Chapter 14
Rosalie
The town is silent at this time of night, and as if to add to the eeriness, it starts to snow.
It’s slow at first, but after ten minutes on the bike, it comes down faster.
I have no idea where they live, but when he pulls onto a residential street, one lit with well-placed lampposts and cute mailboxes at the end of the yards, he starts to slow down.
The street dead-ends on a circle, and he pulls into the driveway of the house at the very end. I see Grant’s blue Dodge Charger in the drive, so I know this is where they live.
The garage door opens, and Asher pulls in beside Leo’s truck. As soon as he switches the motorcycle off the garage door closes.
I climb off the bike, and Leo’s voice surprises me. “What’s going on?” I glance up to see Grant and him standing in the doorway to the house, watching me with curiosity on their faces.
I hope they’re okay with me being here. I glance at Asher nervously, but he’s calm as he reaches up to pull my helmet off while answering them. “She’s staying with us now.”
“Did something happen?” Grant asks. Asher places his hand on my lower back and guides me towards them.
“It’s not safe there for her.”
Leo and Grant turn to me in question, and I shrug. “He broke my door down.”
Their wide eyes turn to him in question as they step aside, letting me enter the house between them. I enter what looks like a little mudroom, and I see several pairs of shoes, so I slip mine off, drop my bag and take my jacket off, hanging it along with the others.
Leo grabs my bag and my hand and leads me further into the house. “Come on, shortcake. Let me show you around.”
I hear a whispered conversation between Grant and Asher behind me as we step into a large, white kitchen.
“You broke into her room?”
“She was screaming.”
“What? Why?”
“She was having a nightmare, but I didn’t know that. I thought someone was hurting her.”
“Clara?” Leo asks, pulling my attention away from the other two behind me.
“Hmm?”
“I asked what you think?” He gestures to the open kitchen and living room. I wander into the living space. There’s a large gray three-seater couch and a matching recliner, all facing a large TV. I see several game systems on the shelf underneath, and some scattered controllers on the coffee table.
“It’s nice. Cleaner than I expected.”
“Are you trying to say you thought we were slobs?” He asks with a raised eyebrow.
“No.” I shake my head as my eyes scan the bookshelves on the opposite wall. “I guess I just didn’t expect this level of tidiness. I’m impressed.”
He grins at me and points to the stairs. “Want me to show you your room?”
“My room?”
“Yeah, did you think you’d be sleeping on the couch?” I don’t answer as I follow him up the stairs. I hadn’t really thought about it.
But if I’m being honest, I don’t really want to be alone right now. But it’s after one in the morning, so I know they must be tired.
“How come you're awake?” I ask as we reach the second floor.
“We were waiting for Asher.”
I glance behind me at the man in question. “He never explained why he was there,” I tell Leo as he opens a door in the middle of the hall.
“He’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s late, why don’t you check out your room and try to get some sleep?”
Try is the right word. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep for a while after that nightmare, followed by coming here where I’m… surrounded by my bosses.
Leo flicks on the light, and I find myself staring at a beautiful bedroom.
If I had seen this a couple months ago, I would have said it was average.
An average size with basic gray and white colors, a decent-sized TV across from the bed.
But compared to where I’ve been staying, it’s like the Ritz-Carlton in comparison.
“Wow, I can stay here tonight?” I ask, making sure the room doesn’t belong to one of them.
“Not just tonight, you can stay as long as you need,” Leo says, moving past me to place my bag on the desk.
“Don’t tempt me,” I mutter under my breath as I press my feet into the soft carpet.
“Do I?” Leo asks as he turns to face me fully.
“Do you what?” I ask nervously as he takes a step towards me.
“Do I tempt you?”
I inhale sharply, realizing he heard what I said.
He stops with a mere foot of space between us. His warm green eyes stare deeply into mine. His head tilts to the side as he waits for an answer. I swallow heavily as I rack my brain for an answer.
“Leo,” Grant says in a warning tone. I turn around to find both men in the doorway with narrowed eyes on Leo. I glance back and forth as they all seem to be having some sort of silent stare-off.
“Uh… Is there a washroom I can use somewhere?” I ask, trying to break the strange tension.
Grant’s face relaxes as his eyes turn to me. “Of course, it’s right here.” He motions me to follow him and points to the door next to my new bedroom. “You can use anything you like in there. There are new toothbrushes in the third drawer. Help yourself to shampoo, towels, whatever you need.”
I glance around the bathroom. There’s a little toothpaste on the counter, some marks on the mirror and what looks like a dirty wet towel on the floor in the corner. It makes me smile. It looks more lived in then downstairs and I like the reminder that I’m not alone here.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Grant says, pushing past me to grab the wet towel.
“Leo’s always forgetting to hang his up.
” He steps across the hall and throws it in the open doorway.
“That’s his room, by the way.” He points to the one further down the hall.
“That’s me.” He points to the one on the other side of mine, closer to the stairs.
“And that’s Asher. You let us know if you need anything, okay? ”
I nod, and he places his hand on my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. “If you don’t need anything, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
“I think I’m good, thank you for letting me stay here.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” He smiles warmly, squeezing my shoulder once more before turning and heading to his own room.
I close myself in the washroom and take care of business, then find the toothbrush and brush my teeth. Even though I'd already done it earlier this evening, my breath is probably gnarly from sleeping.
When I come out, Leo and Asher are whispering angrily at one another, but they both stop the second they notice me.
“Hey, shortcake. You got everything you need?” Leo asks, turning to face me.
I nod and I eye my bedroom. I wasn’t exactly keen on being alone, but they are my bosses, and it would be weird to ask them to stay and chat. Just because they asked me to stay here doesn’t mean anything has changed.
Although I don’t know what that was with Leo before. That definitely wasn’t something a boss would say or do.
“I’m just across the hall; let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Leo.”
He gives me a tentative smile and nods before turning to Asher and narrowing his eyes at him. “Remember what I said.”
Asher rolls his eyes as Leo disappears into his room, leaving just the two of us in the hall.
He simply stares at me. The silence starts to make me feel uncomfortable, and I cross my arms over my chest, only now realizing I’m not wearing a bra.
At least my shirts not see-through, but I’m sure they got a decent view of the outline of my not-so-perky c-cups.
“I guess you need to get to sleep, too?” I ask to break the silence between us.
“Are you going to sleep?” he asks, surprising me.
“I—” I cut myself off, unsure how to answer. “I should.”
“But you don’t want to? Or you don’t think you can?”
Asher is too perceptive sometimes, so I shrug in response. “A bit of both.”
“I’m not really that tired. I was going to watch a movie, do you want to join me?”
I haven’t had a TV since I’ve been on the run, and the thought of watching something to distract me makes me nod eagerly. “Sure, I’d like that.”
“Why don’t you get comfy and climb into bed? I’ll join you in a minute.” He gestures to my room, and my eyebrows raise in surprise as my stomach tightens in anticipation.
“Oh, you want to watch it in my room?”
“We could watch it in my room, or downstairs, but I thought this way if you fall asleep you’re at least in your own bed.”
“I guess my room makes the most sense. I’ll see you in a minute?” I ask, stepping towards my door.
“Yep.”
I quickly find my phone and charging cable and plug it in on my nightstand, setting the alarm for seven a.m. Then, I pull off my yoga pants and throw them over the desk chair before pulling back the covers and climbing into the large bed.
“Mmm…” I groan, feeling the softness of the bed. The mattress is firm but gives into my body, like memory foam, and the blankets and pillows are clean and soft against my skin as I sink into them. Maybe sleeping here would be easier than I thought.
“Enjoying the bed?” Asher asks, smirking at me as he walks around to the other side of the bed.
I swallow heavily as I eye him. He’s wearing dark gray sweatpants with a black tank top that’s so tight I can make out the outlines of every one of her muscles.
His tattoos on his arms are on full display, and I now realize they cover his chest as well, or at least the top portion since they poke out everywhere.
He climbs in beside me, sitting on top of the blanket, as a large eagle tattoo on his arm catches my eye.
“Is this from your time in the army?” I ask, my finger teasing over one of the wings.
He glances down at where I’m touching and nods. “Yep. The three of us got tattoos on the same day to remember our time served together.”
“Do they have eagles, too?”
“No, Grant has a lion and Leo a wolf.”
I smirk up at him. “Not a lion for Leo?”
He smiles in amusement but shakes his head. “He has the wolf because it represents loyalty and brotherhood. Grant got the lion to represent leadership, as he was our squad leader.”
“And you got the eagle because you're fierce and brave?” I ask.