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“Is that all right with you, Freckles?” Beck asked.
She gave him a worried look over her shoulder.
“He really is a lot better than me.”
“I won’t tug on your scalp until it burns, anyway,” Judd said dryly.
“I don’t do it on purpose,” Beck grumbled. He moved aside when Chloe didn’t object. Picking up the remote, he turned the TV on.
Judd sat behind Chloe, his legs on either side of her. “How’d her hair get so wet in a bath?”
“She slipped under after Mr. Whale squirted me in the face.”
“Did he? I always thought he was a naughty whale,” Judd said.
She glanced back at Judd in surprise, and he winked at her. Beck started to relax. Maybe Judd could show her his more playful side. That he wasn’t just a perpetual grump with a need to constantly prove himself.
“Can you get me a towel?” Judd asked. “She can’t sleep with hair this wet.”
“Sure.” Beck grabbed him a towel from the bathroom, then handed it over to him. Chloe was watching a cartoon playing on the television. Beck moved over to Owen.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he saw he was looking at CTV footage. “Is that . . . is that our girl and Hux? Fuck, you managed to find camera feeds that showed that mob that surrounded them?”
“Yep.”
“Owen, don’t do anything stupid.”
“Never do.”
Christ. He had a fair idea what the other man was doing . . . he was going to track down everyone who had been in that mob. More specifically, anyone who had touched their girl.
And then he’d make them pay.
This wasn’t going to end well.
Suddenly, the door opened with a slam. Chloe let out a small scream and he turned to go to her, to reassure her, only to find she’d crawled up into Judd’s lap and wrapped herself around him.
Holy. Heck.
Judd had his arms out as though he didn’t know what to do with the trembling bundle in his arms. Beck mimicked hugging her just as Hux stormed into the house. He came to a sudden stop, looking around at them all.
“Uh, didn’t realize you were all home.”
“No. I can tell since you just slammed your way into the house,” Judd barked, wrapping his arms gently around Chloe. He ran his hand up and down her back.
Fuck. Beck didn’t like the way she shook. He moved to them, sitting next to her. He cupped the back of her neck, leaning in.
“Easy, Freckles, it’s just Hux.”
A shudder ran through her. “Hux?”
“Yep. No one else. Just Hux. You’re safe.”
Judd shot him a look, but he didn’t move his gaze from her. She turned to look at him, then she seemed to realize that she was wrapped around Judd like a baby monkey.
“Oh. I’m so sorry.” She tried to move off his lap, but Judd held her hips.
“I’m not,” he said gruffly. “You can jump onto my lap anytime you like.”
“Any of our laps,” Beck added.
Owen glanced over at them, giving her a heated look, which made her squirm.
Damn. Beck wouldn’t mind knowing what she was thinking.
“Why don’t you sit down, and Judd can finish doing your hair,” he suggested.
“And Hux can explain why he’s throwing a temper tantrum,” Judd added.
Hux glared over at them. But his face softened as he took in Chloe. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay . . . it’s your house. You probably didn’t think I’d be here.”
Beck willed him to reassure her that it was great that she was here.
Hux opened his mouth, then frowned and glanced away.
When Beck saw her shoulders slump, he could have murdered Hux. Didn’t that asshole realize how fragile she was? How one cross word . . . one disapproving look could break her?
That fucker needed to know.
“Wait. If you’re here, does that mean Jonathan is back?” she asked. “Oh no, I have to go.” She jumped to her feet and started moving toward the door.
“Stop,” Judd ordered. “Freeze.”
She was at the door when she froze. Then she turned to him, her eyes wide.
Beck got to his feet to go to her, but Owen reached her first. To his shock, the other man drew her against him, holding her gently.
Had he ever seen Owen treat someone with such care? He held her to his chest, rocking slowly back and forth.
“His Lordship is with Prince Aric,” Hux said. “Caleb sent Ian to relieve me. Not that I needed it. I was fine.”
He didn’t look fine. He had big dark marks under his eyes. He appeared to be on edge.
Fuck. Beck hated this. That his brother was hurting, and he didn’t know how to fix it.
“He doesn’t need you,” Hux told her. “They were going off to do a tour around the cultural center that Aric is sponsoring and for dinner. They’ll be back late.”
“Oh,” she said, pulling back from Owen’s hold. She looked embarrassed and worried. “I should . . . I should text him just in case.”
