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“They told me I had to come up with a million dollars to pay River’s debt. River begged me to do it. To find a way.Anyway. He was detoxing, so sick, and he swore he wants to get better. To get clean. I need Gunner’s money to repay the dealers and set River up in a residential inpatient program for a year. That’s the only real shot he’s going to have to avoid spiraling like our parents. It’s…a lot. Impossible, I thought, until I saw Gunner’s advertisement.”
“Son of a bitch!” Wesley stands and paces.
“There’s no way in hell you’re walking into some drug lord’s lair without me.” Briggs refuses to let go, though his meaty hands are far gentler than the ropes that bound me when thedrug runners tossed me in their trunk like a sack of garbage. He growls, “Is that where you got the bruises on your upper arms?”
I nod, shocked he noticed. They’ve faded to a sickly yellow from the deep purple and reds of two weeks ago. I thought I’d concealed them well enough.
“Then I’m going to need to speak with these fuckers anyway.” His jaw tics as he clenches his teeth.
“Talk, not kill. Right, Briggs?” Grant clears his throat.
“We can start there.”
“That’s very sweet of you, in a deranged sort of way. But, no thank you. No one’s murdering anyone. Especially not River. You said if I told you, you’d let me go. Now I have to get out of here.” I try to sit up, pushing them back, but they still don’t budge.
“No, prize.Yousaid that. We did not agree.” Wesley shakes his head.
“Sure, you can leave. But you’re not going anywhere without us.” Briggs stares into my eyes from a few inches away so I can see the determination in them. If I thought he was letting Wesley take control on the stage earlier or Grant do the talking afterward, I might have underestimated his role in their partnership. He’s their guardian. And maybe mine too. “Definitely not while you’re mixed up with scum like that. They’re not playing around.”
My brow quirks because I might have been innocent before tonight, but I’ve never been stupid. These men aren’t ones to mess with either. Could they really want to stand by my side? At least until my family’s nightmare is over?
If they do, I’d be foolish to shove past them.
“We’re going to handle this for you.” Wesley returns with my dress and holds it out. Briggs rises and lets my legs down so he can slide me into it. Wesley zips me up as Grant strokes my hairand adjusts the fabric so I’m decent, if mussed and barefoot. They’re even taller now than they seemed before.
I laugh internally at their fussing. What does it matter now if their peers can see my flesh?
Apparently, the three of them have suddenly become territorial.
“Are you sure?” It’s reflexive to reject their offer. If it was only for my sake, I would. But River…
He can use all the help he can get.
Grant stretches his hand out to me. “We’ve got you. And your brother too. Anything important to you matters to us.”
Before we can bail, several bangs on the door cause me to jump like a startled kitten.
My three billionaires automatically form a line in front of me.
“I’m coming in!” Gunner bellows from the hall. “We need to talk.”
Wesley huffs.
Gunner storms into the room with the auctioneer and a third man who was staffing the entrance earlier. He barks, “What the fuck was that stunt? Do you know how many pissed-off subscribers are blowing up my inbox right now?”
“I’m so sorry, Gunner.” I go on my tiptoes to peek between Wesley’s and Grant’s shoulders. Despite what the guys have said, I’m terrified I could lose the means to bust River out of that drug dealer’s hellhole.
Wesley shrugs, but Grant nudges him aside.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Briggs turns to me and covers my lips in a searing kiss. It’s part remnants of the flames from before, part fierceness, and all much more tender than I would have imagined him capable of.
I relax, and when I blink my eyes open again to glance at our visitors, Gunner’s grimace is lightening into a lopsided smirk.
Thank God.
“I never thought I’d see the day you three fell.” Gunner looks over at his two partners ruefully. The auctioneer puts his hand on Gunner’s shoulder and squeezes. Are they more than associates?
Seems likely given the business they run together.
