Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Indie stared at Slade through blurry eyes.
Crap.
These emotions were killing her. It was all their fault. The four of them.
Did they all think the same as Slade?
Well, she guessed Spencer did. He’d said something along the same lines. She wasn’t so sure about Rock and Quaid. Neither of them could really meet her gaze.
But as Slade said, he couldn’t speak for them all. Just for himself.
However, what he said . . . she wanted. Desperately.
To have what was broken mended.
To have them again.
Even knowing that when he said ‘us’ he didn’t mean it in the way that she really wanted. He didn’t mean that he wanted her like that.
She’d long since resigned herself to the fact that while she might want them, they didn’t feel the same way. Which was likely for the best.
Just because reverse harems worked in Escana didn’t mean they’d work in England.
She could just imagine the scandal that would cause.
“I miss you, Indie. I’ve missed you ever since Billy came into your life. And that’s not a criticism of you. I’m not saying any of that was your fault. I should have pushed to see you. I should have checked on you more. I should have . . . I should have fucking known what he was doing to you. That will haunt me for the rest of our lives.”
“It haunts all of us,” Spencer added.
“That our girl was being abused . . . fuck,” Slade’s voice broke and that was when she saw all the pain he’d been trying to hold back.
And she knew she couldn’t walk away. Couldn’t leave.
Because if there was a chance she could have him back . . . she had to take it.
Even if they break you again?
Well, this time, she’d hold a piece of herself back. She’d loved them with everything before.
Now, she knew the truth. They could hurt her. Could leave her.
And the truth was that she couldn’t imagine going to Escana with Maggie and she’d never ask her to stay here. Maggie had to be free to live her life. Indie had held her back enough. She didn’t want her best friend worrying about her anymore.
Staying with these guys would give Maggie freedom and Indie wanted to do that.
And, hell, these guys did owe her right?
Maybe she could use them for shelter and care. Keeping her baby safe was her priority and they could help do that.
They all owed her that and more. Perhaps it was time to be selfish for once. She’d just need to be careful not to let them close to her heart again.
Indie glanced around at them all. Did Slade have a red mark on his cheek? She frowned slightly, but didn’t ask him about it.
“How would it work?” she asked. “What would you expect from me?”
“Nothing,” Quaid said in a harsh voice. “We would expect nothing from you.”
Ouch.
She wasn’t quite sure why that reply packed a punch. But it did and she rubbed her stomach to ease the ache.
“Except to rest and feel better,” Spencer added quickly. “All we want is for you to heal.”
“And keep you safe,” Slade added. “So there will be some rules.”
“But not many,” Spencer added.
The two men stared at each other.
Indie cleared her throat, trying to ease the sudden tension in the room. “I want to be safe from Billy. I don’t want to put my baby at risk.”
Slade relaxed and nodded. “Right. So no going nowhere without one of us.”
How often would they be able to escort her places? They worked a lot.
Then again, where did she have to go? She likely had no job. No friends other than Maggie.
“We can talk about all of that once we get you home,” Spencer told her gently. “But you don’t need to worry about anything. We’ll take care of it all.”
“Like we always should have,” Slade said in a low voice.
She was all too aware that neither Rock nor Quaid had said much. Rock rarely spoke but he couldn’t even meet her gaze or come close to her. What did that mean?
And Quaid looked so removed, as if he wished he wasn’t even in the room.
Perhaps this was a really dumb idea.
“Let us take care of you, please,” Slade begged.
She to hold herself together. Damn it. Where was the numb?
But a tear slid down her face. Then another one.
Slade moved closer and she let him gently grasp hold of her, hugging her.
God, it felt like home.
And for some reason that made her cry harder. She’d missed them so much.
And she wasn’t just talking about since they’d kicked her out of the penthouse. She’d been missing them for months.
Billy had isolated her from everyone without her even noticing. Well, not until it was too late. Until she was so broken that she didn’t know how to fix any of her relationships.