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“Don’t. I’m worrying enough about Jude every second of the day for both of us. But I think I need a five-minute breather from the worry, so tell me something good, please.”
Exhaling, I turned my body toward hers, our knees touching as we sat next to one another on the bed. “Well, for starters, I slept with Beau and kissed Byron.”
She blinked, her mouth dropping open. “Wait, hold up.” She lifted her hands, stopping me.
“Kissing? I thought you slept with Byron before.”
“I had. I just hadn’t kissed him.” I ducked my head, my face heating.
“Oh, I get it.” She giggled. “And now you have two boyfriends? You’re soon on your way to a buffet like me.” Loren smiled, but it wasn’t as full as usual.
“Yeah, I think so. Though, I think two might be my limit. Which is odd hearing myself say, but yeah, trust issues.” I pointed the finger at myself, laughing. “It’s good, though.”
“You love them,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, I do.” I smiled, feeling my face warm more. “I’m done with hiding, and I have you and Cami to thank for that.”
“Us? Why?” Loren tilted her head, her nose scrunching up in confusion. This was what made her great. She had no idea the impact she had on people.
“Because you showed me it was okay to trust people, to let them into your life. I’d been so scared everything would fall apart that I stayed away. But you showed me that life isn’t about avoiding the things that could hurt us, but enjoying the good ones.”
“Ah, that makes me happy. Hug time.” She laughed, pulling me into one, and I held her tight, rubbing her back. After a few seconds, I felt her cling to me, her body shaking with sobs as she let herself cry.
“Let it out. I’m here for you. I won’t say that Jude will be fine because I don’t know. But I do know that the men you love and I personally, won’t stop until we find him.”
I felt her nod into my neck before she pulled away. “It’s the only thing keeping me from storming the police station and taking on Dayton on my own.”
Fear slammed into me, and I gripped her hands. “Please promise me you won’t do that.”
“I won’t.”
“Promise,” I pleaded.
“Promise.”
Nodding, I sighed in relief. We stayed talking for a few more minutes before a knock on the door had us being summoned elsewhere. As we parted, I hugged her, sending a silent promise to give her answers and find Jude. If I could do that, it would make all the other bad mistakes in my life seem worth it.
Ten
NATALIE
Before I could go undercover again,I needed to do one thing. Beau insisted on coming with me, and while I’d joked he wouldn’t be able to shake me, it seemed he was the same. Though, I shouldn’t have been surprised. The man had been my shadow for years.
“What are you going to tell him?” he asked as we climbed the stairs.
“The truth.”
“No, I mean,” he laughed, smiling, “about the family.”
“If you don’t think he knows already, you haven’t been paying attention.” I smirked as Beau’s face blanked, finally realizing he wasn’t the most dangerous man in my life. I didn’t blame him. It was hard to remember that Byron was a trained assassin when he was a sexy teddy bear most of the time.
Knocking, I held in a breath, releasing it just as the door opened. Byron leaned against the door frame wearing a soft blue t-shirt and sweatpants. I didn’t know what was sexier—the g-string or those sweatpants. Damn. He smirked when he caught my eyes wanting to drift below.
“What’s up, sexy?”
“In the spirit of being open, I thought we should all have a chat.”
“Sure.” He stepped back, opening the door wide for us to enter. “Beau,” he greeted as we passed.
