To be the last living Nichols from my family tree is a harrowing reality. To have lost my twin and buried the other half of my soul, too cruel to be repeated.
I’ve done my time, buried those I love.
All but one.
Now, I take comfort in knowing I’llneverhave to attend the funeral of someone I care about again. Never. Because when the time comes, and Lincoln’s life is ending, I’ll be wherever he is. Together, we’ll fight to survive, or—worst case—we’ll walk into the afterlife together, his hand wrapped around mine.
“You should come inside.” Lincoln approaches behind me, a subtle hitch in his stride I could hear anywhere. Anytime. Even if war raged right under my nose. I’m not sure anyone else on the planet has noticed the slight drag of his heel with every third step he takes. I’m not sure heallowsanyone else to see it. But I could pick the sound just as easily as I could find him in a packed room with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. Just as easily as if I had to pick the tempo of his breath from a crowd of thousands. The beat of his heart amongst countless others.
Stopping behind me, he feathers a humming kiss against my cheek, even as he reaches forward and places a steaming cup of coffee on the porch railing by my arm. “You’re gonna catch a cold.”
“I can see your house through the trees.” I relax against his powerful chest and smile at how perfectly my head tucks beneath his chin. “We’ve had the same trees since forever. The same yard. Same everything. But I’ve never stood out here andrealized that in the winter, I can see your place, and you can see mine.”
“And just so we’re on the same page…” He chuckles softly by my ear. “That’s not my place.”
I roll my eyes where he can’t see them, a soft snicker creeping along my throat. “You know what I meant.” Twisting in the gap between him and the railing, I wrap my arms over his shoulders. And because I have practice now,so much practice, I ignore Tank’s hulking frame as he stalks through my kitchen.
He’s become my temporary security; a detail both men claim is important while Aster’s empire is dismantled—again. As accounts are emptied, agents are pulled, new identities are created, and intel is collected.
Because where a man like Richard Aster falls, there is usually some entrepreneurial spirit eager to step up.
“I guess we have to leave soon, huh?”
Not forever. But for a little while, at least.
“Maybe you should buy Carnagy’s house anyway.” I slide my fingers through the dark hair above Lincoln’s ear and enjoy the flickering adoration in his stare. “I’m never selling this one, and the trees don’t shield it from the nosy neighbors in the winter. That’s a security breach, no?”
His lips, thick and kissable, curl into a devastating grin. “Do you remember that time you asked me to kill you?” From adoring and sweet, to blazing anger.I guess he’s not over that yet.“When you thought I wouldn’t keep you safe?”
“Mm.” I exhale a breathy, smiling snicker. “Kinda glad you didn’t listen to me.”
He shakes his head and leans forward, resting his forehead on mine. “I’m always gonna save you, Nova. I’ll always keep yousafe.” He tips my face back and presses a feather-soft kiss to my lips. “Which means Carnagy already signed the contracts and handed the keys over. Your safety remains assured.”
Damn him.
“We’ve gotta get on the road,” Tank grumbles, glaring through the kitchen window. I’m pretty sure he thinks I memorized the code from Ry’s coin—I did—so now he’s the giant guard dog I never intended to adopt. The one who empties my fridge every single day and bitches about damn near everything. But he doesn’t hurt me anymore…good lord, the bar is set low.
“If you’re not in the truck in the next ten minutes, I’m gonna knock you the fuck out and put you in it myself.”
Lowwwww.
“He’s not a very nice person,” I whisper to Lincoln, snickering in response to Tank’s sour scowl. “I know he saved our lives that time, and he took a bullet for me and whatnot. But on a personality level, he’s just not very pleasant.”
“It’s like having a pet rock,” Lincoln murmurs. “An angry little rock that weighs a ton and never leaves, cos he can’t make friends elsewhere.”
“I can hear you assholes.” Tank—who I’m quite certain wasnotborn with that name—stomps across my kitchen and shoves through the door, a drooping slice of pizza almost as big as his biceps pinched between his fingers. “I have friends. I chit-chat and hang out. Just not with you.”
“You’re her pet rock.” Lincoln teases. “And this is a private moment, so if you could fuck o?—”
“Lincoln?” A woman’s voice, bubbly and excited, calls out from behind me. Lincoln’s body hardens. His grip tightens. Hiseyes grow impossibly wide. And because of it, my stomach rolls from remembered trauma and a deep-seated fear of being hurt again.
Lincolntossesme to the side,abandoningme for dead, so I stumble in utter disbelief, and Tank’s hand silently whips out to catch me.
Then I spin, my hands raised, ready for battle.
“Scarlett?” Lincoln furiously storms the porch steps and crashes into the five-foot-something brunette, wrapping her in a hug so tight that my brows shoot high and momentary jealousy sizzles in my blood. “What are you doing here?” He pulls back and shakes her tiny frame. “What the fuck, Scar?”
“What? I missed you!” She’s so pretty. So smiley. Sohappy. She boasts bright blue eyes, bluer than a cloudless summer day, and two twinkling dimples digging into her cheeks, poking deeper for every moment she stares up at her glowering big brother.
