“True,” I agreed, recognizing how tortured his eyes had been while spitting those hate-filled words at Billie.
“Maybe Angelo wants to take one for the team and play best friend again while I snuggle Billie in your bed,” Rhett mused aloud, and I gave a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, I didn’t think so, either. Damn it.”
I smirked, glancing at him in the mirror. “Don’t worry, Silver. I’ll snuggle her twice as hard to make up for your absence.”
Rhett’s eyes narrowed, and his middle finger extended. Cute.
We remained quiet for the rest of the drive, then, when I pulled up outside Rhett and Jace’s condo, Rhett poked Jace awake.
He jerked in shock as his eyes snapped open, but he quickly registered where we were and relaxed slightly. He cast one long, pained look in Billie’s direction, then got out of my jeep without even a single word.
“You’re welcome, dickhead,” I growled out the window as he headed for the lobby with his head down. Probably wise so no one recognized him.
“Thanks Gray,” Rhett said quietly, clapping me on the shoulder. “Call me when you get her home to your place. She’s had a rough few days.”
That was for sure. “Will do,” I murmured. “Don’t let him hit the bottom too hard. We need to stay alert in case Angelo is wrong about Billie being the target.”
“Understood,” he replied with a nod. “Take care of our girl.”
Our girl.
“I will.”
I waited until Rhett was safely inside the building and out of sight before pulling back out into the street. My home was about a fifteen-minute drive away, and I took it slow, not risking a crash with the precious cargo sleeping in my passenger seat.
I drove straight into my secure garage when we got there, then drew my gun to sweep the house for intruders before returning to Billie. She sighed softly in her sleep as I unbuckled her seat belt and lifted her into my arms. She was so small I could hardly believe I’d been fooled by the fake belly.
Fucking Angelo. What a dick plan.
With long strides, I carried Billie up the stairs to my bedroom and laid her down on the bed.
She stirred as I released her, her fingers clutching at my shirt like she didn’t want me to let go.
“Shh, little Prickles,” I breathed, peeling her fingers off. “I’m still here, baby; I’m not going anywhere.” I kicked off my shoes, then quickly stripped down to my boxers before placing my loaded gun on the bedside table.
Tugging the blankets down, I climbed in and pulled her into my arms. Right where she belonged.
“Gray,” she mumbled, her sleepy eyes blinking up at me. “I’m so sorry. I lied… and I left…”
Anger burned through me, but I bit back the need to release it. “No, you survived,” I corrected her. “Only an idiot can’t differentiate.”
Sadness swamped her expression. “But—”
“Shh,” I shushed her, placing a finger over her lips. “Sleep now. You’re safe here.”
I flicked the lights off, but it was only midafternoon, so the room was far from dark. As a musician, I was used to sleeping in daytime, and Billie was tired enough for it not to matter.
She was here. With me. Safe. That was all that mattered today; everything else could wait.
Like what’d gone down with Jace and whether she still had feelings for any of us. For me. If she still wanted to explore things between us… or if that paled in comparison to her first loves dominating her heart once more.
Fuck, I was turning into such a sap. Good thing I’d done enough work on my maturity that I didn’t view tender emotions as such a threat anymore. My uncle would have killed her already, just for being a distraction.
There was a reason I’d left my family. He was a huge part of that.
thirty-six
BILLIE
It wasn’t like two days in the wilderness was long enough that I’d forgotten what the more comfortable side of life felt like, but when I woke in Grayson’s bed, it was as if I woke on a bed of clouds. Very expensive clouds. I was so damn comfortable that I wanted to cry at the sheer joy of being here.
Maybe it was that Grayson was the only one in here with me or maybe it was that he was in here and wrapped around me so tightly that I’d never felt quite so snug and protected in my life.
Not wanting to wake him yet, I didn’t move a muscle, content to just lay in his arms. Even if they did feel a touch like steel bands enclosing me. Luckily, my many issues didn’t include claustrophobia. If anything, I enjoyed this sensation more than sleeping on my own.
“Prickles,” he rumbled. “It’s the middle of the night. Go back to sleep.”
Middle of the night… I would not have guessed that. Somehow, this clever bastard knew I was awake and what the time was without even opening his eyes.
“Can I shower?” I asked him, feeling super awake now and hating how gross my body was. My skin had that layer of ick on it that only came from infrequent washing. “I’ll be back to sleep soon.”
His response was to pull me closer, and if he didn’t stop pressing his hard cock against me, I was going to moan and wiggle against him. It was the rule. The shower was a good escape from the needy-pussy situation I had going on. Apparently two rock stars wasn’t enough for her.
She needed a third. One that was six-foot-five and built like a fucking linebacker.
"Wait for morning,” he rumbled, and there was no way I could escape unless he released me.
“Please,” I pleaded. “I honestly can’t stand how dirty I feel.”
He buried his face harder in my neck, breathing me in, his lips caressing my skin. “You smell delicious,” he said, “but if you insist, then let’s get you clean.”
He rolled over, taking me with him, and when he reached the edge of the bed, he stood and kept me tightly bound in his arms.
“I can walk, you know,” I said with a laugh.
His reply was a grunt, and I was starting to think that all of Bellerose had a small grunting problem. “I spent months stalking the Ricci family to ensure you were safe,” he told me. “Then days killing motherfuckers to ensure you were safe, and now that I have you safe in my arms, I’m disinclined to release you out into the world again. Maybe if no one tries to kidnap or kill you in the next week or so, I’ll reconsider my stance.”
Was it possible to fall in love with someone over a matter of weeks? Because it had happened so fast with Rhett, and now Grayson, that I was starting to wonder about my sanity.
Or maybe this was just more of the soul, fate, and music brought us all together thing.
“I do feel safe with you,” I admitted as he crossed the large, dark room, heading for a doorway that I couldn’t make out until we were almost at it. “A concept I haven’t felt since I was… shit, probably a teenager.” Asleep between Jace and Angelo. Not that I was going to mention that to Grayson. We were going to ignore the past few days with Rhett and Jace. Fucking Jace.
Then I sighed. “That’s not completely true. Rhett…” Rhett made me feel safe. It was just a different sort of safe.
“I get it,” Gray rumbled, leaving it at that.