“I’m blessed,” Greer said.
“I’m sure she feels the same.”
Greer ducked his head slightly, but he was still smiling.
Thor and Aiden walked to them, hauling the bags.
“Emery is so gone over him it hurts to watch,” Thor told her, smiling happily. “Of course, not as gone as Shelly is over me. That’s no surprise as Greer isn’t capable of more than grunts or occasional ‘yeps’. Who knows how pathetic his kissing is when he can’t even talk?”
Greer moved so quick Melene hardly saw him coming. Grabbing Thor in a headlock, Greer punched him hard in the gut. Thor tossed the bags in his hand and elbowed him in the jaw.
She jumped back out of the way. Aiden dropped his bag and wrapped his arm around her. She felt settled and safe and happy.
Greer and Thor were trading punches and wrestling on the garage floor as Thor kept talking and taunting and Greer grunted and even laughed.
“Come on.” Aiden ushered her toward the entry into the house. “They’ll be at it for a minute. Perimeter check and security sensors and cameras set up, please,” Aiden said to his brothers as they battled it out. “I’ll do the interior check.”
She looked back as Aiden swung the door to reveal stairs leading up. Thor’s head seemed bent at an unnatural level, and he was still smiling. “You got it, bro,” Thor called to them. “I’ll only be a minute.”
“Is he okay?” she asked.
“He’s in heaven. The only thing he likes better than fighting is kissing Shelly.”
“That’s right, bro,” Thor called. “We’ll be up as soon as I pummel our little brother into submission and set up the security.”
Greer was a couple inches taller than Thor, but they were both fit and strong. It looked like an even match, but they would both get their share of bruises. Melene was grateful not to watch the fight.
“Boys,” she muttered as she and Aiden climbed the stairs.
Aiden chuckled. “You and your sisters don’t wrestle, punch, or insult each other for fun?”
“Heavens no.” She was seven years older than her sister Jessica and twelve years older than Abigail. She adored her beautiful sisters and couldn’t imagine punching either of them. “Can you imagine what Gramma Larue would do to me if I punched Abigail?”
“Good point. I love Mama Larue, but she’s feisty.”
Aiden pulled his gun out and led the way. She appreciated his caution. “Papa didn’t have someone setup cameras and sensors here?” she asked.
“No one he trusted lived nearby,” he said.
They walked through a clean laundry and mud room and then into a massive and beautiful open living area. There were windows and bright white everywhere. The only thing that wasn’t white was the stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen and a pale blue and gray swirled granite countertop and gray-bricked fireplace. The home was gorgeous and modern, and the sun lit everything brightly with all the floor-to-ceiling two-story windows. The back windows overlooked a large pool and hot tub with the trees and the mountains framing the space.
“Wow. This is insane.”
“Decent spot to hide out for a bit,” Aiden said.
They strolled through the rest of the house, touring eight master suites on levels two and three, and a game room, a theater, a workout room, and a playroom on level four.
“If we survive, I’m going to beg my parents to rent this place for a family reunion,” she told Aiden as they stood in the hallway of the fourth floor, the open stairway next to them that was open all the way down to the main level. Windows that ran four levels and a crazy long chandelier that dripped down the middle of the stairwell like a waterfall lit up the bright and unique staircase.
She winced at her own words. After she paid Papa Delta back for renting this place for her protection detail, she’d talk to her parents about a family reunion.
He blinked at her. “If we survive? You’ve got nothing to worry about, especially now that Thor and Greer are here to back me up.”
She felt as if she’d insulted him. “I’m sorry. Of course I trust you to protect me. I just meant …”
Aiden eased in closer, his blue eyes reassuring. “It’s okay. I wasn’t offended. I just want you to feel safe.”
“I do, with you.” She had no clue where she and Aiden stood or if there would ever be a future possible for them, but she couldn’t resist throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. “Thank you for being my Aquaman.”