She glances around the room. “Not yet.” Her warm fingers curl around my hand. “I like being away from everyone…alone time for us. For our family.” She drops her gaze. “We might not have had the best beginnings or good parents, but we won’t repeat any of those mistakes with our kids.”
My throat tightens. “No, we won’t.” I rest one hand over her stomach and the other on Alexa’s back. Our daughter sighs and wiggles in her sleep. “I’ll always be here to take care of my girls. Always.”
Heidi curls into my body, a soft, gentle weight against my chest. “And I’ll always support you no matter what. If you think Tennessee’s the best place for our family, I’m calling shotgun.”
I swallow hard. Talking this out with Heidi moved me closer to forgiving Marcel. But the idea I’d tossed out in anger—moving a few states away—still holds a forbidden appeal.
Could Heidi and I leave everything we’ve ever known behind?
A few days ago, I would’ve said no.
Now, it’s a possibility.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Teller
By Monday morning, I’m out of my mind with worry.
No one, except Trinity, has heard from Heidi or Blake.
Blake’s even dodging Wrath—his business partner—something I thought he’d never do. I managed to fuck up every aspect of my best friend’s life.
“Now you know why I didn’t want to do this.” I stab an accusatory stare at Rock, who showed up on my doorstep right after sunrise.
He glares right back. “Waiting so damn long sure as fuck didn’t help.” He pushes away from the kitchen door where he’s either been staring out the window or lecturing me since he got here.
Charlotte eyes both of us carefully from her spot by the coffee maker. “Do you want me to stay home?”
“No.” She might be worried we’ll kill each other if she leaves us alone. “We’ll be fine,” I assure her.
“Call me if you hear from them.” She finishes filling her travel mug and grabs her briefcase.
“I will.” I stand and walk her to the front door.
“I’m sure they’re fine.” She squeezes my hand. “Try not to worry.”
“I’ll try.”
“And stop blaming Rock,” she says in a lower voice. “This wasn’t easy for him either. Try to work together instead of butting heads.”
“I don’t think we know another way.”
She cups my cheek. “You’re smart. Figure it out.” She leans up on tiptoes. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Outside, she tosses her briefcase on the passenger side and climbs into her truck. As I’m about to close the front door, the big grill of Wrath’s GMC pickup comes into view.
“Motherfucker,” I grumble.
Leaving the front door ajar, I return to the kitchen and start another pot of coffee. “Your enforcer’s here,” I say over my shoulder. “Word of warning—I’m not in the mood for his bullshit today.”
“Well, I’m never in the mood for yours, yet you keep throwing it at me.” Rock pulls out a chair at the dining table and sets his coffee mug down with a thud.
“Where you at, welterweight?” Wrath’s voice booms from the hallway.
“The house ain’t that big, bro,” I shout back. “Figure it out.”
He appears in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall a few seconds later. “I see you woke up annoying today.”
“Having him on my doorstep at the ass crack of dawn will do that to you.” I jerk my thumb toward Rock.
Wrath raises his eyebrows and shoots Rock a “what the fuck” look.
“Why are you here?” I shove a mug of coffee in Wrath’s hands and sit at the table across from Rock.
“What the fuck’s going on with Murphy? Heidi sent Trin a text about a family vacation. He missed his shifts yesterday. That’s not like him.”
I glare at Rock.
Wrath drags a chair to the side of the table, sort of placing himself between Rock and me. “You finally do it?” he asks Rock.
“God dammit,” I snarl. “Is there anything you don’t know?”
“He didn’t tell me, if that eases your hurt little feelings.” Wrath cocks his head. “It almost feels like it’s been obvious since the night we met your little thieving ass. But because of the age…I never…but, brother, after those tests and Rock was so…beaten down, almost…it just clicked.” In an almost kinder tone, he adds, “I didn’t say a word to anyone. Not even Trinity.”
That has to be the most serious speech Wrath’s ever given. I let his words sink in without responding. I doubt there are a lot of things he doesn’t share with Trinity. “You really didn’t share such a juicy story with your wife?” I ask.
Across the table, Rock sighs.
“It wasn’t my story to share,” Wrath says, ignoring the dickishness in my question. He shrugs. “I assume you told Z?” He nods at Rock. “After that mess with Chance.”
“Christ.” I rub my hand over my neck. “I was such a dick to Lilly when she first came back.”
“I mean…” Wrath grins. “To be fair, you’re always a dick. I doubt anyone noticed.”
“Thanks, asshole.”
“Happy to help.” He slaps the table. “Give me the short version.”
I lift my gaze to Rock. He can field this question.
“My knucklehead of a son thought after breakfast the other morning would be the perfect time to finally share the news,” Rock explains, “without giving me any warning.”
“What’d you need a warning for?” I sneer. “You’ve been bitching at me to do it for months. So, I did it.”
“Easy, fuckers.” Wrath holds out his hands like he’s talking to two sparring fighters. “What happened?”
“Heidi didn’t take it well.”
“Understandable,” Wrath says.
“Murphy blew up outside the clubhouse,” Rock says, staring into his coffee cup like he’s worried I laced it with rat poison or something. “Surprised Grinder didn’t tell you about it.”
The usual devilishness is absent from Wrath’s face. “Murphy didn’t take it well either, huh?” he asks.
“No,” Rock sighs.
“I warned you not to daddy them too much when we found them,” Wrath says.
“Christ, you’re an asshole.” Rock stands and grabs his cup, then walks to the counter for a coffee refill.
“Sorry,” Wrath mutters.
I jerk my body and fall out of my chair, twitching on the floor. “Did you actually apologize for something?”
Wrath toes me with his boot. “Yeah, just not to you. Get up, dipshit.”
I pull myself off the floor and slide into my chair again.
“All right.” Wrath slaps the table. “As far as we know, they’re okay. A bit rattled. But okay?”
“According to Trinny,” Rock says. “They won’t answer anyone else’s texts.”