“Now the real question is,” Dallas started, “how are we going to protect you and win the competition?”
“There isn’t a competition,” I said.
Steele said, “We can all pretend to be your boyfriend.”
I shook my head. “As sweet as you are for being willing to do something like that for me, it won’t work.”
“How do you know?” Dallas asked.
“Because I tried that before and it failed miserably. He’ll be looking out for another move like that.”
“Yes, but did you try it with shifters?” Dallas asked.
I nodded. “Yes. Only one though. And still, he would see straight through it.”
“You might as well choose your champion,” Malachi said. “Because I won’t sleep another minute while he’s out there, but I also won’t act against your wishes.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Then we have several challenges, my brothers,” Malachi mused.
Dallas clapped his hands together. “Time for our plan of attack!”
Steele moved to the patio door. “One is to get rid of the man Cassidy can’t seem to be free of regardless of what she does.”
“Another,” Dallas said, rubbing his hands together, “is figuring out how to get out from under our alpha’s rules with our lives intact.”
“And the last,” Malachi added with a dangerous glint in his eyes as he settled them on me, “is figuring out who will be with you in the end.”
“I already told you I don’t want a relationship,” I said through a heavy sigh. But even I had to admit the more they brought it up, the less resolved I was. The only issue with my weakening resolve was the ability to choose only one of the men. Each of them had their merits.
Why would I have to choose only one?
“You can’t have it both ways,” he added. “Not for much longer.”
I shrugged. “I will just have to live with that.”
He chuckled and nodded toward Steele who shook his head and returned his focus outside the patio door.
“Why don’t we do it this way,” Dallas said and waited for us to turn all of our attention to him. “We help you with your problem. Then you help us with our problem. And whoever gets rid of the ex-boy toy first earns your hand.”
I sighed. “Okay fine. I will accept help with finding a way to permanently be free of Xander, but he will remain alive. I will not accept the competition thing because I already told you. Insist on it if you must. However, I want nothing to do with it.”
“Was that so hard, my dear?” Malachi asked.
I sighed. “Don’t push your luck.”
But as I sat there and tried to play it off like I was firm in my resolve, my lips pulled up, giving my real feelings away.
For the rest of the night, the men kept watch, and I had the best sleep I had in years.
16
DALLAS
I understood Cassidy’s need for some space and time to reflect and process things. We all did. But we also understood that her ex-boyfriend, Xander, was still hanging around. Closer than we would have liked. And without letting her in on that fact, we had to give her some sort of freedom or we would be no better than Charlotte. The last thing we needed to do was suffocate Cassidy while trying to keep her safe.
So, we decided to let her have her way all the while staying close by in case something happened and she needed one of us.