I lift my head. “They’re moving.”
Switch straightens, already heading for the door. “Then so are we.”
Blade turns, then pauses and looks back at me. “Rev.”
“Yeah?”
“You good to step away from her for a bit?” He asks.
My jaw tightens, and I don’t bother pretending otherwise. “No.” Then I add, quieter, “But I will.”
Blade nods once. “Go tell her.”
Switch jerks his chin toward the living room. “We’ll give you a minute.”
I don’t waste it. I head back inside, and the second I do, Brooke’s eyes find mine from where she’s nestled between her sisters.
“You’re leaving?” she asks, and her voice hitches like she’s one breath away from falling apart.
Fuck, I don’t want to leave her. Every instinct in me is screaming to stay right here and keep her wrapped up where I can see her and touch her and make sure nothing else goes wrong.
But I can’t.
I nod anyway.
I drop to my knees in front of her so we’re eye level, and I take her hands in mine, holding on like I need the contact as much as she does.
“I’m going to make sure that piece of shit knows exactly how bad he messed up,” I tell her, low and steady. “And I’m never going to let anyone touch you again, Brooke. Never. You hear me, baby?”
Her eyes shine, but she nods.
Behind me, I hear the front door open and close again, heavy footsteps crossing the living room.
Blade and Switch are back.
Blade goes straight to Bri, cupping her face in both hands and pressing his forehead to hers like he needs that second to breathe. He kisses her, slow and firm, then shifts his palm to her belly, thumb brushing over the curve that already owns his whole damn soul. “I’ll be back,” he murmurs against her hair. “You and the baby stay right here. Doors locked.”
Bri nods, eyes wet but fierce. “You come back to me in one piece.”
Switch pulls Bella into his arms next, lifting her off her feet for half a second before setting her back down and kissing her hard, like he’s trying to leave a mark that’ll last until he gets home. He presses his forehead to hers, hands sliding to her waist. “You call if you need anything,” he says quietly. “Anything at all.”
Bella swallows and nods. “Just come back to me.”
“I will,” Switch says, and it’s not a promise, it’s a fact.
I look back at Brooke, and for a second the hallway and the guys and the plan all disappear, and it’s just her and me and the way she’s gripping my hands like I’m her anchor.
I glance at her sisters and Ansley. “You stay with her. Razor and Ghost are posted outside, and they’re not leaving. Nothing and no one gets near this house, but you keep the doors and windows locked. You stay inside. You don’t open that door for anyone unless it’s Razor or Ghost. You got me?”
“We know the drill, Rev,” Bella says, wiping at her face but holding it together like the badass she is. “Go handle it. We’ve got her.”
Bri tightens her arm around Brooke’s shoulders. “She’s not alone. Not for a second.”
Ansley nods. “We’re not letting her out of our sight.”
I look back at Brooke, and for a second my chest tightens so hard it almost hurts.
“I’ll be back,” I promise. “And when I am, I’m not going anywhere.”
