Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Bear freezes. “More whiskey?”
“I’m sorry,” I say, laughing through my tears. “I’m fine. This morning I went to work like normal. A couple hours ago my daughter was kidnapped. Now I’m here,” I wave my arms, indicating not just the house, but the whole crazy compound. “Sipping coffee and wondering if I’ll ever go home again.”
“Honey, that’s not fine. That’s fucked up,” the man with the piercings says. “And trust me, we all know fucked up around here.”
“Hawk…” Alessa says reproachfully.
“It’s true.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t supposed to say it,” the other man jokes. At least I think he’s joking.
“Snark, Hawk, this is Shelby. She and her daughter need a place to stay for a couple days until they can figure out what to do. Shelby, these are my husbands. There’s a fourth one around somewhere. I think Viking’s at the gate but I’m sure you’ll meet him if you stick around a bit.”
Hawk focuses on Havoc. “Is this related to the other business?”
“Probably,” Havoc says with a tired nod.
“All right. I expect to hear the full story later.”
Logic tells me that their dynamic should be weird. That three or four men can’t live together peacefully with one woman, but as the whiskey settles in my stomach, I can’t help but be a little envious. It's obvious they’re all completely dedicated to both Alessa and the kids.
I love her so much, but it’s hard to raise Mia on my own. There are days where I’m dead tired from work but I still have to put her first, even if it means getting up the next day barely more rested than I was the night before.
We move into the living room to make room for everyone, and when Phoenix sits next to me on the couch, pulling me in close to his side, I relax into the comfort. Snark does the same with Alessa, their youngest curled up in the crook of his other arm.
It's cozy. Like having a big family, and I can just sit here, comfortable, and be a quiet part of it.
I can't even remember the last time I felt like this, and all it took was a crazy lady kidnapping my daughter because apparently, there’s someone who thinks scaring us will hurt Havoc, Sledge and Phoenix. But right here, right now, listening to them talk and Mia’s laughter bubbling up from the basement, I feel safe.
18
SHELBY
“It's okay, she can sleep here tonight,” Alessa whispers as she drapes blankets over Mia, Izzy and Dante where they've fallen asleep on the tumble mats. They're clutching their respective stuffed animals and snoring softly. I guess all the play finally caught up to them. We got so wrapped up in talking that it took a while before we realized how quiet it had gotten.
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable leaving her here on her own. What if she wakes up and gets scared?”
Viking, the man I saw at the gate with the braids in his hair, nods. “No problem. I get it. We can set you up on the couch if you want—”
“She’s crashing in my room,” Havoc says without even asking my opinion.
Alessa scowls at the men. “Shhh, argue upstairs.”
In the living room, Sledge crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Shelby can stay with me.”
“Why? I’ve got the biggest bed,” Phoenix says smugly.
Alessa puts her hand on my arm. “Come with me. Let them shake their tail feathers at each other. There’s no point in arguing.” She leads me upstairs and into a bedroom with the largest mattress I’ve ever seen.
“Where do you even buy sheets for that?” I ask, stunned.
She laughs. “It’s actually two mattresses pushed together with a spacer thingy in the middle to keep anyone from falling through the crack.”
Four men. One woman. I stare at the bed, doing all sorts of mental math about how that works. I really hope nobody snores. “How…? Never mind.” I have so many questions but asking any of them feels incredibly rude.
“Most of the time we’re in here, but there’s another bed in Matteo’s nursery for when we need space.” Alessa explains as she opens the top drawer of one of their dressers and pulls out a pair of baby monitors. She gives me a friendly but serious look. “I could be off base, but if I were you, I would want someone to say this, so here goes. If you don’t want to encourage those men downstairs, I’ll forget I found these and agree that you should sleep on the couch so Mia doesn’t get scared. But if you want the chance to relax for the night without being on Mom duty, I can tell you from experience that the range of these reach into the clubhouse. I’ll plug our end in down here and you can bring the other with you so you feel safer.”