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“I know that look. It got us grounded for a month in grade school when we and Drake took on a whole pack of teenagers when they bullied our sister. Landed me with a summer-long gig shoveling muck down on the Grady farm. Nothing is worse than shoveling shit, man.”
“Unless you’re me. My dad busted my hide. Couldn’t sit for the whole summer.”
“That was messed up.”
“But it turned out all good. Your sister was able to go to school and actually enjoy it.” Riley brushed off his bleak past like a pesky fly.
Holden scrubbed a hand over his two days’ worth of stubble. He had a feeling what they were about to do would either be the best time of their lives or shit was about to hit the fan.
Holden pulled up a stool, popped the top to a beer and took a swig. “So, what’s all this about?” he asked pointing at the food on the counter.
Riley smiled. “Glad you asked.”
In the early hours of the next morning, they came to a stop behind Holden’s borrowed truck parked outside of Zahara’s apartment situated above Damon’s bar and bakery. Ethan had tossed him a set of keys as soon as Zahara had peeled out. While she took the ten-minute trip back to town, they turned right and opted for the two-hour trip back to the Savage’s back land to regroup.
Pools of soft light poured out of the large second-floor windows. “She must have stayed up all night.”
Wafts of sweet, floury goodness made their stomachs rumble in unison as the hired baker, already hard at work, had fresh treats going in the oven.
“Or she’s up early and ready to leave. We sit here any longer and I’m going to go fucking nuts.”
“Cool it, man. Let’s wait and see. Then we strike accordingly.”
“You know we’re not in the military, right?”
“Doesn’t change the fact this is still a mission. If you ask me, the stakes are just as high.” Holden turned to his friend and watched him curiously.
“There. She just killed the lights. Probably going to catch a cat nap before she slips away from us.”
“Another half-hour then we go in?”
“Yep. Just in time for the sun to start its ascent and to have Zahara drowsy enough to not fight us.”
“That came out so damn wrong.”
“You know what I mean, don’t be an ass. The more we stack this in our favor the better. We stick to the plan. Make her fall in love with this place, with us, to trust us with whatever it is that’s bothering her and she won’t want to leave.”
“We’re not stopping until she’s ours, Holden.”
“Agreed.” Holden didn’t wait to see if Riley followed. He would. Their desires for life and their future lay upstairs waiting for them.
Holden crossed the dimly lit street and let himself into Savage Fire and took the back stairs two at a time. He pulled a key from his pocket and a few seconds later they both stood inside Zahara’s apartment. The delicate scent of lavender filled his nostrils as the rusty, old hinges creaked. He had meant to take care of that last week for her, but work kept them tied up from sunup to sundown with little time for much else.
That would change.
Soft light poured in from the front windows—the frilly white things she had pulled over the large panes did nothing for privacy. A single beam of sunlight caught on the glittery texture of something off to the side of the door.
Riley tossed his heavy weight into one of the chairs situated between him and Zahara.
“Fuck, man. Drake was right when he called. If this doesn’t work, she’s gone.”
“He can’t put off taking her where she wants to go,” Holden confirmed, grimly.
Suitcase after suitcase lined the worn wooden floor by the door and told them both they were about to lose the only good thing either of them had. She made him ache like no other woman ever had. An ache only eased when she was close. He knew Riley felt the same, too.
Damn. Every last thing she owned was packed away, down to her toiletry bag she didn’t go anywhere without. “Grab the luggage. I’ll get the girl.”
Anger worked through his veins. But not at Zahara. At themselves for not shutting Ashwood down before he got worked up and said all that shit to her in the first place. He worked his throat and throttled the groan that wanted to slip past his control from wanting the taste of her skin on his tongue and her body wrapped around him.
