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“He said you were coming, but we haven’t met,” she said, flipping the lamp in the living room. Then she walked across the room, hand outstretched. “Hi, I’m Cassie.”
Nine stood and shook her hand. She looked up and studied his face, and when he made to draw his hand back, she held on, studying him further.
Whatever she saw there, she must have recognized. “You know what this feels like, don’t you,” she whispered.
Nine felt that spear through his heart. “Yeah, I do.”
Cassie nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Nine. Thank you for coming.”
And with that, Nine knew that the list of people he’d fight and die for had just gotten longer.
*************************
Talon
Talon woke up with soft and sweet pressed close to his side, dark curls spread across his chest, and a handful of the most perfect ass he’d ever seen.
He turned his head, and his eyes met absolute beauty.
By the time the meeting had broken the night before and he’d gotten back to his room, Jenna had been racked out in his bed, wearing one of his tees and nothing else.
As soon as his weight had hit the bed, she’d rolled toward him, snuggled up, and kept right on sleeping.
Now, looking at her face relaxed in sleep, Talon thanked God that even though he’d fucked up their beginning, he hadn’t missed it. He hated where her ex was, but he couldn’t regret the event because without it, he would have missed where he was right now.
Beauty tucked up next to him, wearing his tee, her scent on his sheets, and nothing but possibility ahead of them.
But he had some business to take care of first.
So he rolled out of bed, careful not to wake his woman, stepped into a pair of jeans, and closed the door behind him.
When he hit the great room, Ryder was sitting at a table alone, nursing a cup of coffee.
Ryder’s eyes met his, “Good night?”
Talon walked over to the table, clocking his brother’s resigned expression. “Yeah,” he said.
Ryder nodded and looked back into his cup, “I knew if a woman made that many changes and got cut up that bad over a man, you were in deep. But I never would have forgiven myself if I hadn’t tried. Could have gone a different way.”
Talon sighed, well aware of how almost a different way it had gone, “I know.”
Ryder met his gaze again, “Take care of her.”
“You love her?” Talon asked.
Ryder thought about that for a beat, “Not yet. But could. Easy.”
“Easy woman to love,” Talon agreed. “I’ll take care of her. My word on it.”
Ryder nodded and went back to studying his coffee, turning the cup back and forth in his hands.
So Talon went to the kitchen to get his own. He poured two cups, left one black, and seriously doctored the other one with all the flavored shit he could find, which wasn’t much, but he’d make sure she had exactly what she liked the next time she was here.
When Talon walked back through the great room, Ryder was gone, and Linda was just coming in to prep the kitchen for morning.
He lifted his chin her way and kept walking.
He hit his room, found Jenna wrapped around his pillow, dropped the coffees off on the night table, and stripped out of his jeans.
