Marley’s soft voice of reason breaks through the tension. Sofi is on her hip watching everything that is happening and grabs a lock of Marley’s hair. “But why would you want to stay in the cabin away from all of us? You’re safer here.”
Not meaning to, I snap at her even though I’m trying not to. “I can name five reasons right off the top of my head.” I hold my hand up, squeezing the crutch between my arm and my ribs, and name off my nieces and nephews with each finger. “They are Laney Rai, Bennett, Sofi, Niki, and,” I point at Gray, “Have you decided on a name yet?”
He doesn’t answer me, I only get his serious poker face stare in response. He’s not happy with me either.
I feel bad right now that even my best efforts at being civil are slipping away. I’m too tired, and my foot and head hurt.
Niki squeals on Jax’s hip at something she thinks is funny and starts bouncing as she clings to his shirt, and we all turn in her direction. She starts blowing raspberries and making spit bubbles that are stringing down her chin. This makes Sofi laugh, and they start laughing at each other, effectively lightening the tension in the room.
Any other day, I would have run to her and swiped her from Jax so I could blow raspberries on her belly.
Marley pries her hair from Sofi’s grasp as she watches me. “Kinley, we have multiple guns in each room, three special forces guys if you include Agent Abbot, and two men who can hit a fly on a post from fifty yards. We are all safer here now that we know what to expect.”
“And I can get more men here with just a phone call.” Mason interjects.
I just walked in the house from the hospital less than an hour ago, and they all descended on me like vultures. My patience is in the red zone, and my foot is throbbing up my leg. All I want to do is lie down and maybe take a nap to get this headache to go away.
Sensing my irritation and pending outburst, Rhys speaks up from his post behind me. “I’m staying with her in the cabin, if I think there is any danger, I’ll call.”
It surprises the hell out of me when Marley speaks up again. She’s usually more reserved in her opinions, but she’s not backing down today. “No offense, Agent, but she’s already been in danger when you were supposed to be watching her.”
Lifting my crutch, and banging the foot of it on the hardwood, I yell, “Enough!” Closing my eyes against the headache that hasn’t eased since I was in the pool house, I take a deep breath and the smell of the chlorine on my skin from earlier fills my nose.
“There was an agent assigned to me, and Rhys was working. No one knew one of their fucking own was going to show up at his house and try to kill us. If he had knocked on our front door, the same thing would have happened. This is not Rhys’s fault.”
Opening my eyes, I lock them on Marley. “I may have been in danger, but I knew Rhys would come for me. I knew he would drop whatever he was doing for me when he knew I needed him. And he did.”
The room is silent for several moments.
Marley’s eyes fill with tears, and she tilts her head to the side, knowing I’m talking about our conversation from the weekend. She rolls her lips between her teeth and takes a deep breath before she nods. “Okay.”
“What?! You’re okay with this?” Mason bays as he turns to his twin.
Marley doesn’t take her eyes off me when she says, “She’s in good hands.” Then her eyes flick to Mason. “Rhys said he would call if there’s any danger, and she’s a stone’s throw away. I don’t think Rhys would let anything happen to her any more than you would let anything happen to Sloane.”
Rhys steps up closer behind me and wraps his arm around my waist, his hand resting on my middle. His stance behind me is possessive, and his voice is deep and firm over my head. “If there’s a threat, I’ll call.”
Mason, Gray, and Dad’s eyes drop to Rhys’ hand protectively splayed across my stomach, my eyes are glued on Mason, waiting for him to keep pushing and expecting an even bigger fight. But the voice I hear next sends my eyebrows up my forehead.
“I trust him. He said he’ll call, then he’ll call.” Jax says as he slides his hand up and down Niki’s back, his Serbian accent is slight. His eyes are on Mason, who looks at him like a traitor. Then they move from Mason to me, and he nods.
It’s still strange to see the big, bad military guy’s soft side when he’s holding his daughters like they are the most delicate things in the world.
One day he and Mason can go on a job with their black-ops team to kill bad guys, and the next day they are here changing diapers and talking baby talk. In a matter of three years, our house went from mostly quiet to having new spouses and babies at every turn.
Once we mostly got everyone on the same page, I didn’t even make it to the back steps before Rhys took my crutchesand scooped me up to carry me to the cabin, which I was okay with. When we get into the cabin and he kicks the door closed, I expect him to put me down, but he carries me to the couch and gingerly sets me down.
At least the pain pill has kicked in. A comfortable numbness is settling over me, and I feel a little like I’ve had a couple of drinks.
“Don’t move, I’m going back to the house to get my stuff.” He orders as he plants a kiss on my head and turns to the front door.
The order rubs me the wrong way, and I roll my eyes with an irritated huff. “Not you, too? I’m fine, Rhys. I can move around the cabin on the crutches just fine.”
He stops and turns back to bend over me, his hands on each side of me on the couch, his large body hovering so that I have to lean back with my head tilted up.
“Don’t. Move.” His brown eyes are just as sharp as his voice.
His nose is just inches from mine, and I hold his stare. “Make me.”
