Chapter 37
Roman
Ileaned against the hallway wall outside my bedroom door, waiting for Palmer to get dressed.
I tried not to think about the messages August had sent earlier that morning, but the unease sat like a heavy weight I couldn’t shake.
When the bedroom door opened, everything else disappeared for a moment.
Palmer stepped into the hallway, smoothing down her skirt. The dusty-pink color made the natural blush on her cheeks stand out even more behind the freckles scattered across her skin.
God, she was beautiful.
The sight of her standing there, radiant and alive, stirred something within me. It was a flutter of awe that had little to do with her body and everything to do with the incredible, strong person she was.
I reached for her hand. Our fingers laced together like it was the most natural thing in the world, as I led her downstairs.
We heard the low murmurs of my brothers’ voices before Palmer and I stepped through the arched entryway into the kitchen.
All four of my brothers were there waiting for us.
August leaned against the counter with a mug of coffee. Fox and Graham sat at the kitchen table, eating some toast. Reid was near the far side of the room with his phone pressed to his ear, his voice low and gentle enough that I was almost certain he was talking to Lark.
The broken dishes from last night were gone. The cabinets that had been damaged were already repaired. The back door had been cleaned up, though the shattered window now had a solid board fastened over it.
If it weren’t for that board covering the glass, I might not have guessed there had been a break-in at all.
August straightened as we walked deeper into the room, and the rest of the room quieted as my other brothers’ attention came to us. August glanced between me and Palmer.
Yeah. They definitely sensed something had happened between us last night, but I wasn’t going to acknowledge it with them right now. It was none of their damn business.
“Want something to eat?” I asked.
She shook her head. Though she probably should eat something, I didn’t push her. We had other things to focus on. I sat next to her, and locked eyes with August.
“So,” I said, “what’s going on?”
Then his gaze moved across the room, briefly checking in with the rest of our brothers. The atmosphere in the kitchen shifted, something uneasy settling over the space.
“I scanned the house last night,” Fox said. “Found something.”
I leveled him a look, trying to hide the rising anxiety. “What was it?”
“He left a bug.”
I cursed. “Where was it?”
He jerked his chin toward the lower kitchen cabinets beside the sink. “Under the lip inside of the cabinet. Just below the counter.”
I looked back at August. He could be as good as I was about hiding his feelings, but I sensed his stress rather than saw it.
“Is that all?”
One bug wasn’t that big of a deal. There had to be something more.
Graham fidgeted in his seat, expression tight. “No, that’s not all.” He pulled something out of his pocket, placing it on the table between us.
My stomach plummeted. It seemed simple, a piece of folded cardstock, but I’d seen that before.
A cold wave of dread rolled through me as I reached for it and turned it over, revealing the butterfly sticker.
I flicked the card open, and the handwriting inside was unmistakable. Enough to make every muscle in my body lock up.
You left your door open, Roman.
Next time, I’ll take the girl.
My pulse roared in my ears as the meaning settled in.
Palmer.
Every instinct screamed to destroy it, to crush the card in my fist, tear it into a hundred tiny pieces, burn it, pretend it had never existed.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring at it. The stupid white card was identical to the others Amos had left for my family over the years. The ones that had eventually chased them into hiding.
“What the hell is this?” I asked August.
Palmer straightened in her chair. “What does it say?”
I ignored her and stared my brother down, my glare demanding answers.
August sighed and lifted his coffee mug, taking a slow drink before setting it down on the counter beside him. “It seems like he’s targeting her.”
Something inside me snapped.
I crushed the card in my fist.
Palmer reached for my hand, carefully tugging the crumpled card from my grip. I let her take it, though every instinct in my body screamed not to let her.
She smoothed the card open, her fingers flattening the creases as she read the message.
Her body went very still, but she didn’t seem afraid.
If anything, her eyes sharpened, like anger had taken root where fear should have been.
I dragged my gaze away from her and looked at Graham. “What does this mean?”
If anyone understood the twisted logic inside monsters like Amos Anderson, it was Graham.
My brother ran a thumb along his jaw. “I don’t think he actually cares about Palmer,” he said. “But he does seem to know that Palmer is important to you.”
My teeth ground together.
“Why would he care if Palmer is important to me?” I snapped, jabbing a finger to my chest. “I have no connection to this monster.”
“We all have a connection to him.” Reid joined us at the table. He crossed his arms, his shoulders stiff and tight.
“Ever since I married Lark, and Emersyn fell for August,” he continued, “a target was put on our entire family.”
Conflicting emotions crossed his face, frustration battling guilt. “I don’t think it matters that you don’t personally have a connection to him. You have a connection to us, and that’s enough.”
I shoved both hands through my hair, gripping the dark strands as I tried to calm the storm raging through me. The idea of Amos anywhere near Palmer made something violent coil inside me, ready to strike.
“What’s the plan?” I snapped at August.
Something dangerously close to uncertainty crossed his face.
I didn’t like that one bit.
“We’re still going to stick with the original plan,” he said carefully. “Use the fundraiser as a distraction.”
My brow furrowed as my hands dropped to my sides. I clenched them so tightly my nails dug into my palms. “The fundraiser isn’t for another four days.”
August didn’t waver. “It’s still our best bet.”
I shook my head. “No. I can’t leave her vulnerable to him for that long.”
Finally, I turned toward Palmer. “You should go back to the safe house.”
She was still holding the card, staring at it like she was memorizing every word.
“No,” she said, calm but firm as steel. “I’m not running.”
Frustration surged through me so fast it almost made me dizzy. Every protective instinct roared to life, and for half a second, I seriously considered picking her up, throwing her over my shoulder, and hauling her straight back to safety myself.
“Palmer,” I growled her name, like a warning.
She didn’t shrink from me. She threw her shoulders back and met my glare head-on.
The flash of defiance on her face caught me off guard.
“I’m not leaving you,” Palmer said.
I studied her, searching for any sense of fear or uncertainty, but there was none. A breath left me, and I deflated with it.
“It’s actually more helpful if she stays,” August said.
I narrowed my eyes on my brother. “Why would you say that?”
August went very still, his expression settling into something unreadable. “Honestly, Roman…our best bet might be using her. If Anderson is putting a target on her back, she might be better bait than any of us.”
Fury exploded through me.
I stood and lunged toward him, ready to make my brother regret suggesting such a thing.
A hand clamped around my forearm.
Fox had stepped in beside me, his grip firm and steady. “Hear him out,” Fox said calmly.
Everything in me wanted to ignore him and his calmness. I didn’t want to hurt my brother, but I did want to knock some sense into him.
“Roman,” August said evenly, “I’m going to keep her safe.
You have to trust me on this one. The best way to draw him out is to use Palmer.
If he thinks he has a way to get her, he’s going to take it.
” His gaze sharpened. “He always did like to attack the weak to bring down the strong, like a fucking coward.”
My vision went red.
Fox’s hand tightened on my arm as if he felt the tension vibrating through me. I closed my eyes, clamping my teeth together so hard I was half afraid they might crack.
I forced myself to breathe and remember that they were my brothers. I trusted them more than anyone else on this planet, but I wasn’t sure they understood what Palmer meant to me. Fox cautiously released my arm.
Hell, until recently, I hadn’t even realized how close to my heart she was.
When I opened my eyes, I pinned August with a hard stare. “Explain.”
August nodded once, slipping into a businesslike tone. “I’ve been going over plans,” he said. “And this note, combined with the break-in last night, changes things.”
He gestured toward the boarded window on the back door. “If he’s after Palmer, we can use that to our advantage. The plan fundamentally stays the same. Anderson is going to assume all the attention and manpower will be at the fundraiser.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“All of us will make a public appearance there. But if you leave early, with Palmer, and he thinks the two of you come back here alone…he’s going to see that as the perfect opportunity.”
I shook my head. “I’m not putting Palmer in danger, August.”
August lifted a hand, cutting me off. “You won’t be alone here…we’ll just make it appear like you are. I’ll have my full team stationed nearby. One of my best guys can quietly move Palmer to a safe location before anything happens.”
The kitchen fell quiet.
I stared blankly, my mind racing with too many thoughts at once. Not many of them were pleasant ones.
Finally, my gaze slid to Palmer. She was watching me.
“You can guarantee her safety?” I asked my brother.
August didn’t hesitate. “I trust every person on my team.”
I scrubbed the back of my neck, the nerves and contained rage making me itchy. “I still don’t like it. Why would he think it’s safe to strike here when he knows how secure this place is?”
August didn’t miss a beat. “He broke in here last night,” he said. “I think it was a trial run. He wanted to see how long it would take for someone to notice…and how quickly we could respond.”
My nose wrinkled. “I thought you said he came in here to plant a bug.”
August shrugged. “Maybe that was part of it. But I think he also wanted to know if it was possible to break in and how long he’d have before the alarm went off.”
Reid stepped forward, coming to stand beside him. “If he thinks you’re here alone with Palmer,” Reid said, “and he knows the jammer works to a certain degree…and he figures out how much time he has, I think he’ll feel comfortable enough to try.”
I gritted my teeth. “You think he has enough balls to break in here when I’m alone with Palmer?”
“He already did,” Graham said from the table.
I turned toward him.
“There’s also a possibility,” Fox said, “that the bug was here before the break-in.”
My heart kicked harder against my ribs. “How would he have gotten a bug in here?”
“We don’t know,” Graham replied. “But it would explain how he knew you were in the shower. Maybe he knew it was a good time to try.”
Pressure built behind my temples. It was too much. Too many moving pieces and things that could go wrong.
“How do we know there isn’t another fucking bug in here somewhere?” I snapped. “How do we know he’s not hearing every single word we’re saying right now?”
“We’re pretty sure.” Fox nodded. “I did a thorough scan, Roman. I couldn’t find any other transmitting devices.”
“There are too many variables,” I gritted out.
“There are always too many variables.” August cut in. “But it’s still our best bet. I can’t think of a better way to draw him out when he’s going to assume the entire town is distracted by the fundraiser.”
“And what if he doesn’t take the bait?” I muttered.
“I think he will,” Graham said.
He sounded far more confident than I was.
“But even if he doesn’t,” Graham continued calmly, “we’ll come up with another plan.”
I felt so helpless. The urge to grab her, throw her in my truck, and drive until Anderson was nothing more than a distant memory clawed through my chest.
Palmer spoke before I could. “I want to do it.”
My heart dropped, but she gave me a small smile.
“You already saved me once, Roman,” she said gently. “I have no doubt you can keep me safe again.” She shrugged, like it was a simple decision. “It’s my turn to help you now.”
Silence settled over the kitchen.
I stared at her, searching her face for some hint that she didn’t mean it or some crack in that quiet determination.
There wasn’t one.
My brothers were watching, waiting for my answer.
This was a horrible idea.
Reluctantly, I nodded.
“Fine,” I muttered. “But the second something feels off, we pull the plug. I don’t care what the plan is. She comes first.”
August inclined his head. “Of course.”
The tension in the room loosened and, almost immediately, the conversation shifted. August started to outline details, Fox chimed in about security placements, and Graham mentioned a few psychological patterns Anderson tended to follow.
Reid stepped closer to the counter, asking questions about timing and response windows.
Their voices blended together after a while because my focus had narrowed to one thing.
Palmer.
She had returned to her seat at the table, the white card still resting near her hand. She wasn’t looking at it anymore. Instead, she watched my brothers talk, her brow slightly furrowed as she listened.
A slow, cold promise settled into my bones as I looked at her.
I would let them make their plan.
I would let them set their trap.
But if Amos Anderson came anywhere near Palmer—I would do whatever it took to make sure he never walked away from it.