“I love it when a plan comes together,” Caz says, rubbing his hands in glee. “And I love going on a mini vacay with our sexy princess even more.” He pokes his head through the gap in the front seats, pinning me with a shit-eating grin. “Are we nearly there yet?”
_______________
We pull upto the cabin, late in the afternoon, after making a pitstop to grab some groceries and beer. Saint jumps out, inputting the code I gave him, and the gates open to grant us entry.
“Wowzers,” Caz says as we drive along the road leading to the house. “You own all this land?” His nose is pressed to the glass, and his eyes are out on stilts.
“Yep. It’s mine now.” Dad left the property to me in his will, although it was only disclosed to me after the main will had been revealed. He thought of everything, and he was still protecting Mom from the grave.
“I noticed the barbed wire and security cameras at the gate,” Theo says, looking left and right as we drive past the dense forest that surrounds the land on both sides. “It seems private and secure.”
“It is. Dad gave every consideration to my safety. The entire twenty-acre site is enclosed with high walls and barbed wire, and there are numerous cameras everywhere linking to screens in my dad’s study. I’ve spent a lot of time here alone since he died, and I’ve never felt scared, because if anyone managed to breach the security systems, I would know about it before they made it to the house. He also has a secure panic room in the basement that is impenetrable.”
“I vote we hole ourselves up here forever and let Sinner seal his own fate,” Caz quips.
“I wish it were that easy.” I rest my head against the window, peering across the empty fields into the forest as we draw closer to the cabin.
A few minutes later, Saint pulls the Land Rover to a stop in front of the familiar two-story wooden structure.
Caz whistles under his breath as we climb out of the car. “Nice, babe. Very nice.”
I rest my head on his shoulder as Saint and Theo grab our bags from the back. “I love it here. It’s so peaceful. When I need to clear my head, I come here.”
“I can see why.” Galen comes up on my other side.
He’s hunched over, in obvious pain, and I press my hand to his brow, frowning at the heat radiating from his flesh. “You need to take more medication and grab some sleep.”
He takes my hand, bringing it to his mouth, kissing the back of my knuckles. “If you want to play nurse, you won’t hear me complaining.”
Caz snorts. “I can guess why.”
Galen flips him the bird, smirking. “Jealous, much?”
“Nah.” Caz carefully tucks me under his arm. “I’ll be the one taking care of our girl tonight.”
I was planning on sleeping with Theo so I can ask him what’s up, but I won’t deny Caz—if he wants me in his bed tonight, he’s got it.
“Asshole,” Galen mutters as I step up to the cabin and unlock the door.
I walk inside, moving to deactivate the alarm while the others stream through the door. Theo dumps our bags on the floor in the hall while Saint deposits the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter, and Caz and Galen set off exploring. I let the guys wander around by themselves while I unpack the groceries, fire up the Keurig, and make some sandwiches.
“This place is the shit,” Caz says, sweeping into the kitchen as I’m plating our food. He wraps his arms around me from behind, nuzzling his nose into my neck. “I already feel right at home here.”
“I can’t believe you have a game room, a bar, and a gym back there,” Saint says. “I’m beginning to agree with this idiot.” He nudges Caz out of the way with a smirk. “Maybe we should just stay here and never leave.” He snatches the plates from my hands, taking them over to the table.
My eyes skim over the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living room area, looking for the others. “Can you grab glasses from the cupboard there?” I ask Caz, pointing behind his head, as I walk to the refrigerator and grab a large bottle of water. Rummaging in my purse, I find the pill bottle, washing a couple tabs down with water. Then I fill a fresh glass and walk into the living area where Galen is lying on the couch. Theo sits across from him in my dad’s chair, tapping away on the tablet perched on his lap. “Hey.” I sit on the floor at Galen’s side, reaching out to brush strands of his dark hair off his brow. “You look like you could use these.” I open my palm, revealing the pills.
“Thanks.” He takes them from my hand, and a jolt of electricity zips up my arm when his fingers brush against my skin. I hand him the glass of water, watching his throat work as he swallows, wondering why I find it sexy as hell.
“You should go up to bed,” I suggest. “You look beat.”
“I’ll doze here,” he says, resting his head on the fluffy cushions.
Theo puts his tablet aside, walks to my side, and helps me to my feet. “You should be resting too.”
“I’m fine.” I shoot Galen a cheeky wink. “Guess I have a higher pain threshold than pretty boy here.”
“You’re not human,” Galen grumbles, his green eyes flickering open and shut, but there’s no heat behind his words.
