A sudden wave of sadness hit me—that little voice in the back of my mind wondering if they would feel the same if they knew thetruth.
“I’m gonna hit the sack, y’all. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, gorgeous.”
“Goodnight, Vixen.”
Chapter 14
Agent Braxton agreed to let me find a new apartment—meaning picking one off a list they’d already wired to hell and back. Maria and Holly had more fun apartment-hunting than I did, but we finally settled on a cute little one-bedroom townhouse about ten minutes from the clubhouse. A bunch of the guys volunteered to help me move furniture, which was an unexpected kindness. The only things I brought from my old place were my beloved mattress, the TV, and all the kitchen necessities. Everything else, I found at local thrift stores and auctions.
Mac and Dalton kept trying to pay for my furniture, which pissed me off.
“I’m perfectly capable of buying my own shit, thank you very much. And besides, how does that make me look—my bosses buying me expensive shit? What about how it makes you look?”
Mac seemed offended. “Why the fuck would we care how it makes us look?”
Dalton shrugged and gave me a crooked smile. “If anyone’s got a problem with me helping out my girl, they are more than welcome to say that to my face.” He said the words like a cocky challenge.
I rolled my eyes and said sarcastically, “And they say chivalry is dead.”
“Excuse me, where are you wanting this stuff?”
I turned my attention to the delivery driver and his coworker who were waiting at the end of the driveway. “Sorry, yeah. The table set goes in the living room, right when you walk in. Same with the rug. But the highboygoes up the stairs, in the hallway.”
I hadn’t planned on spending a lot of time, energy, or money on furniture shopping. I knew this was a temporary home, mine only as long as I was on assignment. But, encouraged by Maria and Holly, I hit the antique furniture store and kind of went nuts. I couldn’t resist the gorgeous, honey-oak coffee table with the matching side tables for my living room. And the highboy would make the perfect place for sheets and towels and such. Maybe I could find a way to bring it with me when all this was said and done? If anything was gonna survive the fallout from when the truth hit the ground, it would be the furniture.
I followed the delivery guys inside, Mac and Dalton right behind me. I had the two of them help put away my plates and pots and such while I scrounged for a snack. Maria and Holly had promised to stop by later with wine and pizza to properly break in the new place. I was still sore, but it was a much more tolerable pain. I would always have those ugly scars to remind me of that night. Sometimes, I would have nightmares so vivid, I would wake up in a cold sweat. The second night it happened, I couldn’t go back to sleep—staring into the dark corners of my room at Maria’s, flinching at the sounds of people driving past the house.
So, I called Dalton.
Not ten minutes afterwards, I about pissed myself when he crawled through the window like a lunatic. I had a good mind to chew his ass out for practically breaking into my friend’s home, but I was such a mess. He crawled into bed next to me, pulling me to his chest, and not the least bit bothered by the sweat coating my body. He held me until I stopped trembling, and he made me promise to always call him when I had a night terror, no matter what. With him tracing small, comforting circles on my back, I fell asleep in the comfort and safety of his arms.
Maria nearly had a coronary when he followed me into the kitchen thenext morning.
“Anything else, ma’am?”
The delivery driver brought me back to the present and was looking expectantly at me.
“No, everything looks great. Thank you.” I tipped them both, and sent them on their way. I sat at the table with an apple, a jar of peanut butter, and a spoon. Dalton sat next to me, giving my lunch a funny look. I brandished my spoon at him. “Don’t you dare judge me.”
He held up his hands in surrender and said, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Mac stood behind me, gently rubbing my shoulders and working the tender muscles there. “How are you holding up, Vixen?”
I shrugged. “So so. Better if you keep doing that.”
He bent down, kissing my neck and sending shivers up my spine. The three of us hadn’t really talked about the whole threesome thing since that night, but no one had changed the group chat name. Plus, the two brothers made no effort to hide their affection when it was all three of us. I, for one, was loving it.
Dalton’s phone rang, and his brow furrowed when he looked at it. “It’s Silas. The hell is he calling me for and not you?”
The question was directed at his brother, who answered, “No idea. Put it on speaker.”
My eyebrows probably disappeared into my hairline, realizing I was about to be privy to a conversation between my boys and my target for the first time.
“Where the fuck are you?”
Dalton’s eyes narrowed to slits at Greyson’s tone. “In town. What’s up?”
