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Caleb stood next to the fireplace, watching the first faint flickers of flame erupt from the starter. I hadn’t seen him leave, that’s how out of it I was. I'd barely seen the place when I'd carried T in. But I did now. It was bigger than expected, filled with stone and timber and the scent of pine.
I crossed the living room and headed for the kitchen, now drawn by the heady scent of bacon and eggs. Lucas grabbed a plate piled with fresh buttered toast, eggs, and a mess of crispy bacon and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I watched his stepsister carry another plate to Caleb, who took one look at the food and shook his head. Stubborn motherfucker.
But she was feisty, shoving the damn thing at him until he took it.
Good.
I almost smiled, watching as she shook her head and carried another plate back along the hall to the room we’d just left. I saw Ryth in her, maybe a little too much. Sweet and bratty at the same time. I took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed, then felt nauseaous.
Were we really safe here? Or had we dragged these people into our own goddamn mess. The thought of that made me feel fucking sick…
“She's lovely.” Kit drew my gaze as she ruffled Rebel’s ears, then glanced my way. “Where did you get her?”
Her howls in that fighting ring pushed into my head. “Nowhere good,” I answered.
“Aww.” She turned back to the pup, stroked her head, and pulled her in for a cuddle. “But she’s good now, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I answered, desperate to protect them all. “She’s good now.”
“There’s a main bedroom at the end of the hall.” Lucas drew my attention back. “It's big and separate from the rest of the cabin. You and your...family are welcome to whatever you need.”
I gave a nod, chewing my lip, then swallowed. “I can't thank you enough.”
“No thanks necessary. We all need help every now and then. But those men, Nick. They’re still coming, aren't they?”
I winced. “Yes.”
“For revenge?”
I shook my head, that sinking feeling weighing me down again.
“Because you have something they want,” he said carefully. It wasn’t a question, more like a confirmation. I waited for the question.
“Do you at least have a plan to get out of this?”
I placed the plate on the counter. “Oh, I have a plan. Just one you won’t like.”
One brow rose. “Tell me.”
I met his stare and said the one name he didn’t want to hear. “Benjamin Rossi.”
There was a twitch in the corner of his eye before he looked away. He didn’t like the idea of bringing in the Stidda Mafia boss, but right now, I was all out of options.
The Rossis were tied up in this somehow and as much as I wanted to push and find out the real story between them, I needed to mind my own damn business.
“Then you gotta do what you gotta do," Lucas said carefully.
He went quiet, chewing silently until he moved to the sink. The silence was empty and awkward. I needed to say something…but what was there to say?
He placed his plate in the sink, leaving it unwashed, and stepped away before stopping and glancing my way. “I take it you have…protection?”
“Yeah.” I answered, remembering the bag of guns in the trunk of the sedan.
Lucas walked over to his stepsister, who was still loving on Rebel, and brushed his hand along her thick curls, murmuring words I couldn’t hear. She rose and gave Rebel one last pat on the head before she glanced toward the hall. “She hasn’t come out.”
She met my stare, concern blooming. “I took her food and she said she’d come out, but she hasn’t. I’m a little worried.”
