Page 96 of My Brother’s Best Friends Entanglement

"Well, appreciate it." Craig clears his throat. "So you're all living here. Together. With Alexia?"

"That's right," Marcus says. "Her brother is our best friend, and also part owner in that bar you're going to."

"Oh, nice, so you're like, what, her surrogate brothers?"

There's a pause as we all look at each other. Awkward.

"Yeah. Something like that," Zachary says, finally. "We're very protective of her while her brother isn't here. Making sure she has everything she needs, in the kitchen...the bathroom..."

"The bedroom,” Marcus adds without missing a beat. “That kind of thing."

"Right, we're leaving." I grab Craig's arm and start towing him toward the door before anyone says another word. "Bye. Don't wait up."

Craig follows, picking up on the urgency. "You look lovely, by the way," he manages, as I haul him past the threshold. I don't even get to say thank you before Rhys's voice follows us out.

"Have her home by eleven," he says. "I know where you work, Craig."

Bloody hell. Now he chooses to talk? “Ignore him," I say. "He's being what he thinks is funny."

"I didn't think Rhys did funny," Craig whispers.

"Clearly he hasn't had a lot of practice."

We glance behind us to see all three guys following us to the car. Zachary is in front, hands in his pockets, easy smile in place. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was just being his usual charming self.

But I do know better.

"Have a great night, you two," he says, like the world's most gracious host. "Make yourselves at home at the bar. My guys will take care of Alexia. Family and all."

Craig holds his hand out for a shake. "Thanks again."

"Just so you know," Zachary adds, gripping Craig's hand and pulling him in closer, still smiling, "I have a lot of friends in very low places who've been treated like family at my bars. Marcus's company is working about ten construction sites across Adelaide. And Rhys can't be forced to share anything, even on threat of torture. So if anything happened to Alexia tonight—and I do mean absolutely anything—there's a pretty good chance no one will ever find your mutilated, dismembered body."

What. The. Fuck.

Craig's smile goes rigid. "Right. Understood. Loud and clear."

"Great talk." Zachary claps him once on the shoulder and steps back. "Now why don’t you go warm up your car while we say goodbye to our best friend's little sister."

Craig gets in, giving me the expression of a man recalculating every life choice that brought him to this moment.

"What the hell is wrong with you all?” I hiss as the three of them close in around me.

"Just making it very clear to ol' Craigey there to treat you well tonight," Zachary says with an innocent smile.

"We're just going out as friends! You're all acting psychotic!"

Marcus pretends to pick lint off my shirt and I slap his hand away. “Being friends might be what you think is going on here, but I can guarantee you it's not what's on his mind." He traces a hand down my bare shoulder. “Can you blame him? You look fucking smoking, Lexi. You sure you want to waste this outfit on Craigy-boy?”

I just shake my head and turn to Rhys hoping that maybe he’ll be the voice of reason. Rhys doesn't say anything, eyes locked on Craig through the windscreen.

“Alright, well, you guys need to work off whatever's going on with you." I point a warning finger at all three of them. "And I mean it, don't wait up."

Zachary takes his jacket off, wraps it around my shoulders, and tugs me in by the collar, his breath warm against my cheek. "Mean it all you want, Lex. Just know that we mean it when I say we'll be waiting up in that living room until you walk back through that door tonight." A pause. "Alone."

We don't end up going to Highwater. We've just turned onto the main road when I make it very clear to Craig that if he wants to go somewhere else, anywhere else, I'm on board. I've never seen someone do a U-turn so fast.

"Cool," he says, visibly relieved not to be going somewhere where there are spies for Zachary. "There's another place I was thinking of."