“You didn’t know he was coming?”
Folk’s gaze flickered to the roof. “No.”
He spoke with no inflection, good or bad, but as I watched Ranger dismount and take a look around, unease gripped me. Ranger was a fighting brother. A soldier. I could think of no single reason for him to be here that didn’t involve blood.
Fuckin’ hell.I scrubbed a hand over my face. Folk dug a stare into the side of my head, but Ivy snuck up on us before we could get into it.
She tugged on Folk’s hand. “Daddy says I’m staying with him while you go to bed.”
Folk snorted. “Did he now?”
“He did.” Decoy’s quiet voice reached us from the sales desk. “I’m done with the timber until I load the wagons, and you haven’t slept since yesterday.”
“So?”
Decoy got up and came closer. “So go home. Sleep in our bed. It’s what it’s for.”
“Daddy, he doesn’t like the bed if you’re not in it.” Ivy poked Decoy’s leg. “You should go home too.”
“Nice try, bug. You’re stuck with at least one of us.”
“She’s stuck withme.” Folk put an end to it.
Ivy sighed. “Can we walk Lida again?”
“Maybe later, if it’s okay with Locke.”
“She’s not my dog.”
“Whatever you say, brother.” Folk took Ivy and walked away.
I muttered a child-proof insult after him but trailed off as the meeting on the roof broke up and Saint jumped down in a manner that had the firefighter in me cringing like a motherfucker.
Alexei evaporated like he’d never been there at all.
Nash remained, phone glued to his ear, cigarette jammed in his mouth, but despite his deep frown, I didn’t worry about him so much. He wouldn’t jump unless he wanted to punch someone, and Bear was nowhere in sight.
I went back to scowling at the flow of dudes filtering to the sales desk. Flanked by Decoy, Orla had less to do, and a solid backup plan if I missed anything, but that didn’t help me relax. My gaze kept drifting to the roof—toNashand his tense frown. The stressed set of his shoulders. My hands ached to rub the strain from his corded muscles. To kiss the mark I’d left on his neck until he relaxed.
Damn it, to work the sales desk so Orla could take him out of this world, just for a fuckin’ moment.
But that wasn’t my job. This was. So I stepped outside for a smoke instead, losing sight of Nash on purpose, to calm myself down.
Ranger disappeared too, hustling in the direction of the chapel. I pondered that, then changed my mind. Dude had no problem being up to no good. If he was here on a secret, I probably didn’t need to know it.
Decoy brought me tea. I blew through two smokes while I drank it, loitering near the door, better positioned to take out any shady cunt before they got inside. Better positioned tothinkwithout Orla’s fruity scent filtering into my senses from the fan she had on the shelf behind her.
Didn’t help my Nash angst, though. If anything, the squeeze in my heart got worse. That telltale rush in my blood when he was close. The flare in my pulse that told me before I laid eyes on him that something was off.
I spun around.
He came up on me fast and wrenched the door open. “Get inside.”
I obeyed without question. It was my job. But everything about him set my teeth on edge. “What’s wrong?”
Nash didn’t answer. He strode to the desk and pointed at Orla. “Change it up. Take your shit and work out the back.”
Orla daggered him with her eyeballs. “Excuse me?”
