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“Any chatter to suggest he’s looking for the wife?”
“Ex-wife, and no. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking.”
“You’re going above and beyond. You always do in cases like these. But you can’t save everyone, E.” I stand up and walk over, giving his shoulder a squeeze. I know Evander’s mom was the victim of domestic violence, so these cases always hit him the hardest.
“I can try. And sometimes, that’s enough.” He slides the plate onto his desk before he gets to his feet. “Thanks for the food. I’m going to take that shower now.”
I back up so he can walk past me, cursing myself for saying anything. Everyone has their crosses to bear. This is E’s. Why the fuck I think I have any say in how the man lives is beyond me. It’s just that I know what it’s like to hold everyone at arm’s length, and sometimes I see echoes of that in E. And he’s not the only one. Astrid is as prickly as a cactus, but it’s easy to see, once she lets you close enough, that it’s all a defense mechanism. She wants to be loved so badly. I see it in the way she watches Oz and Zig with Salem. But the fear of being hurt is like a hand fisted in the back of her shirt, tugging her back.
With a sigh, I leave the security room and jog downstairs to the main part of the house, finding a few of the guys lingering around the kitchen. When I look at my watch and see it’s lunchtime, I get why.
“Hey, have you been to see Ev?” Crew asks, walking over to me with a beer in his hand.
“Yeah, I managed to get him to eat a sandwich and take a shower. He’ll probably jump straight back to work afterward, but it’s better than nothing.”
“I’ll make sure he comes down for dinner even if I have to carry him down here myself.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Good luck with what?” Wilder asks, walking into the kitchen with a bag of chips in his hand.
“E,” I simply say.
He grunts in understanding. He looks around the kitchen and frowns. “Where’s Salem? I swear she told me she was on her way over here to start lunch.”
“When was that?”
He looks at his watch. “A couple of hours ago.”
I turn to the living room, taking in Greg and Jagger, who are watching the football highlights on the TV. “Either of you seen Salem?”
Jagger looks over at me and nods. “She knocked on our door as I was leaving earlier and said she wanted to talk to Astrid about something. I thought she’d be back by now. Want me to go check on them?”
“No, I’ll go. I’m surprised her men haven’t gone looking for her,” I joke, knowing that Oz and Zig are even more possessive now that Salem is pregnant.
“They’re checking out the perimeter cameras. Apparently, two of them went down in the same area this morning.” He must see me tense because he shakes his head. “Ev reported some kind of technical issue, but he doesn’t think it’s any cause for concern.”
I don’t mention how distracted he’s been working on tracking down all of Judge Jones’s dirty deeds. E’s mind works differently than ours. He’s like a computer himself, with fifty tabs open and multiple programs running in the background. I just nod and head out. I don’t question the odd feeling in my gut. I can look into that later. Right now, I need to find the girls and make sure everything is okay.
When I get to the house, I shove the door open. Finding the kitchen and living room empty, the feeling in my gut tightens. I make my way to the bedrooms, but when I pass the side door, a shadow from outside catches my attention. I take a detour outside and find both women sitting on the porch.
They turn at my approach and smile. I don’t know what my face looks like because while Salem’s smile remains firmly in place, Astrid’s slips away.
“What’s wrong?” Astrid asks, climbing to her feet, knocking over the cup that was on the porch beside her.
“Nothing. We didn’t know where Salem was. She was supposed to be making lunch,” I reply, the relief at finding both in one piece making my words come out sharper than they need to.
Astrid’s shoulders slump as Salem jumps to her feet. “Oh shoot. We lost track of time chatting. I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.”
“That would explain why the men are wandering around the main house like starving zombies. It’s like they’ve forgotten how to fend for themselves now that you’ve spoiled them.”
Salem laughs before turning back to Astrid. “Thanks for the talk. I didn’t know how much I needed to get everything off my chest until today.”
Astrid offers her a soft smile and a nod before Salem heads down the few steps.
“I’ll walk you over,” I tell Salem, but my eyes are on Astrid as she wraps her arms around herself in a defensive posture.
I frown, not knowing why she’s holding herself back from me and finding I don’t like it one little bit.
