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My beautiful olive-toned bestie is always my happy place, but he can be overprotective sometimes. I mean, I can't really blame him after my d-bag of an ex dragged us both into the mess to begin with. Rex dumping me was only the start of a very bad evening. The revelations about his job and Emmett, his partner, were eye-opening to say the least. Briefly, I wonder what the sketchy angelboy is doing.
Then I mentally smack myself. I need to chill and figure things out, not dwell on the past that can't be changed or the assholes who got me into the mess in the first place. Mind made up to relax as long as I can, my attention turns back to the scenery passing outside the tinted windows.
We turn off the main road to go onto a narrower lane leading up into the foothills of a small mountain range. We’ve been driving for hours, and I need to pee, but I don’t really want to get out and squat unless I have to. I’d thought there would have been at least one stop, but that hasn’t happened, which means I’m still hiding this damn stick.
More turns and a steady incline into the forested area and I’m beginning to get lost. We’ve left the paved roads and have gone from graveled to mostly dirt, narrow, one-lane tracks. Where the hell are we going?
Finally, when my bladder is near to bursting, we crest the top of a hill to find a decidedly un-rustic, two-story, cabin on a plateau, illuminated by floodlights on poles. It suits its surroundings rather well despite its size, done in large half-rounds of timbered trees and chinked together. I can even see two separate bricked chimneys poking up out of the roof. What I’m not seeing though are power lines. Looking around, I notice squares of flat black mounted on the poles, and upon closer inspection, larger ones on the roof of the cabin.
It’s all solar-powered. Huh, didn’t expect that. Or to be going off-grid.
The SUV rolls to a stop after we drive around to a carport behind the cabin, and I can see a covered porch running the length of the back of it. I’ve gone to pull my handle, as peeing has become rather urgent, when Marcus halts me.
“Let me check it out first. I haven’t been up here in a while and need to clear it.” He must catch my panicked glare because he adds on that he’ll hurry. “Five minutes, there’s no reason to believe anyone is here, just being safe.”
Braeden guesses my predicament as I flop back in my seat while Apollo moves to get behind the wheel, where he proceeds to back the vehicle into the carport. “Need to pee, Birdie?”
“Nah, I’m crossing my legs and doing the potty dance for your amusement.” I roll my eyes at him then widen them in incredulity as he gets out, walks around the edge of the carport wall, and blatantly whips it out to urinate. I mean, I can’t see the stream, but that stance pretty much says it all. “Fuck you, Brade. I hope a forest bug bites it off!” I can hear his chuckle through the open door, and even Apollo lets out a soft chuff.
“Good thing you’re all so quiet and watchful, huh?” I screech, nearly losing control of my bladder as Marcus scares the bejesus out of me. Which of course just makes the other two laugh harder.
“Marcus, I swear to fuck, if you don’t get me to a toilet in the next sixty seconds, you’re cleaning the seat.” Not that I’d actually pee in the car, but it’s a good threat and gets him moving.
“Apollo, you and Braeden okay to get the bags?” At a nod from both, he hot-foots me inside using the backdoor.
We get through a basic laundry room and short hall, and I barely register the minimal yet tasteful decor as he points to a door right off the living room we came out into. I ensconce myself inside, and drop onto the toilet, barely getting my pants down as my butt makes contact with the wooden seat. A minute or two later, with a sore but empty bladder, I get my pants up and hands washed. Ignoring my reflection, I exit the bathroom to find the guys dragging the luggage in.
“So, where are the others?” I’m curious as to why Rex, Emmett, and Brent aren’t here yet.
Marcus answers, “I’m trying to find out now. We came to get you while they went after Brent." Marcus has a phone out, and I'm wondering how he has service. He must notice my confusion. "We're high enough up that we're picking up a signal; we only lose it on the lower roads. And I'm going to have to go get them. Their truck was hit, and the authorities have the attackers, but they can't get a new vehicle under the radar at this point."
"Are they okay?" I demand.
"Yes, they're fine, minus some bumps and bruises. The airbags went off, or they'd have continued on. Apollo, you can get them settled and everything without me, right?” Marcus is already heading for the front door as he answers my question, and I wonder why he didn't bring me in that way. Maybe he forgot the bathroom was closer to it?
Apollo nods while I'm still pondering the inanity, waving Marcus off when he pauses with the door ajar. “I can handle pointing things out. Go on, and be safe. I expect a call or message when you pick them up and again before you lose cell service.” Marcus agrees, shutting the door behind him as he leaves. “Upstairs or down? Bunking together or separate rooms?”
I’m faintly shocked that Apollo would ask if I want to share with Braeden, but then again, he might assume we’re together. It’s not as if we’ve talked since we were carted off in different directions that day. I glance up the stairwell, trying to decide.
I must take too long to answer, as Brade says, “Separate is fine, right, Birdie?”
“Yes, that’s fine with me. Sorry, I think I’m still a bit off, with all the events today. And upstairs or down doesn’t matter. I would just like to be next to Braeden if that’s possible.” I may not feel the need for a slumber party, but I still want to keep him close.
“Up it is then. There are two of the smaller bedrooms that share a bathroom. I believe the previous owners used them for children.”
I nearly choke on my spit at Apollo’s mention of children. The damn test feels like a brand against my skin. Wait, scratch that, maybe a neon sign. Fuck, I’ve avoided that brand, seeing or touching it, like the plague since we got home. Today has just got me all out of sorts. Apollo gives me a strange look, and I hope my guilt isn’t written all over my face. For all I know, he could be the baby daddy. Jesus, fuck. Baby. Daddy. Two words I didn’t need in my immediate vocabulary.
I shake off my weirdness before Brade starts asking questions and heft the overnight bag I threw my toiletries in onto my shoulder, but Apollo grabs the suitcase Brade packed for me and heads for the stairwell on the wall that divides the living room from the kitchen.
Apollo gives commentary as he leads us up the carpeted steps. “There’s the main level with all the usual rooms, master bedroom, guest bedroom, two bathrooms, an office, and a security room. The security room is locked as is my office. There’s a sublevel--” I give an involuntary shudder at that and even notice Brade stiffening out of the corner of my eye. “It’s locked as well, there is no reason either of you would need to go down there. Well, I suppose the breaker box and batteries and safe room are down there, but that’s worst-case scenario, and Marcus or I can handle the power if that issue arises.”
I’m still curious about the way the solar power works but finding out it’s in the basement quells my intent to explore that interest. Apollo is silent until we reach the landing, and it’s highly uncomfortable.
He sighs before he starts again. “I apologize for not getting you out sooner; it was never my intent to drag any more innocents into that atrocity. I hope someday you can forgive me for my part in your trauma.”
Dropping my bag and closing the distance to Apollo, I hug him tight, and after a brief hesitation, his arms come around me. “Wasn’t really your fault, so there’s nothing to forgive. I’m a tiny bit buggered up, but I’m working through it. The bestie--” I tip my head in Braeden’s direction, “has been helping a lot.” Stepping back, Apollo almost reluctantly lets go, and I gesture in both directions the landing splits into. “Which way?”
Apollo leads us to the left branch, and I pick up my bag to follow him. Brade elbows me as I pass him, giving me a smirk and a wink when I shoot him a glare. The brat is game for anything to help cheer me up. I suppose now I’ll be facing my demons head-on. With that worrying thought, I follow Apollo into a cheery yellow bedroom. A queen-sized bed with a nightstand, dresser, and a recliner in the corner next to it is the only furniture in the room.
“The other room is the same, but in green. The furniture and bedding are new.” Apollo seems a bit bashful about the colors. “The bathroom is through that door, and there’s a small closet through here.” He opens a door showing an inset with a shelf and rod in it, stowing my suitcase on the carpeted floor. Small but serviceable.
I drop my overnight bag on the foot of the bed before crossing to the bathroom door to peek in; it's all done in plants. Yellow and green plants. Now I see where he may have been embarrassed about not updating the decor. I shrug, not really caring about the design or color scheme. At this point, a bed is a bed as long as it’s safe. Walking through past the double sink and tub/shower combo, I open the other door and continue into a mirror image of my room, but in pastel green.
Brade walks in to drop his own bags while Apollo exits out the hallway door. “We’ll be okay here, Birdie. Surely, they know what they’re doing. Let’s go see what they have for dinner. If I’m starving, I know you are. Plus, you need to take your meds.” I stay still as Brade leaves the room, trying to figure out how to avoid taking my medication. It’s not like I got the chance to consult an OB. Braeden pauses outside the door, blatantly waiting for me. He’s been doing that a lot lately, refusing to leave me alone.
