“What the fuck?”
Ty’s eyes widen, his head reeling back. “Luke—”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe you’d just fuckin’ walk in when you knew Lily was here.”
“First,” he growls out. “You never even mentioned her before you brought her back to the compound and told us she’s your wife.”
“What—”
“Second,” he interrupts. “She doesn’t look a day over eighteen.” He raises his brow. “And she’s covered in bruises and burns. So, I think you should get to fuckin’ talkin’ and tell me what the hell is going on.”
I deflate as I see the anger in his eyes, but it’s not directed at me—it’s for her, for the injuries he witnessed.
Tilting my head back, I stare at the ceiling—only one floor separating us—before looking back at him. “Warehouse.” One word and he nods. “But not Dean. Only Evan, Kay, and Kitty.”
He nods again before clapping me on the back and walking past me and out of the house.
I knew this was coming—telling them everything—but the idea of asking Lily to sit with me while I explain it all doesn’t sit right with me. I toy with the idea of leaving her in the house and going on my own, but it only lasts a second before I push it aside. She has to be there. They have to see her and know what she went through—for her own safety.
Sitting down on the sofa, I wait for Lily to come down, and when she sits next to me, I turn to face her, my gaze running down the MAC t-shirt and workout leggings I found in the warehouse.
“Hey,” she whispers, a soft smile on her face. “I didn’t know whether you needed to put bandages on—”
I run my finger along her arm before skirting around one of the burns. “They need to be out in the air now, but I’ll check them again tonight.” She nods when I look up at her, an expectant look in her eyes. “I was a medic in the Marines, but you already know that.”
“I do,” she murmurs, placing her hand over mine on her arm.
I count to ten in my head, preparing myself for what I’m about to say. I’ve never opened up to anyone—never wanted to—but it’s different with her. There’s something about Lily that has me wanting to lay myself bare in front of her.
“I came here after I got out.” I look around the sparsely decorated room. “Ty was starting up a security firm and asked if I wanted to be involved. I said yes, built the house, and then Evan came along.” At her head tilt I realize I need to expand more than that. She has no idea what I do here or about anyone else. “There’s five of us on the team: Ty—the boss, Evan—computer whizz—Kitty—all round badass.” I smirk when she chuckles. “Kay—Ty’s fiancée who keeps us all in check. And then there’s me.”
“Okay.” I see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to piece it all together. “And you all work together to…”
“Take down the bad guys.” I shrug. “It’s not as simple as that but it about sums up what we do.”
She bites down on her bottom lip and my instinct is to pull at it, but I restrain myself as I tell her more about us.
“We all have things we’ve had to overcome, but I’m not as vocal as the others. You’ll find that out today.” I run my palm over my face. “They’re my family, Lily. A family who would fight to the death for someone they love.” I let her see the truth behind my eyes as I keep my attention focused on her eyes. “They’ll protect you just like they’d protect me, and I’ve protected them.”
Her hand moves toward my face, and when the pads of her fingers run through the scruff lining my jaw, I have to hold back the groan I desperately want to set free. I never had a doubt in my mind how I react when she’s around. It was only ever the age and the trauma she’s been through that held me back.
“I see how much you love them.” I nod, not willing to say the words out loud. “But you can’t expect them to do that for me—”
“I can, and they will. It’s what we do. We’re family.”
She swallows visibly as silence wraps around us before she asks, “So what do you actually do here?”
I lean back on the sofa, pulling her closer to me. “We help people, close cold cases for the cops—Ty’s brother and Kitty’s boyfriend is a sergeant.” She frowns, and I see her brain working overtime. “He’s also the same guy who drove us to Mom’s when you were drunk.”
Her face turns beet red, but I don’t allow her to wallow in it as I pull her closer to me and wrap my arm around her waist.
“So basically, you’re the good guys?” she asks when she leans her head on my chest. I look down at her at the same time she looks up and smiles, her teeth showing, the happiness radiating from her palpable. Her black eye and bruised jaw don’t take away from her beauty.
“I never said I was a good guy, darlin’, but I’ll always be good to you. Never doubt that.”
We sit in silence, staring at each other, doing what we do best—talking without actually speaking. My mind and soul call out to her in a way I never thought was possible.
“Do you regret it?” she whispers after what feels like hours but in reality, is only minutes.