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Chapter Seventeen
Carlos
Holy fucking shit.
The last thing I’d expected that morning when I woke was for my Beauty to take me up on my offer. Who in their right mind would say no to that? She'd played right into my hands. Before she knew what hit her, she'd be in too deep.
“I have something of yours.” Stone clapped my shoulder, immediately dousing cold water on my thoughts of exactly how I wanted to make Holly come first. He flicked his chin toward the hallway, and I followed him to the bedroom he shared with my sister.
Stone disappeared into their closet, and I glanced around the spotless room. The bed was made without a wrinkle, and nothing was out of place. There wasn't even a speck of dust. Muriella had been that way as a girl. When she’d played with her dolls, all of them went back to their designated spot. She'd gotten that trait from our mother, though Mama didn't mind if I left a little mess. Muriella always came behind me to clean it up.
As kids, she’d kept my room tidy, and in the few days I'd been here, she’d done the same. The dirty towels and clothes were picked up, my things straightened, and the bed made. It meant she'd held on to some of who she'd been as a child before her innocence was stolen.
“If you need to use this, don't do it in the house.” Stone held out my Glock, and I took it, tucking it in the back of my waistband. He dropped the bullets into my palm.
“What happened the other night . . . it won't be a problem again,” I assured him, and he gave me a quick nod.
“I owe you a hell of a lot of thanks.”
“For what?” That was not the response I expected from Stone. Honestly, he should kick my ass.
“You've eliminated that son of a bitch from our lives. I don't have any grand delusions he'll ever be completely gone, but knowing he can't hurt Muriella again is a big weight off both of us.”
“I'm sorry I let him find her in the first place.” I tightened my hand around the bullets. “I've questioned if I should have just killed him instead of sending her away, but I was in no condition to take care of her back then. We'd have both ended up dead. When I see the life she found, I know I did the right thing.” I closed my eyes for a second. “It could have been much different. I thought sending her away had to be better than the hell she was in.”
“I can't imagine being in your shoes. You did what you had to do for your sister. I know of some of the hell she went through, but you lived with that monster all your life. I think wanting to kill him as many times over as you can is completely justified.” This was Stone's way of telling me we were good. I could have hurt Muriella the other night, but I didn't.
“Having your brother-in-law living with you isn't ideal, but I appreciate this. She's the only family I have left.”
“No, she's not,” Stone corrected. “You've got a whole bunch of Jacobses now. We're a lot to take in, but you'll get used to us.”
I tensed. I liked the Jacobses, wished my own family had been more like them, but I'd isolated myself for so long, the idea of letting all those people in was daunting.
“You've gone pale.” Stone slapped my back. “Don't worry. We'll be here when you're ready. It took your sister six years to let me in, but I doubt any of us will be that patient with you. My grandmama will come up here herself to see about you. Just between you and me, I think she's got a crush.” Heat crept up my cheeks, and he grinned. “You've got a little color back.”
“Thanks a lot,” I said wryly before turning serious. “I mean it. I appreciate you and your family looking out for Muriella.”
“We'll look out for you too.” I held out my right hand. Stone took it and pulled me in for a hug. “You want me to hold onto that for a while?” He gestured toward the gun.
“Not necessary.” Now that I had it back, I felt more comfortable. I was in control, not that dead evil bastard. The gun didn’t affect me one way or the other; what did was knowing the diablo wouldn’t win.
“The ladies are taking Gabriel to the park for lunch. Why don't you and I grab a bite? Take advantage of a rare moment to ourselves,” he suggested.
“All right. Where do you want to go?”
“I was thinking we could stay here. We'd be hard-pressed to find anything better than what Muriella can cook.”
We wandered back to the kitchen, where Muriella was pulling a huge dish of something covered in cheese out of the oven. Stone rushed over to help her.
“Thank you, but I have it.” She deposited the dish on the stovetop.
“Darlin', that pan is bigger than you are,” Stone said, kissing her temple. She swatted him with an oven mitt.
“Would you get the bread out, please?”
“Smells delicious,” I said, and Muriella beamed at me.
“Are you hungry?”
