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“My girlfriend, Sophia, can stay with her.” Cole’s statement broke the tension.
Toth met Cole’s stare, not hiding his surprise. His brother had been clear that he didn’t want his family in danger, and having Sophia watch over Savannah would put her in the thick of things. “She’s law enforcement?”
“Was.” Cole sidled closer to them. His hard expression lost some of its intensity. “I’d like to have Dare or Dallas here, too, but Sophia is capable of protecting Savannah.”
Savannah folded her arms across her chest. “I appreciate that, but you said you don’t want your family endangered,” she said, speaking what was on Toth’s mind.
“I don’t. But I want to end this sooner rather than later. Besides, Sophia is probably safer here in the hotel than at home alone.” Cole scratched the back of his head. “That okay with you?”
Savannah’s eyes grew small. “Um, yeah. Sure. Thanks.”
“All right. I’ll take Lach’s phone to Dare, fill in Sophia, and we’ll come back later.”
Toth held out his hand. “Thanks, man.”
Cole stared at his palm. Two seconds clicked by. Toth almost kicked himself for trying to find any common ground with the asshole. He was about to pull his hand away when Cole slapped his palm into it then retracted it as if he’d been scalded. “Thank me later, kid.”
Toth snorted. “I ain’t a kid.”
Cole made his way to the door and smirked. “You are to me.” He lifted his fingers in mock salute, but something about his tone was almost friendly. Nah, that was a stretch. More like less grudgeful.
He’d take it.
Toth watched Savannah head to the door and move the security bar into place. Turning, she searched his gaze. “He seemed to warm up to you.”
He made a face then sat on the sofa. “Cole? I doubt it. He probably just got tired of being a dick.” Nonetheless, the banter had felt... right.
She sat down beside him and tilted her head. “You want to be part of their family, don’t you?” Her voice was soft with understanding.
He caught her fingers and pulled her onto his lap. Besides Rami, he had no one in his life to confide in. And he and Rami didn’t talk about their feelings much. They had an understanding, more or less. They didn’t peel back the layers.
Her soft body molded itself onto his lap, her legs curling over top of his and her shoulder resting beneath his arm.
“I guess you could say that, yeah,” he said.
“You said you knew about your brothers growing up but they didn’t know about you?” She tipped back her head, and he stared at the warmth of her eyes.
When he’d first met Savannah, months before she’d all but threatened him in his office, he’d gotten the impression that she was a hard-ass, stuck-up mafia princess. Hell. He couldn’t have been more wrong. He stroked a stray lock of hair from her face. Her tough exterior had been a cape to cover her battered soul.
“That’s right.”
“That must have been hard, having siblings you knew about but couldn’t talk to.”
He nodded and floated back in time. “We used to have a tree in our backyard. A big maple. I’d spend all day out there, pretending I was playing with my brothers.”
Savannah’s face softened. “How old were you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I dunno. Eight or nine maybe. Just a pip-squeak.”
“I can’t imagine you anything but big.”
He folded his hand over her hip. “I was a runt until I turned fifteen. Had a big growth spurt and then enlisted with the Marines at eighteen.”
“Why didn’t you look for your brothers sooner?”
He tapped his fingertips on the buttery material of her yoga pants. The question was one he’d asked himself a million times. The answer had burrowed itself deep inside him and he’d been too fucking chicken to examine it. “Guess I was scared they’d reject me.” He let out a loose laugh. “And I was right.”
Savannah rested her palm on his cheek and dragged her thumb over his scruffy beard. “Their loss.” She smiled. “Maybe they’ll come around, though. I mean, finding out you have a brother you never knew about is probably quite the shock. Maybe with time you’ll find a place in each other’s lives”
