“No, you are not leaving this house and Papa agrees with me.” Frustration is laced in his voice.
I hear her muffled foot stomp on the area rug she’s standing on, “This is stupid, why do I have to stay locked up in the house when it’s somebody else who’s in trouble?”
“The fact that I don’t have to explain it to you is proof enough that you have a pretty good life. Now if you want to help someone, go help one of your aunts.”
My dad’s deep growl interrupts, “Lainey Rai, do as your daddy tells you. Any work you’re missing in the stables will be there when you get back.”
Another foot stomp and then Lainey Rai’s growl of frustration before I hear her stomping up the stairs.
Dad and Gray start a conversation that gets more muffledas they walk down the hall to his study and then the door closes.
When that shit stain turned and left with a smile on his face earlier, it took everything in me not to pull my gut out and shoot him in the back of the head.
I turn and look at Callum, “He knew about Marley and what she does, it was a clear threat; he wanted us to know that we give him Sloane, or he’ll take Marley. We can’t just keep everyone locked in the house forever living in fear.” By the time I finish my sentence, my anger is seeping out and I swipe the papers and pens that are sitting on the island with my hand, and they fly onto the floor.
Grabbing my hat, I throw it against the wall by the door, link my fingers behind my head, and turn in a circle. The last time I came this close to losing my temper was in boot camp, a long fucking time ago. This is why I shouldn’t let women in, they are a distraction. Just thinking about choosing between the woman I love, and my sister makes me want to destroy things.
Whoa.
That thought skipped through my head like it has always been there.
My feet come to a stop, and I stare across the room. Do I love Sloane? I’ve only known her for three weeks; nobody can love a woman they have only known for three weeks.
It feels like I’ve known her my whole life.
I can’t think about this now, I need to focus.
Callum has been leaning against the wall and he doesn’t flinch when the pens that were on the island skitter across the floor. He waits until I am still before he responds to me, “I’ve already called the other guys, they are on their way. If they sent a guy to scope us out, they are planning their next move already, but now we know who we’re dealing with.
He takes a deep breath like he doesn’t want to say the nextpart, “Since we don’t know where they are operating out of, we have to wait until they make their next move. I don’t think it will be long, Mason.”
Everything he’s telling me is practically out of the playbook we follow for every mission we go on, but the whole situation is messing with my head, and I can’t think straight.
A knock on the front door has everyone looking at each other. No one is expecting anything. We each pull our gun and take a familiar formation to move to the entryway.
Jax presses against the wall that will put him behind the door when it opens, Spits hides around the entryway to the family room, and I stand against the wall on the other side of the door to put me at the back of anyone barging in.
Callum has his hand on the doorknob, “Who is it?”
The voice that answers him sounds young, “Grocery delivery.”
“What are you doing?” Sloane is standing at the bottom of the stairs looking absolutely edible, her dark hair is pulled back into a loose braid, thin tendrils are falling around her face, and her green eyes show concern for the grocery boy she sees often. Her black tights and black long-sleeve t-shirt match the color of her hair and her fuzzy western sweater with matching socks look like something I’ve seen Marley wear. “I ordered groceries today.”
Holding my hand out, I wave my fingers to tell her to come in my direction and then flip my hand to point her into the family room with Spits. Once she is out of sight, Callum opens the door enough to look out.
Cold air blows in and we see a teenage boy wearing a grocery store uniform with two large, insulated bags at his feet. He looks unsure at first, but when Jax steps around the door and he sees us flanking Callum, his expression turns to surprise and fear.
I tip him generously for the scare and we carry the bagsinto the kitchen, Sloane is close on our heels. As she walks past me to start unpacking the bags, I reach out and grab her around the waist, pulling her back to my front and I kiss her under her ear before I let her go.
Something about having her close to me calms me.
I’m in so much trouble.
Her cheeks flush and she looks over her shoulder at me and then at the guys behind me to see if they saw. One of the things that is so pretty about her is the beautiful shyness that creeps up her face when I give her affection. I’ve never given affection to any woman besides my sisters, and I watch her walk to the other side of the kitchen, an unfamiliar warmth in my chest.
When I turn my attention back to the guys, they are watching me like I sprouted another head. Callum cocks an eyebrow and shakes his head with a small smile before we go back to talking about possible scenarios and locations. It’s easier to focus since I can see her.
As we’re talking, I’m glancing at her as she pulls different items out of the grocery bags and puts them in their places, when the second bag is almost empty, she takes it into the pantry, and I hear her emptying beans into the rolling cart but then some fall and scatter on the floor.
