I could try to make it back to the office for the last couple hours of the work day, but I need a little time to process everything that just happened. And I really want to tell the guys. I’m a little nervous about it too, honestly. They’re all so protective, I can’t imagine they’ll be thrilled about me going to see Leslie on my own.
My bike ride home is slow and leisurely. I take my time, appreciating the view and the warm sun beaming down on my skin. This was one of the things I missed most when we left California—the bright sunshine that seems
like it could cut through any gloom.
For the first time in a while, giddy optimism fills me. There are still obstacles and hurdles to overcome in my future, but maybe now I’ll be able to actually focus on them without constantly looking over my shoulder. And when they come, I’ll have three men standing beside me to help me face them.
It takes me long enough to get back to the Icons’ house that all three of the guys are there when I walk through the front door. Reese and West are on the couch, West sipping a beer, while Trent sits on the easy chair nearby. They’re all watching a game on TV, but as I push through the door, their heads turn in unison.
Trent grabs the remote and switches off the TV, his body instantly going tense.
“You’re home early. What’s going on, Ems?”
“You okay?” Reese adds, his green eyes narrowing as he skims his gaze up and down my body like he’s looking for injuries.
West stands, looking ready to beat the hell out of someone, and my heart swells at the immediacy of their reaction. I have no doubt all three of them would march out of this house right now to take on the world if I needed them to.
But as much as I love having them in my corner, I’m no shrinking violet or delicate flower. I can take care of myself—something this whole mess finally taught me.
“I’m okay.” I hold my hands up, and West grudgingly settles back onto the couch as I come to stand before all of them, taking the spot in front of the now-black TV screen. “I went to visit Leslie today.”
“You what?”
Now all three men are back on their feet, and I feel a shiver work down my spine, a combination of fear and arousal. They’re a formidable force when they’re all united like this, moving in sync as if they share a brain. It’s intimidating as hell to witness, but it’s also sexy as fuck. They’ve demonstrated repeatedly what they can all do when they work together, when they set their singular focus on taking care of me and bringing me pleasure, and my clit throbs a little even as I raise my hands again.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” I reassure them. My gaze flits to Trent. “I woke up this morning knowing I had to do something. And that thing you said a while ago kept flashing through my mind. That Leslie was bound to make a mistake sooner or later because this was personal. It was emotional—not calculated and cold.”
“Yeah.” He’s watching me warily, as if he still can’t quite believe I talked to Leslie and made it out unscathed.
“Well, when I was going through my Facebook account the other day, I realized that the only people she sent that message with the virus to were people I knew from CU. Other students. That got me thinking that Detective Walton was probably right—she had help on the outside, someone at Clearwater.”
I take a deep breath, my fingers twisting together.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone in the world Leslie hates more than me. I still don’t understand why she hates me so much, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her cool talking to me the same way she would if she was questioned by the cops, or even by you guys. She’s angry at me and jealous of me, and no matter what, she wants to one-up me. So I poked her.” My smile finally breaks free. “And she slipped up.”
Reese’s emerald eyes gleam as he takes a step closer to me. I can see the hope expanding inside him, see the gleeful grin ready to erupt over his face. “What are you saying, Ems?”
“I know how she’s been hacking us. And if Detective Walton is able to move fast, it should give him enough to connect her to everything that’s been done to us.”
My body buzzing with adrenaline, I tell them everything. Their expressions harden as I recount my conversation with Leslie, and I see Trent’s hands clench into fists. But I keep going, forging ahead until I reach the end.
“I called Walton,” I add. “He’s on it. He said he’ll keep me posted.”
There’s silence for a moment after that. All three men are still watching me closely, their gazes burning pathways over my skin. Finally, West speaks, his voice rough.
“You didn’t have to do that, Emma. One of us could’ve gone to see her. Or we could’ve all gone as your backup.”
“I know.” My voice softens as I shake my head slightly. “I know you would’ve, West. All of you. I really do believe that. But this was something I had to do on my own. Because Leslie was threatening people I loved, and I couldn’t let her do that anymore.”
The words hang in the space between us, infusing the air with something I can’t even put a name to. The three Icons freeze as if they’ve been struck by lightning.
When Trent told me he loved me last night, I don’t know if he even realized he said it. It was more like a truth he had thought in his head dozens of times finally slipped out of his mouth, something he was so used to thinking that it didn’t even strike him as strange when he spoke the words out loud.
But my statement was deliberate, and I know the men felt every word.
They move at the same time, prowling toward me like hungry lions. Humor and heat glint in Reese’s green eyes, while West’s gray irises churn with a cacophony of emotions. Trent’s nostrils are flared wide, and when Reese wraps his arms around me and pulls me to him, the other two men converge on me too, pinning me between three solid bodies.
“You love us, Ems?” Reese asks, his voice low. “All of us?”