Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lynx
Once inside, I paused at the couch momentarily, eyeing it from several different directions.
Nope.
Wouldn’t work.
Too damn short.
I glanced at the kitchen, then continued into the bedroom and tossed Reagan unceremoniously onto the bed.
When her back hit the mattress, I saw she was smiling up at me, her long hair spilled out around her. The woman stole my breath. She was as beautiful now as she had been at sixteen back when I'd first noticed her, back when I'd first fallen in love with her.
But this Reagan was definitely not sixteen. She was older, wiser, and undoubtedly sexier.
And when she crooked her finger at me, signaling me to her, I couldn’t kick my boots off fast enough. Before I joined her, I did the same to hers, yanking them from her feet before crawling over her.
The instant my mouth met hers, I was lost. Settling in beside her so that I didn’t rest my weight on her, I curled one arm around her head and kissed her. Slowly, leisurely. It hadn’t been my original intention, but holy hell, the woman made my blood boil with a simple kiss.
Then again, there was nothing simple about kissing Reagan. I'd wanted this for so damn long. Part of me hadn’t expected it to live up to my memories from so long ago, but shit. It was so much better. And every single kiss was hotter, more intense.
Yeah, I didn’t mind making out like teenagers like this. Hell, I could do it all damn day.
Her soft fingers slipped beneath my T-shirt, moving over my skin, causing my breath to come more rapidly, my body to heat.
I couldn’t resist copping a feel myself.
I slid one hand beneath her tank top, my fingertips grazing the smooth, baby-soft skin of her abdomen.
The way Reagan sucked in a breath was a bonus.
I wrapped my hand around her waist, my thumb grazing her stomach, fingers gently pressing into her back.
I jerked her closer, wanting to touch every part of her with every part of me.
“Is that your phone? Or are you that excited to see me?” Reagan muttered.
It took me a second to realize what she said.
I laughed, lifting my head as my phone buzzed in my pocket.
“I’m not complainin’,” she said with a giggle. “That might be fun.” I nodded toward the side of the bed. “In fact, I’ve got a drawer full of toys we can … experiment with.”
Toys?
Lord have mercy.
My phone buzzed again.
“Ignore it,” I whispered, pressing my lips to hers once more.
Unfortunately, ignoring my phone became impossible when the damn thing wouldn’t stop.
Extricating myself from Reagan’s arms was a difficult feat, but I managed.
“This better fuckin’ be good,” I grumbled into the phone.
“We got a problem,” Wolfe said, his tone rough.
“Talk to me,” I instructed.
“Sounds like RT’s boys lost track of the police chief. They think he’s headed this way.”
“Fuck.”
“The bigger issue is Rhys can’t say anything to the deputies. Travis is on his way to meet him. You wanna head on over to the shop?”
Not really, no. But I didn’t tell my cousin that. Instead, I said, “Of course.”
“Thanks. See ya in a few.”
With a resigned sigh, I turned back to Reagan. She was sitting up, watching me.
“Wolfe said there’s trouble. Need to head over to the shop.” I cocked an eyebrow. “You wanna go with me?”
She nodded almost shyly.
For whatever reason, that hit me in a way that had my breath halting in my lungs. This woman…
Reaching for her, I pulled Reagan closer, my lips finding hers. I kept the kiss gentle, although it would be so damn easy to strip those little shorts off her and bury myself inside her sweet, warm depths.
Damn, this woman did crazy things to me. I'd never felt anything like this, and Lord knew I'd tried my damnedest to get her out of my head all these years.
It had been impossible and I even knew why.
I loved this girl. Deeply. In that forever sort of way.
And now, if we could get past this crazy shit taking place in our small town, I might just be able to start focusing on the future with her.
That was my plan anyway.
Reagan
I couldn’t deny the disappointment of having to leave my house when I'd had Lynx right where I wanted him, but I understood it.
Even now, as I sat in one of the wooden chairs at the Cedar Door shop, I got it.
“What I don’t get is how they could lose one guy,” Lynx groused. “How fuckin’ hard is it to keep him in their sights?”
Rhys shrugged. “Shit happens, I guess.”
That seemed to appease Lynx, although I could tell he was irritated by all of it. And that I understood, too.
My gaze shot over to Amy. The woman was tense, clearly worried. I couldn’t blame her in the least. This man had wreaked havoc on all their lives, but no one had endured anything compared to the hell Amy had lived. I wanted to take the asshole out myself just to keep my friend safe.
“So, what’s the plan?” Wolfe asked, his voice rough. “We can’t stay holed up in this place forever.”
Before Rhys could respond, the shop door opened and in walked…
Travis Walker.
Well, not only Travis this time. Yes, his husband was right behind him, but so were… Damn. The line of men who waltzed in behind him seemed to be endless. Not to mention worthy of being on a calendar or something.
“Well, hot damn!” Lynx bellowed, moving toward the group. “If it ain’t trouble times seven.”
Travis grinned.
“I’ll be right back,” Rhys said, reaching for his phone and putting it to his ear as he headed toward the door.
As my brother left, the newcomers shook hands with Lynx and did the bro-hugging thing. Loud slaps on the back and a few rounds of laughter echoed in the cavernous space.
“Come on over here,” Lynx stated.
When his eyes landed on mine, I forced a smile and stood from my chair.
“Y’all, this is my girl, Reagan Trevino. She’s Rhys’s sister.” Lynx put his arm around me. “Reagan, you remember Travis and his husband, Gage. These are Travis’s brothers. Ethan, Sawyer, Kaleb, Zane, and the twins, Braydon and Brendon.”
“Lynx was spoutin’ somethin’ about havin’ a girl back at the Labor Day bonfire,” the one Lynx pointed out as Brendon stated. “However, none of us ever saw you, so we thought you didn’t really exist.”
Chuckling, I shook hands all around, recognizing a couple of faces from the bonfire although I hadn’t been introduced at the time. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, darlin’,” the youngest-looking one said.
With his arm still around mine, Lynx led me over to where Amy was now standing with Wolfe.
The brothers greeted Wolfe, then shook hands with Amy after another round of introductions. No way would I remember all those names, even if they repeated them a dozen times.
“This is my husband, Beau,” Ethan stated.
The big blond guy moved to the front and shook my hand, then Amy’s.
Unable to help myself, I studied the men briefly. I had to admit, the good looks ran in Lynx’s family. Still, there was something about Lynx that stood out from the rest. And it was more than just the tattoos.
“So, to what do we owe the honor?” Wolfe questioned, his attention on Travis.
“Thought it was time we put a plan together,” Travis stated.
“Yep,” Zane added, “and we’re the cavalry.”
Lynx chuckled. “Hell, boy, I heard you can’t even wrangle your kiddo.”
Zane grinned from ear to ear, pride etched over his features. “Maybe not, but that don’t stop me from tryin’.”
The shop door opened and my head snapped over to see my brother joining us once again. He looked pissed and more than a little tired. This had to be wearing on him. The fact that he was in love with Amy, wanted to keep her safe although his hands were tied, had to be tearing him apart.
Rhys nodded at me in acknowledgment and I smiled in return.
“Sheriff,” Wolfe greeted, grinning. “You remember my cousins.”
“I do.”
Once more, handshakes took place, and I attempted to put names with faces as Wolfe pointed everyone out one more time.
“My cousin Jared’s on his way,” Travis noted. “He’s over at DHR with his wife. Said he wanted to be part of this, too. Offerin’ up whatever help he can.”
Jesus Christ. How freaking big was this family?
I thought I had a big family, but mine didn’t hold a candle to this.
Not even close.
However, it did make me want to go visit my mother and grandfather.
Even if we tended to fight all the time, I still missed them.
And now that I wasn’t with Billy anymore, I had to wonder whether my relationship with them could be repaired.
One day. I figured my mother would eventually have to realize that Billy hadn’t been good for me.
Despite my mother’s belief that a man and woman should stick together no matter what, there was no denying that Billy and I had been doomed from the start.
Then again, I couldn’t deny one of the main reasons I'd stayed with Billy was to defy my grandfather. The man didn’t like anyone.
Not that it was a good reason, but it was a reason nonetheless.
Or it was just another excuse I'd come up with over the years to defend my actions.
Whatever.
The last thing I ever claimed was to be perfect. But as I glanced at Lynx, I had to thank God for second chances.
Kelly
I didn’t know who these assholes were that seemed to be watching my every move, but it hadn’t been easy giving them the slip.
Part of me wanted to do some digging, but I figured that was a moot point.
They had to be tied to Amy somehow. And if those rednecks thought they had the upper hand, they had another thing coming.
I wasn’t a fucking amateur and they were sorely underestimating me if they thought I was.
Plus, I was smart enough to know I was running out of time. At some point, everyone got lucky and it was high time I made sure Amy was dealt with. One more visit to that stupid backwoods town would do the trick.
This time, I would make sure she was disposed of once and for all.
And I wouldn’t leave until I had hard evidence to back it up.