TEN
Ahhh,fuck. This kid is fun. Chase squeals as he zips down the slide into my waiting arms. I immediately turn him around and guide him as he scrambles back up the slide. I taught him that. I smirk at the semi-irked look Echo is giving me.
“Becky, maybe you’re not the best influence after all.”
Chase is inside the alcove at the top of the slide where there’s a steering wheel and a window that he probably can’t quite see out of, but he’s making noises like he’s driving the ship, anyway. His mother is close enough to grab, so I do, hauling Echo up and spinning her around in repayment for her smart, sassy mouth—a smart, sassy mouth that I want to kiss the fuck out of right now. I nuzzle the side of her neck, then bite down on the tender flesh as I continue to hold her in my arms with her legs dangling and my hand splayed over her delectable backside. “Call me Becky one more time, and I’ll spank this lush ass.” I give a playful squeeze that has her sucking in her breath and my dick stiffening behind my jeans. “Besides, you know I’m the best influence, especially when it comes to you. I’ll show you again sometime, if you’ll let me.” I flick my tongue out, rather obscenely kissing her neck under the cover of her flame-red hair.
“Quit mauling me in front of my son.” Her demand is followed by a laugh as I nip at her earlobe.
“If Chase weren’t right there, you’d love it if I took things further. Don’t deny it.”
Her eyes sparkle as she laughs and swats at me. “Shut up, Becky.”
I finally set her on her feet with a salacious wink. “You’ll pay for that later, Calamity Jane.”
She grins, throwing a smile over her shoulder as she walks toward Royal, who’s on the other side of the slide. “I always pay my debts.”
Royal immediately draws her back to his front as he watches Wilder taking his turn helping Chase. His stance with Echo, as well as his eyes on Chase, tell me he’s as possessive as ever. But he’s got this obvious interest in everything Wilder does, and… I gotta say, I’m getting an interesting vibe from him as well. I don’t have a clue how that’ll play out, but I wouldn’t kick Royal out of bed for eating crackers, that’s for damn sure. My eyes trail down his muscular body, then immediately up Echo’s. I exhale as my focus shifts to Wilder, remembering the scene of the four of us in bed together. Fuck. I’ve gotta rein it in.
“Move aside, man, the pilot of the spaceship wants to exit the craft.” Wilder nudges me aside as he makes some goofy fucking sound effects and beckons to Chase that he should come down, but Chase immediately holds his arms out, wanting him closer, so Wilder positions himself beside the slide, taking the toddler’s hands in his. That’s all it takes, and Chase blasts right on down. I think he about gives Wilder a heart attack, but fortunately, my friend is agile as fuck and recovers quickly enough to snatch Chase up just as he’d have probably face-planted. “Ha. Well, I see what Royal meant. You’re a little daredevil sometimes, aren’t ya?”
Chase wrinkles his nose, then points to the monkey bars for the third time since we’ve been here.
“We’d better get going soon, I think.” Echo’s words have Chase’s little lip quivering. She disengages from Royal and hurries over to squat in front of her energetic child. “One more time, okay? Then we have to get back home. I promised Aunt Kara I’d make dinner tonight.”
Royal and Wilder both wave Chase over to the shiny play equipment and assist him, passing him from one pair of hands to the other as they maneuver him across the bars.
“He’s so happy.”
“Yeah, he is.” I swing an arm around her neck, tugging her to my side.
When Chase makes it all the way across, we all cheer like idiots, which makes the little guy grin big, then Royal and Wilder encourage him to slap them high fives, which puts him into overdrive, and he runs around in tight circles, shooting his chubby toddler arms into the air. Oh boy. You’d think he’d have run and climbed out all that energy, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
As the guys corral Chase and make their way back over to us, a sniffle from beside me gets my attention. I look down to find Echo’s chest flushed with color, her nose quickly reddening.
I turn her to me and dip my head even with hers, catching her cheek with my hand. “Hey. What’s this?”
She stares into my eyes, hers all glossy with unshed tears before flicking her gaze over to the pair trying to wrangle her son so we can head back to the house. She swallows hard, like she’s got a lump the size of an elephant caught in her throat. “I-I didn’t expect this.”
“Gorgeous girl, I don’t like to see you upset, but at least this is the good kind of emotion building up in those eyes, right? Take a deep breath for me.”
She nods, closing her eyes and slowly filling her lungs with air before she lets it all go again.
Royal’s got a sweaty, squirming Chase in his arms as the trio walks over to join us. His gaze moves swiftly from Echo’s bowed head to me. “Everything okay?” He gently turns the child’s head so he can’t see his mother’s distress.
I tug Echo close again. “Oh, we’re good. Just having a moment.”
Wilder and Royal exchange an uncertain look.
I jut my chin toward the path, signaling that we should go. I get the feeling Echo really doesn’t want to say anything more about what she’s feeling. Honestly, I think she’s simply overwhelmed to find out that we’re more than willing to be part of Chase’s life. But I swear to fuck the maternal aura she gives off is part of what does it for me. And obviously, a child comes with that. He’s an extension of her. Not to mention he’s so fuckin’ cute, I can’t stand it.
After a moment’s pause, Wilder nods, raking a hand through his hair. “Back to the house?” His keen eyes are locked on Echo. I’m positive he wants to say something, comfort her, but he’s trying not to make a big deal of it since Chase is right here with us.
Echo finally looks up and reaches out, tugging on Chase’s tiny athletic shoe. “You hungry, buddy?”
His head pops up off Royal’s chest so fucking fast it’s comical. “Yeah!”
We take off along the path that brought us here, Chase riding on Royal’s shoulders, and Echo between Wilder and me. The little guy might not be tired, but the girl beside me is dragging her feet. I eye Wilder over her head, and he nods, understanding me perfectly.
“How about I make dinner tonight? Is that okay?”
Echo peers up at him. “I can help.”
“Okay, we’ll discuss it when we get back. Hey, Chase?” he asks, grabbing the little man’s attention. “You like noodles in a cheesy sauce?”
He looks at Echo, like he doesn’t know the answer, which cracks me up. Echo grins at her little boy’s confusion. “You do like cheesy noodles, yes. I bet Wilder knows how to make them yummy.”
“Widah fix me dinna?” Chase blinks up at him with a surprised grin.
Wilder nods. “I sure will. I’m the noodle master.” Winking playfully, he tousles Chase’s sweaty head.
I laugh, unable to even stop myself. “Can’t wait to see what Widah can whip up.”
Wilder shoots me a dirty look and flips me the bird where Chase can’t see it, but a moment later, his body goes stiff. I follow the path his eyes are taking. They’ve latched onto a dark-colored van. Clearing his throat, he catches my eye and gives a subtle jerk of his head as he continues to watch the vehicle as it slowly moves past us, creeping along in the opposite direction.
“Am I crazy or is that the third or fourth time we’ve seen that van?” Royal’s voice is calm, but his eyes are wary as he turns his head toward us. Lifting Chase over his head, he turns his son to face him. “Hold on like a monkey, okay, little man?”
Chase giggles and does as he’s asked, like it’s a game. His stubby arms tuck around Royal’s neck and his legs cling. If I weren’t so nervous about that fucking skeevy-looking van, I’d say it was a cute moment for them.
“What’s going on?” Echo sucks in a breath through clenched teeth, her eyes wildly shooting from Royal with Chase and to the surrounding area before they dart to Wilder’s twitching jaw, then to me.
I smile to reassure her, but it comes out half-sick with worry. I don’t even fool myself into thinking everything is hunky-dory. “Just being cautious, let’s keep walking.” I put an arm around her waist, and not a lightly slung one, either, as is my usual. I’ve got a grip on her. Wilder has created something of a barricade in front of both Chase and Echo. Maybe we’re being fucking ridiculous and overprotective, but each of us got the same awful feeling, because now that I’m thinking about it, I’d wondered at least three times how that van hadn’t found somewhere to park yet. They’d been back and forth, watching—and not in a good way—for probably the last fifteen minutes.
“Fuck this,” Royal hisses under his breath. Then louder, “We aren’t sitting ducks. Come on.” He steps off the path and directly into the woods, ushering Echo in front of him. “You know the way. Go, baby. If it comes down to it, run.”
She turns, nodding, her face completely leached of blood. She’s wide-eyed and terrified, but there’s also a composure to her as her gaze lands on Chase. “You really think—?” Her brows lift.
Wilder gives a noncommittal shrug, but the set of his jaw says it all. “Go. We’re right behind you.”
Making our way through the wooded area, we carefully pick our way past branches and twigs. Every odd noise makes Echo jerk, and she’s constantly checking to make sure Royal has Chase. He does, and the little man seems to think this is a grand adventure. Good. We don’t need him scared.
I scan the area with Wilder following at my back. But there’s nothing. No one. Not that I expected some devious killer to hop out of the van and chase us through the woods like in some slasher film. There’s no telling what the real crazies will do to others, though. I’ve studied plenty of it.
We cautiously emerge from the woods a few dozen yards from the Madden house. Wilder eases past the rest of us and steps out first, looking up and down the road. “Coast is clear. I see nothing.”
“The—” Royal grimaces, glancing at his son before he drops the f-bomb we all expected. It lingers there on his lips, like he wants to curse a blue streak, but he holds it in. “Chase, let’s go see your Aunt Kara, okay? Where is she?”
The little guy nods, turning to point to his house. “Yet’s go.”
An hour later,we’re still on high alert. Who knows if that van was anything at all, but our reaction to a potential threat shows how recent events have affected us. I don’t fucking like it, especially since Echo seemed nervous that whoever was in that van could be the person responsible for the break-in. Personally, I think every bit is connected and the shithead who taunted Royal over the phone that he’d kill Echo is one and the same as Freya and Zane’s killer.
I’ve gotta put it outta my head for a minute, but I know it’s about to come back up. There are things we didn’t get to talk about earlier before Chase woke up. My insides twist. I know they’re going to ask. I can’t imagine they’re going to let something like my bare ass getting railed by an older woman or amazingly clear shots of my fourteen-year-old dick slipping into that bitch’s cunt are something that we’re going to gloss over. Especially with that fucking note about Echo being my type.
I point to the array of ingredients on the counter as Wilder literally whistles while he works. “You cook sometimes at SIN, but not like this.” He’s expertly slicing chicken he’s cooked, to be added later to the large pan on the cooktop.
He glances up, his gaze softening as it lands on me first, then Echo. “What can I say, I like catering to people I like. And it’s a fuck ton easier to do without fifteen other frat dudes underfoot.”
Seated on one of the kitchen island stools, Echo continues to chop peppers, intermittently eyeing all the ingredients. “Um. Wilder? For Chase, could you?—”
His eyes flick up to hers. “Separate out some of the pasta with the cheese sauce before I add everything else? Already on it. Don’t worry.” He makes this obnoxiously cute kissy face at her. “I’ve got this.”
Just then, Royal wanders in, sniffing at the air. “Now, I’m really fucking hungry.” He notes Echo’s swift turn of head. “Chase is with your sister. She said she’d keep him out of the kitchen while Wilder finished up.”
“So we have a few minutes, then.” I clear my throat, figuring I’ll throw caution to the wind and get the conversation rolling again. “We got interrupted earlier, and we have a few more things to make sure…” I make a circular motion with my hand, trying to get the words to come out, but they won’t. Probably because I really don’t want to deal with my own shit, and I know it’s coming.
Wilder finishes for me, “You want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
Royal nods, a grimace planted squarely across his face as he sits down to my left. “I was going to say the same. All those fuckin’ love notes and cute photos from the creeper?—”
Echo’s gasp cuts him off, and her eyes widen as she stares at us. She swallows roughly, wringing her hands. “Oh, shit.” As she bites her lip, I can practically see her turning over something in her head.
Not liking that whatever has sprung to her mind is freaking her out like this, I stand from my chair, moving quickly to pull her against my chest. I feel every shake and quiver of her body as my own. “Whoa, little love,” I whisper against the side of her head. And the kicker is she doesn’t even know yet about the knife in the door. I’m one hundred percent positive that when Royal’s nastygram was brought up she somehow missed the bit about the scary butcher knife in the door. She never reacted to Royal telling Wilder he wanted to see it. Not even so much as a flinch. That’s how I knew to watch her. Everything that transpired that night had simply been too fucking much for her.
She takes a deep breath, easing slightly away from me, and her anxious eyes dart to each of us in turn. “Don’t you think if they found all that stuff, they’re going to think we’re to blame for Freya and Zane?”
Well, definitely—if they found the knife…