he appreciated the extra security they offered.
