9. Riley
Maddoc releases me,shoving his dark hair out of his face as I hug Chloe tight, murmuring low words of comfort to her. All three of the guys step back to give us a moment together, but the sense of being surrounded and protected by them doesn’t change.
“Oh god,” Chloe says, her arms still locked around me. “I was so scared for you.”
She starts to tremble, and I hush her, running my hand over her hair just like when she was little. “I’m back now. It’s fine. We’re okay. It’s okay, Chloe.”
“Dante, Logan,” I hear Maddoc say quietly before issuing instructions to his brothers that I suspect they don’t need. Something about clearing the weapons out of the vehicles, post-mission coordination, and clean up. He’s not just coordinating shit with his seconds though. He’s also giving Chloe and me some space, and it hits me in a rush that I didn’t worry about her while I was kept prisoner.
The whole time Austin had me locked in that fucking room, for the first time since our Mom died when Chloe was small, I didn’t worry about her once.
I knew these men would take care of her.
I knew she wasn’t alone.
She finally loosens her grip on me, stepping away with a sheepish smile. “Sorry—”
“No,” I cut her off. “Never.”
She bites her lip, then blurts, “I’m just so glad you’re back.”
“I know the feeling,” I say, arching an eyebrow as she wipes the moisture from her cheeks.
The dark humor makes us both giggle a little, a sound of pure relief, and after Dante passes through on his way from the garage to somewhere deeper in the house and grins at us, Chloe tugs me close again.
“They were totally wrecked, you know,” she whispers. “They’re all really into you. Like, really.”
“It goes both ways.”
She snickers. “You mean… all four ways?”
“Yeah, that.” I shove her shoulder playfully, things almost feeling normal for a second as she razzes me about a guy—guys—just like she’s done dozens of times before.
Except… these guys are different.
“I really care about them, Chloe.”
She nods, a serious expression on her face. “Good. You wouldn’t believe how hard they worked to find you. And once that asshole offered up the exchange—”
“Austin?”
She makes a face. “Yeah. Prick. But they put in, like, a ton of effort to make sure they’d be able to get you out of there okay after they knew where it was going down. They called in a bunch of other Reapers and planned out the whole thing.”
“I know,” I say, and it’s true. But hearing her talk about it as she starts to tell me all about Logan letting her help out with the digital search, and some of the other lengths my men went to, affects me more than I’m prepared for.
Or maybe that has something to do with how comfortable Chloe is with them.
I can tell by the easy, familiar way she talks about Maddoc, Dante, and Logan as she describes the time she spent with them that she feels secure here, just like I do. I can tell she not only likes the three of them; she trusts them too. And normally, Chloe doesn’t trust any easier than I do.
It means something to me that she’s obviously found a place for herself here.
I like it.
She hugs me again, and when we separate, Maddoc is standing in the doorway, watching us. “We need to talk.”
Something in his tone has me tensing up, and Chloe picks up on it.
“What? What are you talking about?” she asks, worry filling her eyes all over again. “We got her back. Everything’s good now, right?”
Maddoc sighs and scrubs a hand over his face. “Can you two come into the living room?”
Dante and Logan are already in there, and no matter what Maddoc is about to spring on us now, having everyone I care about all together is always gonna be a good thing.
“It’s good to have you home, wildcat,” Logan says with a small, enigmatic smile that earns him a sharp glance from Maddoc but warms something in the center of my chest.
I squeeze Chloe’s hand, pulling her along with me to the couch where Logan’s sitting. We settle next to him as Dante lounges near the wall, hands in his pockets. His stance is relaxed, but I can read the signs of tension in his body that belie the outward appearance of ease.
“What is it?” I ask Maddoc, cutting to the chase.
He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, either. “We need to get you two out of here.”
“She just got here!” Chloe bursts out.
“I said both of you,” Maddoc tells her, his voice a little gentler. “I’m not going to separate you again.”
Chloe relaxes, and Maddoc looks to me again, those gorgeous dark-rimmed gray eyes giving away the depth of emotion that he manages to keep out of his voice.
“Shit with West Point is gonna get worse before it gets better here in Halston. You won’t be safe here, but now that McKenna got what he needed from you…?”
He turns it into a question even though I was right there when Austin told him I signed all the money over to him.
I nod, and Maddoc grunts, but then gives me the hint of a smile. “I guess it was too fucking much to hope he was lying about that shit, but at least it means West Point has no reason to care about the two of you anymore. You should be safe once we get you out of the city.”
“Relatively safe,” Logan murmurs next to me, a hint of dissent in his voice.
I lift my chin, narrowing my eyes at Maddoc. I don’t care that he just made me all but promise not to put myself at risk anymore. If they’re here, I’m here. If they fight, I’m fighting too.
“Logan set up a safe house out of state,” Maddoc says, staring me down.
“I’m not going.”
Across the room, Dante crosses his arms over his chest, giving me an apologetic smile. “We got some of our best people on the way here to take you right now, princess. The Escalade’s been in the body shop, getting new glass and reinforced siding, and they’re bringing it. Madd made sure you’ll be safe on the way there, and we’re going to leave a few guys and some serious firepower—”
I shake my head, my eyes never leaving Maddoc’s gray ones.
“Quit being stubborn,” he growls, looming over me like he thinks he can intimidate me into obeying him now. “You’re going.”
I spring to my feet, tipping my head back to glare up at him. “The hell I am.”
“Do you really think I’m going to give you a chance to throw yourself into danger when we just fucking got you back?”
“Do you really think that’s up to you?”
“Of course it’s up to me. I am the Reapers. I make the rules here.”
“And I’m not a Reaper.”
My heart starts to pound and Maddoc clenches his jaw, neither one of us willing to look away.
I only said it to make a point, but I realize almost as soon as I say it that a part of me wants to hear him tell me I’m wrong.
Instead, he pivots. “McKenna’s gonna be able to do a lot of damage with that kind of money. I already told you, Halston won’t be safe.”
“Which is why I’m not leaving.”
He takes a half-step closer. “Yes, you fucking are.”
I don’t back down. “I’m not leaving town and hiding out while the three of you face down a fucking psycho—
“That fucking psycho is armed with enough cash now to—”
“I know! All the more reason I’m not—”
“Riley!”
“Maddoc!”
“We can’t fucking lose you,” he roars, right in my face, so close now that we’re toe to toe with my breasts all but flattened against his chest.
Our ragged breathing is the only sound in the room as the silence stretches out between us, taut enough to snap the second one of us breaks.
There’s no fucking way it’s going to be me, though.
I’m not leaving my men in danger.
Chloe leans out from the couch, poking my thigh. “Are you two about to fuck, or what?”
Dante laughs, breaking the tension, and Maddoc’s arm snakes around my waist, his hand splaying wide over the top of my ass.
“Fuck, you’re stubborn,” he murmurs, the hunger in his eyes telling me just how much he likes that.
I flatten my hands against his chest, tilting my head back. “Pot, kettle.”
Dante snickers again. “No lies detected, Madd.”
The hint of a smile tugs at the corners of Maddoc’s mouth. “Fine. You can stay. But I’m not playing around, butterfly. That only stands as long as you promise, and I mean fucking promise, that you’ll be careful.”
I arch an eyebrow. “I will if you will.”
His eyes drill into me like he didn’t just learn that I’ll never break. Not when it comes to this.
“I’m always careful,” he finally says, which I’ll take for the promise that it is… which I know damn well is still no guarantee, not when Maddoc’s right about how bad it might get now that Austin has the resources to do whatever the fuck he wants.
“I’ll be careful too.”
Relief flashes across Maddoc’s face, so raw it lays him bare for a moment. “Thank you.”
I want to kiss him right now, so badly I can taste it. But the clock is ticking and he isn’t wrong about the danger that’s about to slam through the city.
As if that connection between us has ratcheted up to a whole new level now that we’re finally on the same page, we both turn as one and look down at Chloe.
“What?” she asks, her head tilted to lean against Logan’s shoulder. Then she slowly figures out what we’re getting at, and she straightens, her face falling. “Oh, hell no. Riley! You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“That’s not fair!”
“You really will be safer once the guys get you out of Halston.”
And I refuse to feel like a hypocrite for saying so, because I’m not. I’m her big sister, and it’s still my job to take care of her, even though she’s proven she can handle shit on her own if she has to.
She shouldn’t have to. That’s the whole point.
“But—” she starts, her chin jutting out defiantly.
“You’re going,” Maddoc cuts her off. Then he adds, a little more gently, “If you stay here, we’ll all worry too fucking much. It will be a distraction, and distractions get people hurt.”
It warms me to hear him say that. The Reapers care about my sister too.
“But if Riley gets to stay—”
I’m the one who cuts her off this time. “I’m in too deep with all this to stop now, and West Point has fucked with you too many times already.”
“They just fucked pretty hard with you too.”
“I know. And now that I’ve enjoyed that bastard’s ‘hospitality,’ do you really think I could handle it if he got his hands on you again?”
Her eyes well up with tears. “Maddoc said West Point won’t care about us anymore.”
I drop down to my knees in front of where she’s sitting on the couch, taking both her hands in mine. “Except we matter to the Reapers, and Austin already knows what they’ll do to get either of us back. We’ve got no idea what he’ll do with that money, but he gets off on hurting people, and I need to know you’re safe. I need you out of harm’s way. Don’t fight me on this one, okay?”
I can see that she wants to, just like I can see that she knows she’ll lose if she tries.
“Goddammit,” she says with a sigh, her shoulders slumping. Then she lurches forward, wrapping her arms around me in a hug that makes my ribs ache. “Fine. You win. But I hate it.”
“Me too.”
All three of the guys’ phones go off, and Chloe and I break apart.
“They’re here,” Maddoc says, all emotion stripped from his face as he falls into leader mode. “We need to move you fast, Chloe. If we’re lucky, McKenna’s people will still be thrown off from what went down at the warehouses. I want you outside city limits before they get their shit together enough to start plotting revenge.”
Chloe nods, getting stiffly to her feet, then gives Logan a look of betrayal when he hands her a packed bag. “You just did this? You knew Maddoc was going to make me leave!”
“Maddoc is right. We’ve got to move you out of the city quickly,” he says a little stiffly, which is basically a yes. Then he pats her shoulder awkwardly, one of the few times I’ve seen him voluntarily touch someone other than me. “I reconfigured a laptop for your use. It’s in there with your clothing and toiletries and some… reading material.”
Chloe sniffles, then grins. “That manga you got me hooked on?”
Dante grins at the two of them, then heads to the door to let in the Reapers who’ve arrived.
Logan looks slightly pained by Chloe’s enthusiasm, but I fall for him just a little bit harder when he humors her. “You’ll find a book on game theory, a complete Python reference manual, and… yes. I included the final three volumes of Death Note for you too.”
Some of the sadness fades from her face as she murmurs, “Thanks, Logan.”
He clears his throat. “Of course. As we discussed, game theory has many useful applications for strategic thinking, and Python is the simplest coding language to start with.”
“And you knew how much it would suck if I didn’t find out what Light decides to do in the final battle.”
“And that too,” Logan answers dryly.
I’ve got no idea what they’re talking about but I’m beyond grateful that he’s distracted her from the fact that we’re about to be separated again. Of course, that only lasts until Maddoc takes her arm, steering her toward the four men waiting just inside the front door.
“We need to get you on the road,” he says, taking the bag Logan packed for her and tossing it to one of his men. “While you’re there, Nathan will take care of anything you need. I’m going to rotate out most of my people, but he’ll stay with you for the duration.” Maddoc tips her chin up, smiling down at her. “He’ll keep you safe, Chloe. He’s got all the skills to do it, and it’s his one and only fucking job, okay?”
“Okay,” she says a little shakily, looking over at the guy now holding her bag.
He gives her a brisk nod, so he must be Nathan, but it’s like Maddoc’s words have just reminded Chloe that this is all really happening, and that it’s happening right now.
She whirls out of his grip and flings herself at me again. “Do I really have to go?” she asks me in a tearful whisper, clinging tightly.
“Yeah,” I say, all I can get out before my throat closes up. I hate how often I’ve had to say goodbye to her lately, but hopefully this will be the last time for a long, long while.
And at least this time we do get to say goodbye.
Chloe and I trade one more long squeeze, then she nods and straightens her shoulders. “Love you, sis.”
“I love you too.”
She turns to my men, keeping a hold of my hand. “Thanks for getting Riley back. Please keep… keeping her safe.”
No one laughs at the awkward phrasing, or comments on the thick tears we can all hear in her voice. Instead, all three men nod solemnly, vowing that they will, and then my sister is gone.
I stare after them until the Escalade disappears from view, then close the door and turn back to my men. Except Logan and Dante have already left the room, and it’s just Maddoc.
I stare at him, too much space between us. “Are you sure this Nathan guy is loyal?”
“I’d trust him with my life.”
“You just trusted him with my sister’s life.”
His lips quirk up, the mask of leadership falling away and warm sympathy taking its place. “The way she matters to you?” he says softly, moving toward me. “Same thing.”
Oh.
Oh.
This whole fucking day has been almost more than I can handle. The beating Austin gave me starts to make itself known, and a ton of confusing emotions swell up inside me as Maddoc stalks closer and closer.
“Thank you for sending her somewhere safe,” I say, not sure how to handle everything else. I’m not sure if I want to jump him right now, ask him to hurt me enough that I forget all the ways Austin did, or beg him to just hold me.
I suspect what I really need is some fucked-up mashup of all of the above.
I definitely want something.
“I wish I could have sent you somewhere safe,” Maddoc grumbles when he finally reaches me, the heat in his eyes at odds with the gentle way he cups my jaw, callused fingers holding onto me like I’m something precious, as delicate as the butterfly he’s taken to calling me.
He knows I’m not.
He knows I’m strong.
And that just makes the moment all the sweeter.
“I can call them back,” he murmurs, staring down at me. “You can still go to the safe house.”
“That ship has sailed.” I feel a little breathless as our gazes lock. “Didn’t we already establish that I’m too stubborn to leave your fine ass?”
He smirks, his eyes dropping to my lips. “Yeah,” he says huskily. “I’m pretty sure we did.”
“And you like it.”
His gaze snaps back up to meet mine. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure I do.”
My breath hitches in my throat. I don’t know who moves first, I only know that Maddoc’s hands are suddenly on my ass, lifting me against him, and I’ve got mine wrapped around his shoulders as I drag him down where I need him.
I have to fucking taste him.
I want to do nothing but just feel for a while.
Logan walks back into the room before I get what I need.
“You’re hurt,” he says in a flat tone that I’m starting to understand is just another form of armor for him.
Logan is no stranger to inflicting pain, but when it’s been done to me, done by someone other than him, he fucking hates it.
Maddoc’s arms instantly loosen at the interruption, and he gently moves me away from his body, frowning as his eyes rake my torso. “That motherfucker hit you.”
It’s not a question and doesn’t require an answer, but apparently both men are going to insist that we address it before anything else happens.
I’d rather not think about Austin at all right now, so I try to divert them. “I’m fine.”
Maddoc shakes his head, pushing me toward Logan. “Take care of our girl,” the overprotective bastard says. “And be sure to catalog every fucking scrape, bruise, and laceration.”
Logan nods. “He’ll pay for every one of them.”
The two of them share a look, and even though the heat still simmering in my core makes me want to bitch about being cock blocked, there are worse things than being coddled by two overprotective bastards. Or three, since I’ve got no doubt at all that Dante would back them if he were here too.
As much as I want their hands on me for dirtier reasons right now, the feeling of being cared for by these men makes something just as sweet and addictive as the lust I feel for them unfurl inside me.