Robin's grinning like he's won something. Toby's watching us with knowing eyes from Knox's lap, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Even Silas has looked up from his book to observe, which means this is probably obvious to literally everyone in the room.
I'm so fucked.
Ash leaves an hour later, after more catching up with Robin and Toby, after a tense but civil conversation with Knox about territory and protection and what exactly "under my protection" means. Knox had spelled it out in simple terms—Robin and Toby were pack-adjacent, which meant anyone who hurt them answered to him—and Ash had listened with that measuring stare before nodding once.
"Good," was all he said. "Keep it that way."
He'd looked at me one more time before he left, that lingering gaze that made my skin feel too tight for my body, like I was going to split out of it if he kept looking at me like that.
Then he was gone, the roar of his bike fading into the distance.
The bar is quiet after he goes. Robin's sprawled on the couch, looking happier than I've seen him in weeks—months, maybe. He's practically glowing, the tension he always carries in his shoulders completely gone.
"So," Vaughn says from behind the bar, tossing his crossword aside. "That's your brother."
"That's my brother." Robin's smiling at the ceiling, dopey and content. "He's really back. I can't believe he's really back."
"He's protective," Knox observes.
"He's always been protective." Robin sits up, tucking his feet under him. "Our parents were... not great. Mom was checked out, Dad was gone more than he was home. Ash basically raised me."
"How much older is he?" I ask.
"Six years. He was twelve when I started kindergarten, and he walked me to school every day. Made my lunches. Helped me with homework." Robin's smile goes soft, distant. "Beat up my bullies."
Toby shifts in Knox's lap. "He's always been great to me too. Ever since Robin and I met freshman year, Ash has treated me like family."
"And when he joined the military?" Knox asks, his voice a little less hard than before.
"He didn't want to go. He was eighteen, I was twelve, and he almost didn't enlist because he didn't want to leave me." Robin's voice goes rough. "I told him to go. Told him I'd be fine. And he did, but he never stopped checking in. Called when he could. Wrote when he couldn't call."
"He tracked your phone," Knox says, but it's less of an accusation now. More like he's trying to understand.
"He worries. And when he can't be there to protect someone in person, he finds other ways to make sure they're safe." Robin shrugs. "The phone thing isn't about control. Knowing where I am helps him sleep at night. I don't mind."
Toby shifts in Knox's lap, tucking himself closer. "He's a good guy, Knox. Scary, but good. He's not going to be a problem."
"He threatened to burn down my bar."
"To protect me and Robin. You'd do the same thing."
Knox can't argue with that. He just grumbles something that might be agreement and pulls Toby closer, pressing his face into Toby's hair.
I'm not really listening anymore. I'm thinking about Ash's hand on my wrist. His thumb against my pulse. The way he said cute like it meant something else entirely. The way he looked at me like he was seeing something worth looking at.
"Jason." Robin's looking at me with a knowing expression, a smirk threatening at the corners of his mouth. "You okay over there?"
"Fine."
"You've been staring at the door since he left."
"I have not."
"You absolutely have." Robin sits up straighter, his smirk blooming into a full grin. "It's okay. He's hot. I'm his brother and even I can admit he's objectively hot. Like, stupidly hot. Unfairly hot."
"Robin—"
"And he was definitely flirting with you."
