I faced the men, and said, “What if he comes back?”
“Who?” Dallas asked.
“Xander?” Steele asked.
I nodded and hugged myself. If there was ever a perfect moment to tear me down, it was this moment, when I felt weak because of everything that happened.
Malachi threw his arm around me and pulled me close. “He’s been taken care of.”
“No!”
“Not like that,” Steele said. “He’s not going to bother you again. That’s the important thing.”
I nodded and let out a sigh. Good. He was out of my life. I was free to start picking up the pieces of what was left of my world and figure out what to do with myself from here.
30
MALACHI
I sat on the patio while Cassidy had her soak in the bathtub. Since she lost her job, she had decided she was going to make this night the last of her vacation. She needed to go home and figure out what to do next with her life. Now that she didn’t have a job, she was likely going to be searching for another job.
We tried to comfort her the best we could, but she had lost the last thing that had brought her normalcy.
But I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had hoped she would give us a decision. I hoped she would choose one of us. Maybe she wasn’t going to make a decision after all.
I thought we changed her mind.
The sliding glass door behind me opened and quietly closed. Seconds later, Dallas stood next to me on the patio.
“So… last night,” Dallas said. His voice was soft with an edge of sadness.
“Thanks for the reminder,” I muttered and stood straight, crossing my arms over my chest. I twisted and backed up to the wall of the patio and leaned against it. “Was there a point to you coming out here?”
He shook his head. “I don’t like it either. It’s not going to be the same without her around.”
I snorted. “Right. Well, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“No?” he asked. “Are you just going to take the silent way out? Allow her to walk out of our lives and keep your feelings to yourself like the strong warrior you are?”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “It has nothing to do with you.”
He shrugged. “Maybe not your personal feelings but her leaving does affect me, and considering you are my brother, I would like to think your pain bothers me just a little bit.”
I groaned and headed inside. He wasn’t going to listen to a damn thing I had to say. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about her leaving. Just as soon as I turned around from the sliding glass door, Cassidy walked out of the bathroom, running a towel through her hair, wearing nothing but her bathrobe. I stopped mid-step and stared in awe at the woman who stole my breath and my heart.
She removed the towel and met my gaze with a smile. “What?”
I smirked. “Nothing. Just admiring the view.”
She laughed. “You’re a dork.”
“I’ll take that,” I said.
She shrugged and moved toward the bed. I hurried to beat her to it and pulled down the blanket and sheet so she could climb in.
“Thank you,” she said and crawled onto the mattress.
I nodded. “You are very welcomed.”