Chapter 15
Savannah
Warmth surrounds me, as I wake to a steady rise and fall and the heat of solid bodies bracketing me on either side.
I should feel trapped, but I don’t. Not in this moment.
The room is quiet, save for slow, even breaths—the kind that lull a person into rest. My body is heavy, but not with exhaustion. It is something softer, something unfamiliar. I can’t remember the last time I felt safe enough to sleep this deeply.
I should wake. I should move. But I don’t.
Instead, I burrow deeper, curling my fingers into the fabric beneath me, breathing in the scent of soap, salt, and something distinctly male. It’s comforting in a way I don’t want to analyze too closely.
Then my monkey brain kicks up a fuss, urging me to wake the fuck up.
My eyes snap open.
I am not in my room at the B&B.
I am not in Miami.
I am between two men. Two !
My breath stutters as my awareness sharpens. My left side is flush against Todd, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
Cautiously, I turn my head.
Colton is snuggled up against my right side, his arm slung across my stomach. His large, rough palm is curled—right over my breast.
“What the fuck!” I bolt upright, jostling both men.
They jolt awake as I struggle to untangle myself from the bedsheets.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Starling, calm down,” comes Todd’s sleepy rumble, but I don’t calm down. I push harder, kicking off at the covers and trying to scramble toward the edge of the bed.
“Savannah!”
The word on Todd’s lips snaps like a whip, and my body freezes, reacting to his dominance.
I hate that I go still just because he says my name.
But the commanding edge in his tone roots me to the spot.
“Better.” He moves in, cupping my face with both hands, his touch firm but gentle. His dark gaze locks onto mine. “Slow down your breathing. In—hold. Out—hold.”
I follow his lead, dragging in a shaky inhalation, holding it for a count, then exhaling. The tremors wracking my limbs subside, but my mind still spins.
“Good girl.”
Something in me flutters, settles. I should hate the phrase, should snap at him for it, but I don’t. The positive affirmation settles me. I’m a sucker for dominant men with softer sides. It’s one of the reasons things never worked out between Danny and me.
Danny.
I blink when tears threaten to fall.
“You’re with us. And you are safe.” Todd’s hands remain on my cheeks, and he’s stroking lightly with his thumbs. “Do you remember what happened?”
For a second, my mind is blank before it stirs.
A frown tightens my forehead. I dart my gaze to Colton, who is sitting up beside me, watching with a quiet intensity.
“I…” My throat is dry. I swallow. “Did we…” I can’t finish the sentence.
Colton raises his brows. “Fuck? No.”
Todd huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head.
“I found you on Blueberry Ridge Trail,” Colton says. “Do you remember?”
I blink and crumple the sheets between my fingers. “No.”
Todd exhales. “Do you remember going there?”
I focus, sifting through the haze of memory. My body is clad in a massive T-shirt that clearly belongs to one of them, but my bra and underwear are still on. A sliver of relief makes my stiff shoulders relax slightly.
I nod. “Yeah. I remember going for a walk. The trail was… beautiful.”
A flicker of something warm ignites inside me as I recall the details—the scent of damp pine, the way the sunlight filtered through the branches, the hush of the woods around me. “I was comfortable in the borrowed clothes from Diana. Everything was lovely and dandy, until?—”
Crack.
A gunshot.
I’m back in the garage.
The oil and metal scent. The sharp slam of a door.
“Hands up! Nobody fucking move!”
Mitch’s voice, calm and steady. “Take what you want, just don’t hurt anyone.”
A gunshot.
Danny running.
“Dad!”
Another shot.
No, no, no.
The blood. The unnatural silence. The wail of sirens.
A hand clamps down on my wrist. “Whoa, whoa—where did you go?” Todd’s voice yanks me back. “What happened?”
I wrench away my gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Tough.” Colton says firmly, which does even more to me than Todd’s gentler coaxing. “You’re going to talk, darling.”
My head is spinning. These two are going to give me a whiplash for sure. “What’s with all the damn endearments? Why am I even in bed with you two?”
“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” Colton says.
Oh. So, the silent brother is even more dominant than the lighthearted one. Swell.
I might be able to handle one of them, but together?
I don’t like it.
I do.
My submissive side wars with my tenacious one, but stubbornness wins out. For now. “Why should I answer your questions if you refuse to answer mine?”
Colton grabs my shoulder. His hold is firm without being harsh, and I jerk my head back to him.
“We will answer all your questions, but first, let me be clear—we didn’t take advantage of you last night.” His words are granite. “We would never do that to any woman. You weren’t in a state to object or consent.”
“Then why am I half naked?”
His pupils flare with heat and probably annoyance, making his eyes look almost black. He tightens his grip on my shoulder.
“We weren’t going to put you in bed in dirty, wet clothes,” he says. “You still have your underwear. We put you in my shirt.”
Todd moves in, his expression unreadable. “Believe me, starling?—”
The nickname again. My stomach flutters.
“—the next time you’re in our bed you won’t be wearing anything.”
My breath stalls.
I bounce my gaze between them.
“What he said,” Colton murmurs. “Now, tell us what happened on the trail.”
I exhale shakily, my fight draining out of me.
It’s time to tell them.
I lace my fingers together and squeeze until my knuckles hurt. I can do this.
I start slowly, unraveling the memories as best as I can—walking the trail, admiring the woods, feeling… good. For the first time in weeks, I was at peace with myself and the world.
Until I heard the crack.
And suddenly, I wasn’t in the woods anymore. I was in Miami.
I was in the garage. Watching two men die. One I loved like the brother I never had. The other the man who took a chance on a mouthy, young girl with more guts than skills. Fuck
I clear my throat. “Mitch gave me a shot when no one else would. I didn’t have the right certifications, no fancy degree. Just a girl who grew up around cars, who spent more time under a hood than in a classroom. He saw that. He cared about what I could do, not what a piece of paper said I could do.”
A flicker of a smile, but it’s weak. “His son, Danny, wasn’t as easy to win over. Thought I was just another clueless wannabe trying to play with the big boys.” I shake my head. “He made me prove myself. And when I did, he became my teacher, my mentor. Then, my friend.”
The pressure in my chest tightens.
“We worked together every day. Fixed up high-end rentals for tourists, worked on classics for collectors. It was a good life. Simple. Predictable. Until six weeks ago.”
I suck in a breath. “Two guys came in, heavily armed. Mitch was behind the counter. Danny was under a car. I was in the Aston Martin DB5, working on the engine.” My voice wavers, but I push through. “Mitch told them to take whatever they wanted. He wasn’t resisting. He was trying to talk them down.”
I curl my hands into fists against my lap. “They shot him anyway.”
The words are blunt, hard.
Todd mutters a barely audible curse under his breath.
“Danny ran toward his dad, and they shot him, too.” My voice breaks.
The garage flickers to life behind my eyes. The scent of oil and metal. The weight of my phone in my shaking hands. The way my breath sounded too loud in the confined space under the dashboard.
“I was on the phone with 911.” I blink hard, fighting the sting in my eyes. “Hiding. While they bled out.”
The words hang between us, heavy, suffocating.
“I should’ve done something,” I whisper.
Colton, silent until now, speaks. “What could you have done?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
The weight in my chest sinks deeper.
“After that, I couldn’t go back. Couldn’t walk into the garage without hearing the gunshots, without seeing the blood.” I swallow. “My mom saw me falling apart. She told me to get out of Miami, to go somewhere quiet, somewhere different.”
Todd tilts his head. “So, you picked Northwick Cove?”
I huff a humorless laugh. “No. That would require actual planning.”
His brow quirks, and I roll my shoulders, exhaling.
“She had me throw a dart at a map.”
Todd blinks. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” My lips twitch. “Landed here. Northwick Cove. Figured it was a sign or fate or some bullshit like that.”
Colton makes a noise somewhat between disbelief and amusement.
I shrug. “So, I packed a bag, booked the B&B, and got on a plane.”
Todd leans forward slightly. “You didn’t think to check what kind of town it was first?”
“Nope. Just figured anywhere would be better than Miami.” I rub a hand over my face. “Didn’t expect the lack of cell service. Or the fact that the whole town seems to know my business before I do.”
Todd grins. “Welcome to small-town living, Starling.”
The nickname doesn’t bother me as much as it should, but the moment of levity is short-lived.
Colton’s gaze is sharp. “So, what happened today?”
I close my eyes, pressing my fingers against my temple. “I went for a walk. The town is… different. Peaceful. I was enjoying it.” My lips pull tight. “Then I found the hiking trail. Decided to keep going.”
The memory is fragmented, splintering as I try to piece it together. “I remember the smell of the trees, the crunch of ice beneath my boots. The quiet.”
The quiet.
“Then I heard a shot, and the past and the present kind of blended together for me.” I run a hand over my face. “After that, I— I don’t know. Most is a blur until now.”
Todd frowns. “Shooting in the woods? Strange. Ain’t no hunting season, is it?”
Colton hums. “I think snowshoe hare is open until the end of March.”
I blink at them, completely baffled at the completely matter-of-fact tone, the casual way they’re discussing small game while I’m still half-shaking.
And then I laugh.
It starts as a breath, then builds until I’m laughing so hard it hurts. The kind of laugh that comes with tears. The kind you can’t stop once it starts.
Todd shifts beside me. “Shea?”
I wave a hand, still laughing. “Sorry. It’s just… snowshoe hare? Really?”
He looks at me like I’ve lost it. Maybe I have.
Then Todd chuckles and then and then he starts laughing too. Quiet at first, then louder, until we’re both wheezing with it.
We end up leaning against each other, our bodies shaking, barely upright. Not because anything’s funny. Not really. But because it’s better than crying.
Colton doesn't join in, but I swear I see the corner of his mouth twitch. It’s almost a smile.
And somehow, that’s enough to make it all feel just a little less terrifying.