“I didn’t do anything to deserve you two,” I whispered into the darkness, feeling emotional and still more than a tad sick to my stomach.
“You didn’t have to,” Jake whispered back. “You’re cute, you’re sweet, you’re fuckable—”
“And you’re ours,” Declan said, raising his head enough that I could see his grin in the small amount of light that slipped into the room from the hallway.
I nodded and clung to them until my eyes burned. I couldn’t sleep, and I could tell they weren’t asleep, either. I hated that I’d brought them problems, and I hated that I might end up in prison for something I didn’t do, but a tentative relief hit my system as the hours passed and the light of a gray dawn filtered into the room. They were still here, they weren’t mad at me, and they cared.
Declan sat up when his alarm went off and brushed his hand over my forehead. He pressed a kiss to my lips. “Did you sleep at all?”
I shook my head.
He tucked the blankets around me. “Are you supposed to work?”
I nodded.
“Go to sleep,” he murmured.
Jake said more or less the same thing when he woke up later, but I couldn’t close my eyes. I lay there for a long time as the sun crawled across the wall. I tensed and listened for Jake to leave for work, but the sound of the front door opening and closing never came, and eventually he came back to bed, carrying a wide bowl.
“Turn over on your belly,” he said softly.
“What is that?”
“Do it,” he said and smiled. Shrugging, I listened to him. He draped a sheet over my shoulders, and I gasped when he laid a warm folded towel overtop of that. I grunted because it was almost too hot, but nearly instantly I could feel my muscles unclenching. The mattress dipped.
“Sometimes the night before Dec has to leave for a game during the playoffs, if the Blizzards make it that far, he can’t unwind.”
“Makes sense. Don’t you have to be at work?” The heat had my eyes slipping closed.
“PD took my clients at my rate. Trust me, people might love me, but no one will complain. He’s the best. I’m free for you today.” He ran careful fingers through my hair.
“This feels really good.”
“You’re going to let us take care of you,” he said firmly. I turned to glance at him over my shoulder. His eyes glittered, and I could tell he meant business. Some of my horrible guilt died down a bit.
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“This is nice,” I whispered.
He didn’t say anything, just kept stroking my hair. I watched him until exhaustion dragged me under.
19
Jake
It tookeverything in my power not to drive to Minetto and pound on that bitch’s door, demanding explanations. If it hadn’t been for Dec coming home after practice and calming me down, I might have done exactly that.
“I can talk to PD,” I urgently whispered to him while Logan was taking a hot bath that night. “He’s got that biker club of his. I never asked him what they did, but I bet my ass they take money for hits.”
“Don’t be silly.” Dec stood behind me at the weight bench and gripped my shoulders in a strong grasp, massaging the tenseness I’d had in my body all day. We were in the gym room at our house, working out after a long day of soothing Logan into a comforted state again. As soon as Dec got home from practice he was at our side, kissing and calming Logan with his loving touches and soft words. “Then it’d be you in prison, Jake.”
I snorted and stared at him through the wall-length mirror we’d installed along one side of the room, right in front of the weights. Dec needed a gym in the house, the same as any professional sports player did. “I know PD. He’s smart. I’m sure his brothers would make the body disappear.”
“And how would we get her to come to New Gothenburg?” He shook his head, fingers digging into a sensitive spot and making me wince. “We’re better off hiring Logan a lawyer to help him through this. I know someone. One of the guys from the team used him during his divorce. Some dude named Madden Polunin.”
I shook my head, my body vibrating with anger. Dec thought working out would help calm everyone down, and while it had helped for Logan, it did nothing but give me more time to marinate on the situation. This bitch wanted to steal money, then throw Logan under the bus. I’d destroy her before I let that happen. I hated people like her.
