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My eyes slide to Trouble’s. The sooner Kian is gone, the better. We don’t welcome outsiders to Malus for a reason. There are secrets here that, if came to light, could tear the town and its people apart. It’s already dangerous enough having Eden here. The chances of someone finding out our secrets are slim, but taking that risk is something my brothers and I don’t like to do.
“Air Force, right?” Danny, Amelia’s husband, asks. Kian nods. “My older brother’s in the Air Force. He retires in five years. My sister’s been in twelve years and plans to retire as well. Our father served thirty years.”
“Did you enlist?”
Danny looks down at his wife, and though his eyes shine with love for the woman in his arms, there’s a hint of hardness behind it. He looks back at Kian.
“No. It was always a possibility for me and my parents wanted me too, but I found something too important that I couldn’t leave behind.”
Amelia and Danny were high school sweethearts. On the night of their graduation, a week before he was set to ship out to basic training, Amelia, who grew up in shitty foster homes and lived in a shady part of town, was gang raped by four guys. They had her for three hours before the neighbors finally called the cops because they couldn’t take her screams anymore. The guys who had her were known thugs and regular terrorizers of the neighborhood. Two of the four guys got away and were never found. Of course, they would have been found if Emo and I hadn’t found them first and taken care of them. Their bones are in a bag at the bottom of the Mississippi River.
Just then, Sophia, Amelia and Danny’s six-year old girl, comes barreling into her mom’s leg. “Mama, I’m hungry,” she complains, yanking on the bottom of her shirt.
I glance over to Judge, who’s manning the grill, and see he’s plating some of the burgers.
“Looks like you’ve got perfect timing, kid,” I tell Sophia with a smile. “I bet you could talk Judge into giving you one he just pulled from the grill.”
Her eyes light up and she starts tugging her mom’s hand, struggling to pull her toward the food. “Come on, Mama. I wanna booger.”
We chuckle at her butchered word use as Amelia is led away by her impatient daughter.
“Oh, shoot!” Remi turns to Trouble, Elijah in her arms as she feeds him a bottle. “I left the potato salad in the fridge. Would you mind grabbing it for me?”
Before he can answer, Eden’s pulling away from me. I reluctantly let my arm fall away. “I’ll grab it. I have to run inside for a minute anyway.”
“Thanks.” Remi smiles gratefully at her.
I watch her walk away, my dick twitching in my jeans at the way the material of her skirt swishes against the curve of her ass. An ass I want to squeeze and take bites out of.
Fuck! The woman is a temptation who I’m learning really quickly is bordering on obsession. Any time she’s near, my eyes are glued to her. I smell her intoxicating scent, and I want to lick every delectable inch of her body.
When I look back to the others standing around, I’ve noticed they’ve dispersed. All except Kian, who has his eyes lasered on Eden as well. A snarl plays on the edge of my lips as I step in his line of sight. This guy is fucking with the wrong guy.
His brows lift in mocking amusement.
“She’s yours, I take it?”
“Yes,” I grind out. “If you want to make it back to Colorado in one piece, I’d advise you to keep your fucking eyes off her.”
Lifting his hands, he lets out a chuckle. “Got it. Loud and clear. Can’t blame a man for testing the waters.”
He won’t be testing the waters but drowning in them if he doesn’t back the hell off.
Over his shoulder, I see Emo and Grace walking across the yard. I silently curse when I notice the condition he’s in. His face is pale with dark circles under his eyes. He also looks like he’s lost weight. The bandages wrapped around both hands and his upper forearms has a weight settling on my chest. There’s no telling how many more wounds he has hidden underneath his clothes. Had Grace not been with him, I’ve no doubt he would have left the gashes without treating them.
It was a mistake asking him to transfer those tapes. I should have known it would be too much for him. The injuries on his arms are new, because they weren’t there yesterday afternoon when I went to check on him.
I look over to the grill and find Judge and Trouble with the same pained expression I know my face holds. Feeling my eyes on them, they glance my way. Trouble’s lips tighten, and I give him a chin lift.
I walk over to Emo, a tight smile in place as I look to Grace. Her expression is troubled as well. She may be into a bit of pain play, but she still hates hurting Emo.
“Give us a minute, Grace,” I tell the woman at Emo’s side.
She nods jerkily before walking off. Judge and Trouble walk up beside me.
“I’m coming by when I leave here to get the tapes. You’ve had enough. I’ll find another way to transfer them.”
Emo’s eyes slide to mine. “No,” he grunts harshly.
