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Heaviness fills my chest when I think about leaving my parents, my brothers, and their families, but it’s what I have to do. Maybe it won’t be forever, and we can figure out a way for them to come and visit.
I squeeze Jordyn tightly and she winces, which forces me to loosen my grip.
“What are you talking about?”
Lifting one hand, I rest my palm against her cheek. “We have to go, sweets. I can’t let you stay with her and force you into a marriage you don’t want.”
“No. Not yet. There’s still time.”
“Jordyn.” My voice cracks. “I’m not fucking losing you again. Do you hear me, baby? Never again.”
She nods, tears once again streaming down her face. “I hear you, Ry, but we have some time. Let’s not make rash decisions. We have the PI looking into her background. My father’s too. Something has to show up. They’re evil, Ryder. They can’t hide that forever.”
“We still need to be ready.”
“Wait. Hold up. What are you talking about? Be ready?” Gianna asks.
“Leaving. This time, if it comes to that, we’ll go together.” I look my girl's best friend in the eye and her shocked expression tells me she didn’t expect that.
“You can’t leave.” Gianna sounds panicked. “There has to be another way.”
“We’re working on it,” I assure her. “But it will be a cold day in hell before I let her mother or anyone else force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. If she’s marrying anyone, it’s going to be me.”
“Dude, did you just propose?” Calvin asks, and I laugh. It breaks the tension in the room, which I am sure was his goal.
“No, but this isn’t new information for either of us. We’re end game, and I’ll be damned if her parents are going to stop us.”
“What about the PI?” Gianna asks.
“He’s searching, but nothing yet. Nothing that’s illegal that we can use to blackmail either of them. They’ve covered their tracks well over the years.”
Gianna nods, and her sad expression tells me she knows about Jeremy. Good. I’m glad Jordyn has someone to talk to that’s not me. Not that I don’t want to be that person for her, but it’s important that she realizes there are people in her corner. She no longer has to be the puppet.
My phone rings. I ignore it, but Jordyn turns to face me. “It could be your family.”
Her heart is so fucking big. How she turned out to be the incredible human being she is raised by those assholes, I’ll never know. Then again, she did say that she spent most of her time with her nanny or locked away in her room.
Thank fuck she didn’t turn out like them.
Shifting to pull my phone out of my pocket, I smile when I see Declan’s face. I’m sure Blakely wants to talk to me. “Hey, Dec,” I answer.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’m in Atlanta visiting Jordyn.”
“Good, put me on speaker.”
“We’re at her friend Gianna’s.”
“Trust her?”
“Yes.” I don’t hesitate. Gianna has helped us so much since Jordyn has been back to town.
“Put me on speaker.”
“All right.” I pull the phone from my ear and tap the screen. “You’re on speaker, Dec. I’m here with Jordyn, her friend Gianna, and her boyfriend, Calvin.”
“Hey,” Declan greets everyone. “I have a crowd too. We’re all here.”
“All as in?”
“Everyone. I’m out in the garage, because all our brothers, their wives and kids, our parents, and my family, we’re all here.”
“Did I forget something?”
“No. It was impromptu, and once we started talking about it, the Kincaid family phone tree started, and well, we’re all here.”
“So, what’s up? Is something wrong?” It’s not unusual for us to get together, but this… something feels off.
“Deacon and Ramsey stopped by on their way home from Mom and Dad’s. We started talking, and the conversation turned to you and Jordyn. I asked about the PI and Deacon said there was still nothing. That led to Kennedy and Ramsey being pissed that this was happening to the two of you.” He pauses, and a deep chuckle flows through the line. “You know how my wife can be. She’s determined as hell.”
“That’s all our sisters-in-law,” I agree with a smile. Those ladies love just as fiercely as my brothers do.
“Right, so they started chatting, and called Palmer, Crosby, Alyssa, Jade, and Scarlett. Then they decided Mom should be here as well, and you know how we are. If our wives are going, so are we. The kids are here because everyone we use to babysit is here too. Well, except for you, that is.”
“And you have a plan?” I ask. I can’t help but smile. I don’t care what the plan is. It’s the fact that my family is rallying around us. Their support means everything.
“We have a plan. I’m going back into the house now, because the ladies want to be the ones to present it to you.”
