Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
She stood in front of him, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek. “I know you. I could walk into a room and see you standing over a body, and I would ask you what happened.”
Wyatt’s gaze went steely. “Good, then you’ll trust me now. Stay away from those deputies from Creede.”
She sighed. They’d been over this. “I’m going to make it plain I’ve made my choice and they’ll back off.”
“I’m not sure they will,” Wyatt began. “I think they’re looking for something to use to discredit me. The way he looked at me this afternoon makes me think he’s got plans. He’ll come to you at some point with a story about me.”
“She already knows everything.” Sawyer stood and stretched. “Look, we’ll have a talk with them, you and I. I get it. She’s gorgeous, and they thought they’d found their girl. Unfortunately, they found our girl, and we’re not giving her up. They can back off or we can flip that switch you have and problem solved.”
He was not joking. What had happened with Wyatt the other night had shaken her. “We are going to talk about how to make sure he never loses his temper again. Not like he did in the bar. What does Alexei say about it?” He was quiet. “You have talked to Alexei about the fact that you blow a gasket from time to time.”
“It hasn’t come up,” Wyatt tried.
“How can therapy possibly work if you don’t talk to your therapist? Do you not trust him?” If he needed another person to talk to, they would find someone else. Alexei seemed like an amazing guy, but she knew the therapist thing was so personal. A patient didn’t necessarily match right away.
“Alexei is great. I’m cool with him. He’s taken me a long way. I’ve been so good I thought I was past it. I hadn’t had an episode like the one in the bar in years. I thought I was in control,” Wyatt said.
“He touched her and you reacted the way you used to, the only way you knew how,” Sawyer explained. “You went into survival mode, but I need you to understand you can’t do it again. You have to stay in control and trust yourself and us. No matter what happens, we can handle it. I was going to explain that I would have gotten Sabrina out of there and you could have finished what you started without ever having to meet with your brother, but now we both know Sabrina would have stunned someone and there would still have been a fight. I just need it to be a fight where I’m not worried you won’t know who you’re killing.”
Wyatt took a long breath, as though the words Sawyer had said needed time to settle in. “I’ll talk to Alexei about how I can start handling it. I think it’s going to be easier knowing I’m not alone, but you can’t think I won’t defend her. Or you.”
This seemed to be a talk between the two of them. They both knew she would defend them all. They were well aware she could use a stun gun. They didn’t know about the pepper spray or the small pistol she sometimes carried. It was good for a girl to have a couple of secrets.
Sawyer put a hand on his shoulders. “And I’ll do the same. Please try to stay with us. You’re enough, man. You don’t need some Mr. Hyde shit to fight. You’re good enough.”
She kind of wished they would kiss. They were awfully pretty together. Her sister told her Van and Hale avoided most touching, but that didn’t mean all threesomes were so…hetero.
“She’s looking at us weird,” Wyatt said, staring back.
Sawyer’s eyes narrowed on her as though he could see right through her.
Sabrina gave them her most innocent smile. They were absolutely not ready for this discussion, but who knew what could come later? “Just happy we’re together.”
“I am, too. But I’m serious about Knox and Marshall.” Wyatt held a hand out and brought her into their circle. “I want you to stay away from them for a while. I think you’ll find they’ve pissed off your sister, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Once we’ve got you moved in here, I think things will calm down. I’m going to fix this problem with my brother one way or another.”
“Not alone,” she insisted.
He leaned toward her, brushing his lips over hers. “I promise. Not alone. We’ll sit down and talk this out and then bring the sheriff in. We’ll do this right and as carefully as possible.”
“And if it gets too dangerous and we’re truly worried about her safety, we take care of her together,” Sawyer vowed. “We make a plan, but we don’t ever let them split us up.”