Falcon crosses his arms and stares down at Mina’s beautiful but pissed-off face and smirks. “I thought you’d be glad that people are looking out for your girl.”
Mina’s dark hair whips around as she turns and points at Wire. “That’s his job.”
Without missing a beat, Falcon says, “This is my family. All these men and their families are my family. I’m not going to apologize for being careful when I know the hell Remmi’s been through, and I’ll be damned if anyone gets another stab at hurting her. If you want to be pissed, go right ahead. I don’t know you, and I was taking precautions. You were sneaking through the back, and I did what I had to do to stop you.”
Mina’s eyes are wild with fury. “You threw me over your shoulder and carried me into the house. You scared the shit out of me. Maybe you’re forgetting that I don’t know you either, and carrying me off as you did was terrifying,” she exclaims.
Falcon tilts his head, watching her carefully, then he touches her cheek with the back of his hand, and suddenly, Mina’s eyes soften, her lips part, and she goes perfectly still.
“It was never my intention to scare you. I saw what I thought was a threat and acted. No woman should ever have to feel that kind of fear, and for that, I’m sorry,” Falcon says. Since I met Mina, she’s never been at a loss for words, but she can’t seem to do anything but lock eyes with Falcon.
The whole room feels the tension, and I need to do something about it. I break free from the ladies and go to Mina. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been holding out on taking your dip out until you got here. Come and help me in the kitchen.” I tug at her hand to force her feet to move with me.
Gertie
As I sit in the most comfortable chair in the room, because Wire wouldn’t have it any other way, nor would any of the others, I can feel the connection between Wire and Remmi. Wire hides nothing about who he is or what he does. He knows his place on the team and has a firm sense of how he wants to live his life. Remmi has been shaken to the core by what happened to their family. Being abducted was only part of the trauma. Being drugged and threatened over and over again has turned her into a frightened rabbit. But she has spunk! There’s passion deep in her eyes, and it becomes a fire whenever she looks at Wire.
Those two are meant for each other, if Remmi can accept that danger is a part of Wire’s life. When you love someone, the fear of losing them will either make you stronger to support them or tear you apart for fear of the pain of losing them.
Remmi arrives with a tray of homemade snickerdoodle cookies.
“Gertie, would you like another?” she asks. I’ve already had three, but I reach for two more. My doctor would pitch a fit and go on a rant about blood sugar, and blah, blah, blah. I promise myself that tomorrow, I’ll forgo the cookies with my tea to make up for the extra cookies tonight.
“Thank you, sweetie.” I clasp her wrist before she moves on. She bends down closer to listen. “You have it in you, you know. We can never take away the awful memories those men created, but we can fill them with better ones. If you stick with Wire, he can do that for you. But you have to let him fight the bad guys to make others safe.”
“I don’t want to change him, Gertie,” she replies softly.
“I know, child. But he will be called away, sometimes for a day, and other times for a week. Those days will be hard, and you’ll worry, but you have to understand that this is who he is and who he’s meant to be. These men, they slay dragons to keep all of us safe. It works because these brothers are committed to one another.”
“How can I not worry? I’m falling in love with him,” Remmi says, biting her lip.
“Trust. When you feel the angst, and you will, because that is very normal, call your girls. They’ll see you through. Will you do that for me?” I ask.
“Can I call you?”
“Absolutely.” I pat her hand. “Now get these cookies away from me before I take any more.”
Remmi gives me a shy grin and sneaks another onto my plate. That means two days with no sweets, but what the heck.
Remmi moves away, opening my line of sight to her friend Mina, who, after I had a nice chat with her, explained that her name is actually Filomena, but in school, she shortened it to Mina. She’s an exotic beauty with olive skin and high cheekbones, and a full, wide mouth. Her long, dark hair is like a thick blanket framing her delicate facial features. She’s stunning!
I can see that I’m not the only one who sees her beauty, because on the far side of the room, appearing to be chatting away with Wire and Bull, Falcon constantly looks in Mina’s direction. And Mina seems to be gazing steadily at the group of men huddled together.
There’s a slow burn happening, one that will scorch them both if they’re not careful.
Chapter 5
Call Me Colton
Wire
It’s good to see my friends and get to know Mina, but it’s also nice to finally settle in for the night. I help Remmi clean up, and Wolfie has decided to stick with us, sitting on the kitchen floor until we’re ready to move to the couch, where he sits by my feet.
I told Remmi that we would talk tonight, and I won’t keep her waiting. I’ll lay my cards on the table and see where this goes. I’m worried that she won’t be able to handle the relationship I want all at once, but it’s unfair to give her only part of who I am without her understanding where I come from.
Remmi sits close to me, and I casually put my arm around her shoulders. “Hey, baby, are you ready for our talk?” I ask.
“Only if I can go first,” she says. Her brow is furrowed, so it’s clear that whatever she wants to say, she needs to get it off her chest.
