Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
The police questioned us, together at first, then separately.
Samantha showed up.
When she got out of her vehicle, I hated seeing the lights flashing over her face. My wife should never have to look like that. She was devastated for me.
Fuck.
My dad killed himself, and in front of us.
She rushed to me, opening her arms. Her voice hitched on a sob. “Mason.”
I caught her, folding her against me. I needed this. I needed her. I bent my head down, nuzzling her neck and shoulder. “The kids?”
She shivered, raking a hand through my hair. “The twins are asleep, but Taylor’s there. She was awake. If Maddy wakes up, she’ll be there for her.”
Logan’s wife.
I nodded. That was good.
We both checked on Logan, where he was standing. He looked like death. My brother usually looked full of life, full of attitude. His brown hair was trimmed. He’d been keeping it cut how I usually kept mine short. His lean and defined build was in shadows tonight, from the overwhelming oppression of what we both witnessed.
I guessed that was appropriate, considering what happened. Dad. The image of him flashed in front of me again. The look in his eyes right before he lifted the gun.
How determined he’d been. Fuck. How relieved too.
That was going to haunt me.
Another vehicle rolled in, and when it parked, both doors opened. “Sam,” someone called. Heather and Channing had arrived.
Heather ran to Sam’s side, who kept one arm around me as she reached up to hug her best friend. Channing headed to Logan and gave him a hug. They talked a little before Channing moved back to survey the scene. Heather frowned my way, and I gave her a small nod in return. She was here to support Sam, who was here to support me. And right now, I needed to deal with business. That’s what was going to help me.
I stepped to the side, letting go of Sam.
She put a hand to my chest, stopping me. “You okay?” She swore, shaking her head at her own question. “I mean…” She moved closer, cutting everyone else out for a moment. She reached up, catching my face, and tilted my head down to look at her.
I resisted. I couldn’t get lost in her. Not yet. I needed to talk to Channing. I had to know who this fucker was that had driven my dad to suicide. But I also needed my wife. I’d always need my wife. “Tonight,” I told her, my voice gruff. “I’ll lose myself in you later tonight.”
She nodded. That’s what she’d been looking for. Her hands left my face. “What do you need now?”
God, I loved her. She was my ride-or-die, and right now, she was riding with me. “I need to talk to Channing.” I glanced over to Logan. “Take care of Logan. He’s worried about Taylor and now this.” I shook my head. “I’ll handle business, but he’s on the edge right now.”
She pulled in a breath. Logan and Taylor had lost their first kid. There were problems in the pregnancy, and they’d been told their child wouldn’t live. They just didn’t know how long they would get with her, or if they’d get any time. They got a day.
The next time Taylor got pregnant again, that little boy came out kicking and screaming.
Now Taylor was pregnant a third time. Things had been iffy, so my brother was already dealing with that stress. He didn’t want to lose another child and now this?
Sam turned to go to him, but I caught her pants pocket and pulled her to me again. My hand slid up to her throat in a gentle hold. I tipped her back, speaking into her ear. “He needs to feel his shit. He’s pushing too much down, and if he doesn’t deal with some of it, he’s going to explode.”
Sam drew in a shuddering breath. Her pulse fluttered. “Got it.”
Another goddamn reason she was my perfect fit. She always knew what I was saying, probably without me even needing to say it. Sam was about to take my brother somewhere, and she was going to piss him the fuck off. We could both see that he was about to take our dad’s death and add it to the shit pile inside of him he wasn’t dealing with. He was only able to focus on not losing Taylor and not losing their third baby, which made sense, but Taylor was fine right now. If he didn’t process some of his emotions, it’d be bad.
“I’ll talk to Chan, but call me if you need me,” I told her.
She nodded. I felt the movement through my hand.
“Mouth.” I growled.
A shudder went through her, and she tipped her head back. I caught the lust swirling in her eyes, but that was for later. That’s how I was going to handle my shit. Until then, she met my lips with hers and gave me a taste to get me through.