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“I worked s-so h-hard. It took me years t-to save up to start my shop,” I sob into his shirt.
“You’re killing me, babe,” he murmurs in my ear. “I hate seeing you cry like this.” He strokes my hair soothingly.
“Sorry to interrupt,” a voice says. We both look up to see Risk at the door.
I gather myself together, grabbing a tissue and wiping my face. Thunder waves him in. “What’s up, brother?”
“I know this is a lot, Rose, but I need to know if you have any other surveillance cameras besides the one aimed at the register.”
“No. I didn’t think I’d need another one. To tell you the truth, the only reason I got that one was because my insurance company said it would make my payments cheaper.”
“Rosie, you have insurance,” Thunder states with a grin. The lightbulb goes on, and it dawns on me, I have insurance. I’ll be covered for a good portion of the damage.
“I have insurance!” I shout gleefully. Then I remember how long it takes for them to get this done and my smile disappears. “It takes them forever to get the paperwork started. I can’t afford to wait that long.”
Risk turns and calls out for Demon, who appears in the doorway.
“What’s up?” Demon says. I still can’t believe that Demon, the man covered in tattoos and piercings, is the same Lucien Bardon who was part of a rock group years ago.
“How’s Sofia with moving along an insurance company to pay out?” Risk asks.
A devious smirk rises to his lips. “Have you met my pit bull? Get me the information and policy number, and she’ll be on it.”
Guard must have been listening in on the conversation at the door and pops his head in. “In the meantime, the Pride will float you the money to clean this up. Risk will do the repairs with his crew, and you can pay him when the insurance company cuts the check.” Just like that, he disappears without waiting for a response.
I glance up at Thunder. “It’s too much. I can’t let you all do that.”
“Babe, Guard’s made up his mind. There’s something you gotta know about the Pride: you don’t fuck with our family, and you’re family.”
I want to tell Thunder that I love him. That I’ve loved him since I first saw him walk into our house. That for years and years, I tried to forget him, but he was always in my heart. I never expected to see him again, and now to have him and to feel the warmth of the people he calls family and to hear that they consider me one of their own is overwhelming and beautiful. I can’t seem to get the words out.
Instead, I come up on my tiptoes and kiss him lightly on his full lips, his whiskers tickling my skin. “Thank you.”
FIVE
Danger Lurks
THUNDER
You can hardly call her lips touching mine a real kiss, and yet it’s making me feel more than I ever have for anyone. The need to protect her is fierce.
The note on the wall tells me this isn’t a random act of vandalism. She’s already told me how they tried to shake down her father for money and how they approached her at school. Clarissa’s past was darker than I thought. I have no idea what kind of mess she got herself into, but now it’s affecting Rose and her family.
I need a meeting with my brothers. They need to know what they’re dealing with. Based on how they’ve reacted tonight, they’ll do what they do best, take care of their own. No matter what, Rose won’t be left to deal with this alone.
I’m not sure what the future holds for Rose and me, but I know I have to find out. There are good memories and bad ones, and I have no idea about what she thinks about Clarissa and me having been together. But the truth is, Clarissa is dead, and we were done even before she left. The feelings between us weren’t there anymore.
I often think about why I stuck that relationship out so long. I convinced myself I had a responsibility to try to help Clarissa, but she didn’t want the help. I knew it was a losing battle. Change only happens when you want it. In the end, I stayed because I loved her family. Penny and Erik treated me like a son. Erik and I would sit on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and watch a game, while Penny would fuss and feed us.
While Clarissa would be sleeping off the effects of whatever the hell she was on, Rose would sit with Erik and me, cheering for her favorite team or yelling at the referee for a bad call. Rose was a completely different person when her sister wasn’t around. She was vibrant and funny. As soon as her older sister walked in the room, it seemed like she disappeared, melding into the furniture.
For a time, I wondered if Rose was comparing herself to Clarissa and thought she would never measure up, but now that I think back, it was because she didn’t like the drama. Clarissa would tease her sister over anything and everything. Rose distanced herself from her sister out of self-preservation. I read the situation wrong. Now I’m thinking there’s a lot more to Rosie than I realized, and I want to know it all.
* * *
When I’m sure that my brothers have the shop sorted out, with Risk boarding it up until he can get to it in the morning and Demon and Saint gathering clues as to who did this, I suggest that I take Rosie home.
Rosie is reluctant, saying, “I should be helping.”
