It’s not sexual.But it’s intimate.Like a braided rope.Three strands, different colors, different textures, woven so tight I would need a blade to separate them.
Before Monty entered the scene, I was the third in the brotherhood.I still am, but Leo’s and Kody’s relationship with me is different than their relationship with Monty.Not lesser.Just different.
I watch them for a while.The way they exist together.The quiet rhythm of shared intimacy and loving the same woman without jealousy.It’s not about ownership with them.It’s about devotion.Like monks at the altar of Frankie Strakh.
A soft wind blows in from the trees.The sky bruises purple.Monty slugs back the dregs of his coffee.
Time to start the conversation I came for.“What have you found on Jag Rath?”
That sobers them instantly.
“I ran his name through my contacts.”Monty leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees.“Interpol has a red notice for him under different aliases.Cyberterrorism.Fraud.Murder.He’s connected to The Shadow Collection.”
“Never heard of it.”
“The group sells women out of Texas and California.”Disgust flashes across Kody’s face.“Your runaway bride wasn’t wrong to run.”
“We also traced several shell companies in South America back to his IP.”Monty sets his mug down.“All funded through offshore accounts.This guy isn’t just dirty.He’s fucking radioactive.”
“Dove said he’s left a trail of carnage since she was eight.”I exhale slowly.“She and Jag watched someone murder their parents, and he’s been controlling her life since.He became her guardian and treated her like a burden.He used her.Scared her.”I tell them everything she told me and the bits I pieced together.“She came to Sitka to kill him.”
“She had the opportunity when she aimed a gun at him and didn’t take it.”Monty narrows his eyes.“What’s her plan now?”
“Work, save money, and run far away.”I rake a hand through my hair, knocking off my hood.“But I’m certain she still has revenge on the mind.He’s returning to Sitka tonight.”
“How do you know?”Leo asks.
“She got a text from him.He’ll come for her.Probably doesn’t know she’s here yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
Monty exchanges a glance with Kody and Leo.It’s fast and efficient.A silent agreement.Then he turns back to me.
“Untangle yourself from this,” he says in a steel-edged voice.“Send her away.”
He’s never used that tone on me, and it lands like a scalpel across my chest.
I laugh.Once.A hollow sound scraped straight from the marrow.Then I stand, slowly, because my sudden, protective rage requires unwrapping.“I’m not one of your fuck boys, Monty.I’m not yours to command, and she’s not yours to dismiss.”
“Out of line!”Leo launches to his feet, finger stabbing the air toward me, fire blazing in his mismatched eyes.“Talk to Monty like that again, and I swear to God—”
“Swear to God what?”I shift closer.“You gonna teach me a lesson, Leo?A lesson on how to let unprotected women die?You’re good at that.”
It’s a low blow.He blames himself for the deaths of the women in Hoss, but it wasn’t his fault.Not entirely.
“This isn’t about your new friend.”His fists flex at his sides, nostrils flaring.“It’s about you treating Monty like shit because you can’t stand taking orders.”
“Oh, fuck you.”I study the displeased faces of my family.“Look, I don’t need your permission.With or without your support, I’ll tear this town apart to keep my girl safe.”
“Yourgirl?”Leo’s eyes widen, disbelieving.“Come on, Wolf.You barely know her.You can’t just dive in headfirst and think that loving her hard enough will fix the cracks inside you.”
That does it.I grab the first thing within reach, an empty coffee mug off the sideboard, and hurl it.
Leo ducks, and it explodes against the concrete behind him, shards flying.
Kody stands.No words.Just the quiet scrape of his chair legs, his posture stone-still.The signal.The moment before someone bleeds.
If Frankie were here, she’d shut this shit down with one look.But I handled these pillow humpers for twenty years before she showed up.I don’t need a damn chaperone now.
As I plant my legs, bracing for a fight, Monty’s cold command whips across the patio.
