3. Bodhi
3
BODHI
6 MONTHS AGO
T he Bronco barrels out of the dirt lot and back onto the main road with Hank Thayer at the wheel and Sorren Mackay in the passenger seat.
My self-appointed saviors.
I’ve been in Blackstone Falls long enough to have had at least minor interactions with both of them—Sorren more than Hank—but that doesn’t make either man less intimidating.
The ride is silent, the tension practically suffocating, as the last hour plays on repeat in my head.
My resignation.
The agony in my brother’s voice when I told him I was leaving.
“There’s something I need to take care of and it’s best if I go.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you won’t. You have a family here.”
“You’re my family.”
The last part had nearly brought me to my knees.
You’re my family.
You’re my family .
You’re my family.
Watching the scene play out in front of them, Case and Otto Thayer hadn’t accepted my resignation, instead calling in reinforcements in the form of the two hulking men driving me to God knows where. Their family.
Because that’s what you do in a small town.
It’d been just us for so long, but Mason had blossomed here—put down roots and found himself a girlfriend with a couple of kids and built the life we’d always dreamed of.
We dreamed about it but I never thought about what would happen if it came true because good things like that didn’t happen for us.
Until it did for Mason.
Even now, the thought still has a warmth growing in my chest because I did it. He’s safe and loved and happy.
I did what I couldn’t do for Audrey.
I couldn’t keep her safe.
It’d taken years to get her justice and the blink of an eye for it to be snatched away. Daryl Jeffers hadn’t served long enough for taking her life, and if I’m the only one invested to see justice served then so be it because I won’t rest until every child is safe from that man.
And I’ll tell my story again and again until someone listens.
Until someone hears me—someone that can actually do something.
I barely notice when the Bronco pulls into the parking lot of Vetted Paws, the animal shelter that Sorren owns and runs in Clementine Creek. They don’t need to tell me to get out as the SUV is slammed into park.
“Talk,” Sorren demands when we’ve all stepped out onto the gravel, and my heart pounds in my chest as the beginnings of a migraine take hold.
Fuck.
“I have to go back to New Hampshire.” To the place I swore I’d never step foot in again.
“And?” Sorren asks, annoyed.
“Our foster sister was killed and now the man responsible is getting a second trial.”
But it’s more than that.
It’s so much more.
And they both know it.
“You can talk to us, or you can talk to my wife,” Hank replies, his arms crossed over his barrel chest. It’s not much of an option; Hank’s wife is scary as hell. We’d met her when we interviewed for the posting Case and Otto put up when we came to Blackstone Falls. She’d run a background check and raked us over the coals like the landscaping gig was a matter of national security.
But I couldn’t fault her.
Not when she was trying to protect her family.
“Too late,” Sorren mutters as a sleek white SUV pulls in and parks behind the Bronco. Isla Thayer is definitely in the driver’s seat, but I can’t tell who the passenger is.
“Evening, boys,” Isla purrs as she steps elegantly onto the gravel and makes her way over to Hank, placing a hand on his chest and a kiss on his lips that has me looking away.
“Hey, Tom,” Sorren greets as he nods at the man walking toward us.
Tom.
Tom Oakden.
The man who Isla had called when Hank’s past came back to haunt him before Mason and I landed in Blackstone Falls.
The one Sorren called when his did too—we’d been here for that and had watched the whole damn thing unfold in this very spot.
And now, the man with silver streaks in his hair and a don’t fuck with me expression has me fighting to stay still as his gaze locks on mine.
“Bodhi,” Isla starts, her tone full of authority in a way that makes my heart beat faster, “this is Tom Oakden, private security for Andrews International and currently on retainer in our little slice of Tennessee heaven.” She smirks. “Tom, this is Bodhi Maxwell. It’s his foster father that’s been granted a new trial in the death of Audrey Lane, the twelve-year-old girl in his care. Bodhi thinks he needs to shoulder this on his own.”
Sorren coughs into his fist and I can see the hint of a smile. Tom’s lips are twitching too, but there’s nothing funny about any of this.
“This isn’t a game,” I snarl, my hackles rising as I stare at them.
Four against one.
“It’s not,” Isla says sharply. “And you thinking you can handle the state’s case by yourself is a waste of time we don’t have. Tom will be read into the prosecutor’s investigation despite the initial reluctance. A call from the governor of Tennessee on the way over seemed to help.”
“How is your godfather?” Hank asks her as I rub the spot between my eyes.
“He’s good. Said he has a couple of days coming up and he wants to come down and see the kids.”
“That’ll be nice,” Hank agrees, everyone’s nonchalance making me want to crawl out of my skin.
“How the hell did you even know?—”
“I make it my job to know everything,” Isla responds, the woman easily slipping from the role of mother to triplets to a boardroom powerhouse in a second. “You don’t think I flagged Jeffers when I ran your background check? Look around, Bodhi. The past has a way of coming back here and I wasn’t taking that chance. Not after Hank and not after Sorren. I’m not putting the people I care about through that again.”
Tom nods, his voice low as he says, “I flew in right after the motion. We’ve been keeping a careful eye on it. No sense in raising the alarm if there’s no need.”
“So what…” I bark, spreading my arms wide and staring helplessly at them. “I just sit back and trust that everything is just gonna work out? That’s not my life and Audrey?—”
“No,” Sorren chides. “You work hard but you work smart. We use the resources available so that we’re not goin’ in blind. You think it was easy for Hank and me to ask for help? To accept it ? To know we couldn’t take care of shit on our own? Being a man isn’t shouldering the Goddamn world, Bodhi. We’ve all done it and it’s a thankless existence. We hurt the people we love that way.”
“But—” The word is choked as I look between them.
“No,” Hank repeats, standing taller as he nails me with a stare. “You listen, and you learn from our mistakes. It’s not all or nothing. Not here. So, before you start flyin’ off the handle thinking you’re going to storm the northeast trying to be some kind of vigilante, let’s work out a plan.”
My vision starts to go fuzzy at the edges, the words sounding like I’m hearing them from underwater.
Breathe, Bodhi.
But it’s too much and I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to put my trust in anyone other than myself…or Mason.
Warm hands grip my face as Isla’s comes into view.
“We’ve got you. Do you hear me?” she says, her expression serious as I try to suck in a lungful of air. “We’ve got you.”
“Yes,” I rasp, her gaze a fiery intensity that I can’t look away from.
“Good.” She releases my face and drops her voice. “Now, if you insist on another dramatic my life is over momen t can it please not be when I have my husband all to myself while my parents are watching our children?”
“What?”
“Orgasms, Bodhi. You made me miss out on home alone, I can be as loud as I want, orgasms with my stupidly hot and growly husband.”
My face heats as the other three men all try and fail to hide their amusement.
“Sorry,” I mutter because what else do you say?
“I’ll let it slide this time,” she sighs as she squeezes my shoulder, “but you of all people should know that blood doesn’t make you family. You may have stumbled here on a whim, but the loyalty in our veins runs deep. You’ve given us yours and now it’s time we return it tenfold.”
She smiles and I stand and watch as Hank, Isla, and Tom disappear into the two cars and pull back onto the road. It’s not until the dust settles that I realize Sorren is standing next to me.
“Ready to go?”
“What?” I ask, my head spinning all over again as I scrub my hands over my face. “I know I should be grateful but…”
“It’s hard and it should be.” The words are honest and so is his expression. “You’ve spent your life being wary of every single person who’s glanced your way. My sister has been safe here since she was six years old, and it took me until a couple of years ago when she started dating my best friend for me to let go of the part of me that swore I’d protect her with my last breath.”
“You wouldn’t still die for her?”
“I would.” He nods. “But it’s her husband’s job first and foremost. If he doesn’t jump first then I have to deal with him and the threat and it throws off the whole thing.” Sorren cracks a smile as he clasps me on the shoulder, steering me to the side of the building where his truck is parked.
“Can it really be that easy?”
“Nothing in this world is easy; that’s why we don’t walk the road alone.” He pauses at the driver’s door. “And that’s why you’re workin’ here for a while.” When I open my mouth, he shakes his head. “You wanted space from your brother and now you got it.”
I didn’t…
Did I?
“Rest tonight,” Sorren says knowingly, his gaze searching my face, “but tomorrow I expect you to come by the house for dinner.” When I open my mouth to object, he shakes his head. “We’ll eat, you can hold the baby, and we’ll talk, and we’ll do it the next day, and every day after. We’re not goin’ anywhere, Bodhi, no matter how hard you wanna fight it. You have a family here.”
Swallowing, I nod and get in the truck. He’s right; I need to rest and then figure out a plan before I let myself believe I’m really not alone.