Andy’s phone drops to the table loudly. He glares at me. “Over my dead body.”
Ben looks over at me. “Why the fuck would you do that?”
I glance at Max, but he just tilts his head at me expectantly, likely knowing that I'm about to divulge this crazy thought process that led me to that idea.
“I’m putting you guys in danger by being here. What if one of them gets let out? Is Ben just going to keep beating the crap out of them? Eventually one of them is going to tell the cops and he’ll be in trouble. Chuck is way more dangerous than any of us realized at first and there is no way he lets this go. He’s not just going to come after me anymore. He’ll come after you guys too and there is no way I can live with myself if one of you gets hurt because of me,” I pause to suck in a breath before I continue, but Andy holds up his hand to stop me.
“Sweetheart, please, have you seen the size of us? We’re not the ones in danger here, you are. And we want to protect you. We can’t do that if you run away,” Andy’s tone is stern, but I can hear the worry there too.
“I would gladly beat the shit out of every single guy in this town for you firefly,” Ben chimes in from the stove.
“If you want to get away for a bit, let’s go on our trip today. We could all use some relaxing after all this craziness,” Max suggests.
“What about work?” I ask
“I can take care of that,” is all he replies.
I take a moment to think about it. “Nah, let’s just leave on Friday like we planned. Don’t want to upset the kids by cancelling the lessons all week,” I decide.
Max nods and takes a sip of coffee. I look back over to Andy, who is still glaring at me. He clearly still has something to say, so I quirk my eyebrows at him to prompt him to speak.
“No more of this leaving bullshit. You told us you loved us last night and I want you to stay. Permanently. And I doubt I’m the only one who feels that way.”
Ben grunts his agreement from the stove, and Max nods at me. I sigh, still not really sure what to do. I think I do want to stay, but how long will these guys put up with my haunted past before they get sick of me? I had a hard enough time being heartbroken by one shitty boy, I won’t survive getting dumped 3 times in a row by 3 wonderful men.
Almost as if Andy could sense my anguish, he decides to add: “You’re safe with us, sweetheart. One of us is going to be with you at all times from now on and we won’t let you out of our sight.”
The room is more tense than I would like it to be, so I try injecting some humour by asking, “What if I have to pee?” Which none of my boys find funny. Andy stares at me incredulously, Max rolls his eyes, and Ben snorts in derision.
I sigh again, rolling my own eyes. “Okay FINE. I’m staying!”
“That’s our girl,” Andy says with a smirk. He gets up from his seat to come over and plant a big kiss on my lips. Max comes beside me next, doing the same. Ben is finished cooking, so he comes over and places a plate of steaming food in front of me before cupping my cheek gently.
“Happy to have you, Charlie.”
Chapter 45
Charlie
Brad got bail. He pleaded to the cops that he agreed to help Chuck in a moment of weakness and never had any intention of actually harming me. Somehow, I doubt that. But better he get out than Chuck. Besides, I’ve already got the restraining order and he was ordered by the police to leave town and not return until his trial. He really did try to file an assault complaint against Ben after he was arrested, but Max’s cop buddy told us they weren’t taking it seriously.
Maybe if he would have stuck with that plan and filed the complaint instead of bending to Chuck’s crazy whims, he wouldn’t be in so much trouble now. My sweet Benjamin would be in trouble, but not as much as Brad is now, that’s for sure.
The police were able to confirm with me that my hunch about the freezer was right. They found the body of Claire Robinson mutilated almost beyond recognition. A missing persons report had been filed for her the year before, and her family was able to finally have some peace knowing what happened to her. They couldn’t say much else but told me that the amount of evidence they found in that house, along with mine and the guy's reports, was enough to keep him locked up for the foreseeable future.
It was a long week of working and waiting, but the relief I felt when the cops told me all that was exactly what I needed to be able to relax for this weekend. It also helped that I have my three,big brave men to protect me. And true to Andy’s word, one of them has been with me at every moment this week. I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer.
It was a long drive out to the cabin and even though the entire forest is still blanketed in snow, it’s been a beautiful day. The sun is shining bright, warming my bones as I look out the window of Max’s truck and watch the cabin come into view.
“This is not a cabin, this is basically a mansion,” I mumble. The thing is two freaking stories. A porch wraps around the entire thing and several large windows break up the dark stained logs that make up the ‘cabin’. The fact that it’s made from untreated wood was probably the only thing that made this place cabin-like.
“It’s just a really big cabin,” Andy answers, amused.
“I think it might be nicer than the house,” I tease Andy, knowing he probably built this too.
“Hey!” Andy pouts.
“You’re telling me you didn’t help build this one too?”
