“We have men and women positioned all through town,” Roman says while Chase fights Sterling for another cookie. “Rip installed cameras on Main Street—with the mayor’s blessing—and motion cameras on the roads leading in and out of town, but the neighbors are taking their jobs very seriously. Rip had at least twenty visitors asking everything from if he was with the government to if he was an exotic dancer, so it took him twice as long as it should have.”
“Classic.” Chase chuckles. “It’s like we went to bed in a Tom Clancy novel and woke up in a Heartmark movie.”
“At least it’s done,” Roman grumbles. “Unless Terra treks into town through some remote area off the coast, we’ll see her coming.”
Grant grabs two more cookies, and Chase leaps to his feet. “How many have you had?”
“It’s not my fault you’re too slow, little brother.” Grant sits back and shoves an entire cookie into his mouth too. We all freeze for three full seconds. One thing is for sure—Grant is not his typical self here in Happiness.
What the fuck happened to my uptight, slightly anal cousin? He winks at me. Grant fucking winks. At me. And the organ in my chest shifts again with a…rightness—a sense of belonging that I’ve kept at arm’s length.
And for what?
Terra’s stolen so much more than just my memory, and I’ve never hated another person more.
“Focus,” Roman barks.
Ah, I guess Roman has taken over big brother duties while Grant is on a mental vacation from his faculties. “The local sheriff has been briefed—sort of.” Roman grimaces. “I left out the incriminating parts.”
“We’re as ready as we can be,” Sterling says, and even he appears relaxed. “But we should go over the plan in case she shows up.”
“When,” Clover corrects from the doorway. “When she shows up.”
Dark circles have formed under her eyes. She’s exhausted.
“When,” Grant agrees gently. “When you don’t turn up at the safe house we’re using as a decoy, she’ll search for you here.”
“And then what?” Greyson asks as he rolls Savvy’s wheelchair up to the impromptu meeting table. “Contain her? Turn her over to the authorities?”
“It’s not quite that simple,” Sterling says. “She has leverage.” He scans Grant first, then me. “Information she’s threatened to release. We can’t just turn her over without first understanding the consequences.”
“Grant’s working on that,” Roman says. “He’s meeting with an FBI contact tomorrow. Until then, we keep Clover safe and wait.”
“I hate waiting,” Clover mutters.
“I know.” I pull her closer, and she leans into my side while everyone nods their heads in agreement.
Family.
That’s what we are now.
It’s not me protecting a target. It’s not only my cousins backing me up.
It’s an entire community, an entire town, deciding that one of their own is worth fighting for.
And for some reason, they’ve adopted my cousins and me into the fold.
It’s a gift, really. One I won’t take for granted. One I’ll fight to protect.
Because Clover, and our future, is worth all that…and more.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CLOVER
It’s as though my body has forgotten that it requires sleep.
Every time I close my eyes, I see Terra’s face, hear her voice, feel her like a presence sucking all the air from the room.
