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I hold my breath as she looks from Wesley to Grant and last to me before smiling softly and melting my heart. “Yes, that much I’m sure of.”
“Then that’s good enough for me. I love you too, sis. I’m going to make this right. I swear.”
“I believe in you, River.”
“One day I hope to deserve that.” He doubles over, the last of his reserves used up.
I raise my hand, and the medical team races to assist him, easing him from the car onto a gurney. We all get out so Clover can hug him one last time before our crew carries him up the aircraft stairs.
Clover doesn’t blink once as she watches her brother go.
When the cabin door slams behind him and the plane taxis toward the runway, Clover collapses against my side. I scoop her up, something I’ll never tire of doing, and cradle her so that she can wave at the jet taking off, though I’m surprised she can see it through her stream of tears.
Grant is there to soothe her when I don’t know the words. “He’s in good hands, Clover. With people who can help him heal. That’s the best you can do for him. You got him help. You did it. You saved your brother’s life. Your part is done.”
Wesley leans over my arm to kiss her cheek. “And now we’re going to take care of you just as well. Briggs, take us home.”
That, I can do.
CHAPTER 8
Clover
“Home?” My heart sinks as I think of my shitty trailer with its rotten floorboards, the ceiling that turns into a waterfall every time it rains, and the bathroom that hasn’t worked properly in at least three years. I keep it as clean as I can, but it’s certainly not up to their standards. “Uh, maybe you could drop me off at the club so I could get a ride from Gunner?”
When they stare at me as if what I’ve just said is the craziest thing that’s happened tonight, I try again. “Or maybe let me borrow one of your phones so I can call a cab.”
I left mine somewhere back at the club or I’d already be dialing.
Do I want to be by myself in the dip of my saggy mattress, the broken coil that pokes my ribs the only thing keeping me company after tonight’s drama? Of course not. Especially not now that there are bad guys out there with me at the top of their shit list. But it’s better than Grant, Wesley, and Briggs getting a glimpse of who I really am and the dump I come from.
They won’t be so quick to call me their prize then.
“There’s no way in hell you’re going back to your place alone. Absolutely not.” Briggs spins toward the car and plops me onto the backseat again. “I’m guessing it’s not especially secure.”
Considering it doesn’t hold up on a windy day, never mind against a group of organized criminals, I can’t exactly argue.
“Little Miss Clover, you’re staying with us.” Grant slides in on one side, and Wesley bookends me from the other. He doesn’t say if he means for the night or until this blows over, however long that might take.
Briggs exits the airfield and heads in the opposite direction from my house.
The truth is, I don’t feel like arguing.
It’s crazy, I know. We just met. But how much more do I need for them to prove themselves to me? They bought me so no one else could do their worst. Shielded me from the view of strangers while they gave me more pleasure than I imagined possible. Then they refused to run from my mess, handing me a million bucks plus whatever Wesley wired to my account as if it was as insignificant to them as Monopoly money. And if all that wasn’t enough, they put their own lives on the line to face down a mob of brutal drug runners on my brother’s behalf.
They protected me.
Stood by me, when no one else ever has.
If they want to keep doing that, why should I stop them?
My three billionaires are honorable, in their own warped way.
I have no defense against that.
We’ve been through so much in these past hours, it’s worth a solid year of dating. I’ve learned more about them since sundown than I could have in a thousand polite conversations over fancy dinners. It’s only made me crave them more with each passing second.
Lost in my thoughts, I don’t realize we’ve turned off the highway into the sort of neighborhood I’ve only seen on TV. Manicured hedges obscure the mansions in the distance from full street view.
