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Steele reeled back. “What the fuck?”
“Yes. I know. So I’m going to take care of it so she doesn’t have to worry.”
“He’s sixteen. The judge will listen to what he wants.”
“The lawyer got to that asshole neighbor of hers. He filled him in on a few things, like how Effie is dating two men.”
“Motherfucker. I’m going to kill that bastard.”
“Oh, he’s on the list,” Grady drawled. “But first, we deal with the uncle. Brooks will be here soon.” They’d sent Raul to collect him from school, figuring it was better if he knew now.
Steele didn’t like this.
He didn’t like any of this.
He tried to calm himself down, but it wasn’t working. Nothing was fucking working.
Leaning over, he placed his elbows on his thighs and took a few deep breaths.
When he’d gotten that voicemail from Grady, he’d nearly lost his fucking mind.
What had he been thinking, letting Grady have his own fucking vehicle? All right, so he wasn’t the other man’s boss and Grady didn’t appreciate Steele telling him what to do.
But Steele gave less than a fuck about that.
Coming across them in a wrecked truck . . . that had nearly been his undoing. He thought he might have lost part of his sanity right then.
This isn’t the same as Jacqui. They’re both still alive. It wasn’t a carjacking.
Somehow, it still didn’t matter to him. The rage was real. The worry. The fucking fear.
This is why he didn’t let people close.
But there was no keeping Effie out. No keeping Grady at a distance.
Even though Grady wouldn’t let Steele fuss over him, the other man knew that Steele trusted him to keep himself safe.
But Effie wasn’t an alpha male. And she was someone he could unleash his full protective instincts on. Someone he could coddle, wrap up in wool, and keep safe from everything.
She needed to be living with them. It was the only way he might now be able to sleep at night. He didn’t want her out of his eyesight.
They’d both been in trouble and he hadn’t been there to protect them. He clenched his hand into a fist.
He hadn’t fucking protected them.
“Damon, you need to calm down. Stop working yourself up.”
“You could have been seriously hurt.”
“I wasn’t though. I’m fine. I might be a bit stiff tomorrow, but I’m all good.”
“You might not have been fine, though. I could have fucking lost you!” And that thought terrified him. Losing either of them wasn’t something he could live with.
“Damon,” Grady said softly.
“The two of you are my world.” Reaching over, he drew the other man against him, hugging him tight. “What if I’d lost you both?”
Grady was stiff for a moment before he relaxed against him. Then he drew back and gave Steele a worried look. “You know you can’t live with ‘what ifs’.”
