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The room came slowly back into view. I must have blacked out and my guys had shifted us to the bed. Someone lifted the covers over me, and two very naked bodies were pressed up against me.
I wanted to ask where the third was, but when I opened my mouth, all I could do was yawn.
“Go to sleep,” Rand whispered against the back of my head. “In the morning, we’ll figure out what to do with the statue and go back to our family.”
Our family. I liked the sound of that. I’d spent most of my life solo, or with the Smiths, and now I had not one or two people that mattered to me. I had six that I would sacrifice my life for.
The thought warmed me in a different way than being snuggled up to some of my guys, and completely content for the moment, I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
A shout jolted me out of my sleep and I shot to a sitting position.
Cool air hit my breasts and I grabbed the sheet to cover myself. When I glanced around, whatever lights had been on before had been extinguished, and only a small sliver of light came through the window.
“Rand,” I whispered as he thrashed next to me. “Rand,” I repeated.
Jari groaned on the other side of me and sat up, placing a hand on my back. “Is he okay?”
“I think it’s a nightmare.”
“Here, I’ll turn on the light,” Sage said as he rolled out of bed and lit a match. Once the lamp gave off a soft glow, I got a good look at Rand. He was twisted up in the sheets, pouring sweat, wearing a pained expression.
My heart broke for him.
Did making love help or hurt his grief process? Shit, I didn’t know, and the sting of regret pressed down on my shoulders.
I lowered myself to the bed and stroked his chest. “Rand, wake up,” I cooed. “Rand.”
He gasped and looked around wildly. When he noticed us all staring down at him, he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin everyone’s sleep.”
“We get it,” Sage said as he walked around the bed to perch on Rand’s side. “Bad dream?”
“A weird dream. Rainer was actually a good father, and when he died, I was devastated.” He went quiet and closed his eyes.
“That makes sense.” Jari nodded. “You felt something when he died,” Jari held up a hand. “Don’t say you didn’t. We all saw you afterward. But that wasn’t what you thought you should feel at the loss of a parent, was it?”
Rand opened his eyes and locked gazes with Jari. “I don’t know. Maybe not. I—I just don’t know. I need to contact Ralina though.” He scrubbed two hands down his face this time.
Oh, snap. His sister and his mom. Although he’d never really said if he was close with his mom or not. She hadn’t made a great first impression when I met her. Or even a nice second impression.
I winced.
“What’s that look for?” Sage asked, bracing a hand on the bed and leaning toward me.
“Sorry, I was thinking about something else.” I shook my head as if that would dislodge the unwanted thoughts. They seemed disrespectful in the quiet of the night. “I’m up, and I don’t feel like I’m about to drop anymore. Should we go try and figure out how we’re going to move the statue?”
Sage sighed as he looked out the window. “Might as well.”
“Yeah, let’s get dressed,” Jari stretched his arms over his head.
We took a few minutes to drunkenly stumble around the room while searching for our clothes. Mine were mostly in a pile, although theirs seemed to be all strewn about.
However, as soon as we opened the bedroom door, the low hum of conversation filled the hallway. I pushed the guys back in the room and shut the door and it was deathly silent again.
Then I opened the door. Voices filled the air, and lots of them.
I turned and gave my mates a questioning look. Rand shrugged sheepishly. “I may have put a sound barrier around the room so no one would know anyone was in here.”
