Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
I suck in a breath as Maddox comes to stand next to me, his hand dropping to my ass. “Tell me I’m imagining things,” I say, fighting the tears welling in my eyes.
“I can’t do that.”
“Holy shit.”
Hunter moves past us to unlock the door, and the moment it opens, Smooch barrels out, jumping up at my chest and almost knocking me over.
We all get inside and the boys lead me through the house and straight to the back door, and as we make our way out into the yard, I see what can only be described as an outdoor studio with a big red light hanging over the entrance.
“Open it,” Hunter murmurs beside me.
I look up at him, sensing a slight hint of nervousness in his tone that I’ve never heard from him before. When he nods, I step right up to the door, twist the handle, and push it wide.
Darkness swallows me as I move inside, and when Maddox follows me in and switches on the overhead lights, the world around me disappears. The noise, the exhaustion, the fear of being caught, it all goes away because right here, standing in my very own dark room, my peace has returned.
My chest swells with overwhelming emotion as I look around, taking it all in. The enlarger, the drying line, the workbench and storage space, right down to the developing trays. It’s all here, ready to go, and for a moment, I struggle to breathe.
Behind me, neither of the boys speak. They just watch me, silently waiting, and I slowly turn to face them, my eyes welling with unshed tears. I almost laugh, because for two highly trained killers, they look like they’re about to pee their pants.
“You really built all of this?”
Maddox nods. “It took us a few weeks, but yeah. We wanted you to have something here that could be just yours. Somewhere to escape when shit gets out of control.”
“A few weeks?” I ask. “How the hell did I not notice this?”
Maddox grins. “You’ve been a little occupied with everything that’s been going on with the repairs at the bar, and we’ve done everything we could to keep you distracted while you’ve been home.”
My brow arches. They certainly have.
Hunter winces, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “This, uhhh . . . this is what we were doing when we realized you were missing,” he explains. “That’s why it took us so long. We wanted to get it finished for you.”
Maddox cuts in. “There’s still a few little things. It needs some touch-ups on the paint work, and the lock on the door is a little fiddly.”
The emotions hit me so hard, they almost knock me over, and the tears stream down my cheeks. Nobody has ever done anything like this for me.
“Uh-oh,” Maddox says, inching back. “Are you crying?”
I shake my head as a stupid smile stretches across my face. “I’m too much of a badass to cry,” I sob just as a laugh breaks through the tears, but before I have a chance to wipe my face, I’m barreling through the dark room.
I throw myself at the boys, my arms going wide around them. Hunter collects me in his strong hold, one arm locking around my waist, as Maddox catches me on his other side, squeezing so hard I almost lose a lung.
I wipe my tears against Hunter’s shirt before looking up at them both. “God, I love you both so much.”
Hunter reaches up and grasps my chin, the move sending butterflies soaring through my stomach. “And we love you, Lyra,” he tells me. “As long as you’re alive, our hearts belong to you. You’re my whole fucking world, and I can’t speak for Maddox on this, but there’s not a goddamn thing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Maddox nods. “I’m right there with him, Savage. This one lifetime is never going to be enough for me. I knew it from the moment I saw your feisty little ass out on the street. I had to know you, and every day since, you’ve blown me the fuck away. I can’t do life without you anymore. I don’t know how to, and if something were to happen to you, I’d be right there following you into the next life.”
“Come hell or high water,” Hunter says. “You’re stuck with us now. No takebacks.”
“Not even when I fake hostage situations?”
“Not even then,” Hunter says. “You and I both know that shit gets Maddox hard.”
I grin and glance up at Maddox. “That’s exactly why I did it.”
Maddox laughs as Hunter just rolls his eyes, probably thinking about how much work it’s going to take to get his car looking like a wet dream again, but to be fair, nobody asked him to drive right through the building. That’s all on him.
I pull back and start really taking in the room, looking over everything the boys have included, right down to the brand-new camera sitting on the counter.