Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Most do,” Atlas says.
I pick at a price sticker that’s starting to peel off a box of pasta. “Much as I liked visiting town, I don’t want to go more than necessary. If Preston or his cronies come looking for me, I don’t want to put anyone in Moon Ridge in danger.”
Atlas gives me a long look, but doesn’t say anything. Grizz stacks up the three family-sized ketchup bottles they bought and makes a comment intended to make me laugh. I do, but my head is still in Moon Ridge.
Elena seemed to have a spine of steel and a heart that’s still open. It can’t be easy, raising a child on your own, but she made the idea of single motherhood feel … survivable. Hard, but not impossible. I feel more certain I can do it too, if I need to, but my mind keeps drifting to other possible futures.
Atlas and Grizz are both in the pantry, organizing the shelves. The two of them barely fit, but they work together in perfect coordination, and while they’re involved in their task, I have time to study them.
They’re such strong men, with no shortage of muscles between them, and bodies much younger men would be lucky to have. Something stirs deep inside me, and I’m distracted from the task at hand as I wonder how it would feel to stroke Grizz’s beard, or run my fingers over the short-cropped hair above Atlas’s collar.
It’s not the first time I’ve thought about things like this, but the feelings keep getting stronger, and I’m becoming more certain my attraction to them isn’t based on adrenaline and gratitude.
All three of these men are incredibly competent, generous, and kind. Sure, they may not say much, but their actions speak volumes about their characters.
In town, Atlas watched every doorway without making me feel trapped. Grizz made sure to walk on the outside of the sidewalk and was always close enough to steady me if I started to slip on a patch of snow. Viper never once stopped scanning our surroundings, yet I’m sure he heard every word of every conversation, even when it didn’t seem like he was paying attention.
When I’m with them, I feel safe and cared for.
It makes me wonder what it would be like to belong here. To them. As something more than a guest they’ve taken in.
It’s a scary thought, not because it feels wrong, but because it doesn’t.
Me, pregnant by a criminal, with no solid plans other than to try to stay alive and save my child.
Three men, all older, settled, and bound together by a history I can barely imagine.
Three of them and one of me.
It should be impossible. Unthinkable. And yet …
I’ve always chosen the path that seemed the safest and looked the most stable. Preston Vaughn had been an easy choice. He was so successful and charming. Everyone had approved when I started dating him.
Look how well that turned out.
Maybe I should listen to my instincts for once, rather than doing what seems right on paper.
Even if nothing comes from whatever impulse is quietly curling around my ribs when I look at Atlas, Grizz, and Viper, I don’t want to shove my feelings in a box because they’re not traditional.
I owe it to myself to stay open to whatever might happen.
Easier said than done.
CHAPTER 18
ATLAS
I’ve been giving Kira regular briefings on the intel Viper gathers, but the information I share with her is only a level or two beneath the surface. She’s been traumatized by a car accident, reeling from betrayal, and is growing a child inside her. She doesn’t need all the grim details.
Viper, Grizz, and I also hold daily meetings, and today, Viper raises a new concern.
“She should know how to handle a firearm,” he says with no preamble.
Grizz looks up from the map that’s spread between us, one of his eyebrows shooting up.
“What to do. What not to do,” Viper adds.
I shake my head. “Not while she’s pregnant. Lead exposure rules that out, not to mention recoil.”
Viper doesn’t argue the facts, but he persists. “I'm just talking handling. She shouldn’t be seeing one for the first time if everything goes wrong.”
I’m typically all for people being informed and educated, but I don’t intend for her to ever need to defend herself. “It puts responsibility on her,” I tell Viper. “I don’t want her to have the idea her survival depends on what she can do in a worst-case scenario.”
He lifts his chin. “Fear comes from the unknown. Knowledge gives her options.” Quieter, more to himself, he adds, “People shouldn’t be left helpless.”
A low pull settles behind my sternum, drawing my attention. The air changes in the room, and I look up and find her in the doorway. It’s becoming a problem, the way my body reacts first, while my mind runs a second or two behind.