Without taking my eyes off my wife, I let a soft laugh slip free. “You mean, other than the fact mafia members were able to surround us without us realizing it?” At his grunt, I dragged my stare to Thatch and added, “I know. They wouldn’t have stopped at them.”
Thatch’s brow furrowed and his head tilted slightly. “What do you mean?”
I nodded toward my computer, prompting him to look at what I’d been working on. “I was just thinking, there has to be more. When you search forDavis Shaw, these guys don’t pop up anywhere. But if you search by their renter’s agreements or employment records, they’re there, and their files are airtight. Which means, we can’t just search for Davis Shaw to find the rest. And we have two other women closely connected to us—more,if they start going to our moms and sisters.”
A curse slipped from Thatch as he dragged a tattooed hand over his mouth. “Ada and Peyton?”
“Ada and Peyton,” I confirmed.
“Have you talked to Briggs?”
“I was getting ready to. I just...” I slid a quick look in Mallory’s direction, unable to help the pull to put her in my line of sight, and felt something in my chest ease when Thatch spoke.
“I know, man, I get it. But let’s take care of this so they’re safe.” Leaning closer, he lowered his voice. “Besides, you know Monroe can handle herself.”
“I know,” I muttered as I stood, then forced a smirk. “Does Chloe know you think shecan’thandle herself?”
Thatch’s brows shot up like I should’ve already known the answer. “Chloe can handle a lot—more than I wish she’d ever had to. But I’ll always stand between her and situations like this.”
An amused hum crawled up my throat. “So, where is she right now?”
“In the conference room with the other girls,” he replied immediately and without apology as he angled for Briggs’ office. “Far away from any windows and the front door.”
At that, a fuller laugh left me. “Right.”
Stepping away from the path he was taking, I moved easily to Mallory’s side. My lungs opened and muscles relaxed as I took those last steps to her, as if every part of me had been aching to be by her side again.
Draping one arm across the back of her chair, I placed my other hand on one of the arms, caging her into the chair, all while she continued tapping away on her keyboard as if I wasn’t there.
I lowered my head to whisper into her earbud-filled ear, “Know you can hear me, Peach, so hear this: You aren’t the only one who missed who these guys are. And no matter what would’ve happened, I have no doubt that you would’ve been the one standing at the end—whether it was against one Davis or ten.”
Lifting my hand off the arm of the chair, I curled my knuckles under her chin and tipped her head back until she was looking at me, blue eyes unsurprisingly guarded and matching her tense frame. “Hear this,” I continued, voice dropping even lower as I brushed my thumb across her bottom lip. “You pride yourself on being strong, but you’ve been force-fed such a skewed version of strength, you don’t see how strong you actually are.”
Mallory struggled to swallow and looked away, but I pulled her attention back to me. “From that first day, I’ve been in awe of your strength, but that doesn’t mean you always have to be strong. It also doesn’t mean you’re weak whenever you stop suppressing your emotions. It doesn’t mean you’re weak when you show anything other than that fierce persona your family forced you to create. You wouldn’t be weak for—” The words caught in my throat, choking me.
For letting yourself want our baby.
I made myself force back the pleas and statements and questions of the only subject I wanted to discuss with her, and instead said, “You wouldn’t be weak if you let me take care of you—protect you. You wouldn’t be weak if you let someone else handle a situation every now and then.” Searching her impassive stare, I added, “You’re ashamed of admitting you’re human, but there’s strength in showing that you are.”
Brushing my mouth across hers, I released my hold on her and casually but purposefully swept my hand across her flat stomach as I straightened. Ignoring the way my heart at once raced and ached from that simple action.
But just as I turned to find Thatch standing a handful of feet away, waiting for me, Briggs burst into the main office and shouted, “Get off your computers!”
It felt like even the oxygen in my lungs froze at the sharp demand that had everyone going still.
“Now,” he snapped as he stormed further into the space. “Wipe what you’re doing—wipeeverythingfrom the past couple of days—and shut everything down.”
I hurried for my desk as Thatch did the same, while Briggs went to where Rush was working. His tone was too low to make out, but the urgency and fury behind his words was unmistakable.
“Tablets too,” Briggs called out, as if just remembering the devices. “Let me know when you’re done.”
“The club?—”
“Everything,” Briggs seethed before Thatch could finish the thought.
“Yep,” Thatch muttered. “Done.”
“Done,” I echoed, closely followed by Evans and Mallory.
