Junior shrugged. “You’re family. It’s what we do.”

Was it really so uncomplicated to him? “Still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, starting to look uncomfortable. He glanced out his window at Josh’s idling car. “How’d he know what a dead body smells like?”

Josh’s story wasn’t mine to tell, but this was Junior’s second time asking the question, and I had a feeling that if I didn’t tell him something, he’d start digging into my boyfriend’s past. I’d do whatever I could to avoid that, for both mine and Josh’s sakes.

Lying wasn’t my forte, but I gave it my best shot. “He found a deer rotting in the woods when he was a kid, and it traumatized him. Said he’d never forget the smell.”

Junior grimaced. “I bet.”

“How’d your men recognize it?” I asked, hoping to turn the tables.

He met my gaze head-on, looking more like his father than ever. “How do you think?”

It was my turn to grimace. No wonder my hackles had risen the second I laid eyes on them. At first, staying behind in the van seemed like the easiest thing in the world because it meant I’d be able to put so much space between me and the dead-eyed crew of ex-soldiers.

I’d been equally happy to stay behind with Josh after they’d aborted their mission, deciding I’d rather risk my boyfriend’s wrath than be trapped in a van with them. Now, watching Josh get out of his car and stalk toward my door, I wondered why I’d made that decision. Junior would have been with me if I’d stayed put, and I didn’t doubt that he would shoot anyone who made a move for me. Had I stayed behind because, subconsciously, part of me hoped to add to my punishment? Or was it just that I couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning my boyfriend?

I shook my head to clear it. Maybe my subconscious played a small part, but more than anything, my reaction had been knee-jerk. Josh was staying behind, so I would, too. End of discussion. I would have never forgiven myself if I’d left him and something happened. And deep down, part of me wondered if leaving him had been the plan all along. After all, Josh was responsible for Brad’s death. If not for the basement bodies, would the team have found another excuse to bail prematurely and leave him to fend for himself and hopefully get caught?

The thought made me shudder. If I hadn’t gotten out of the van when I had, would my cousin have ordered us to drive to the pickup spot? Or would he have tried to overpower me and leave Josh behind?

Maybe I was being paranoid or mean-spirited by thinking such things about my relatives, but my gut was telling me that I was onto something, and so far, it hadn’t led me astray. I might have softened some toward my mobster family members, but I would never trust them, especially not with my boyfriend’s welfare, which would likely make our upcoming dinners about as fun as running through the woods at night during winter.

Josh opened my door, pulling me from my dark thoughts. His gaze bored into mine, the anemic glow of the distant floodlights painting his face half in light, half in shadow, reminding me of his mask. “Ready?”

I nodded and held my arms out. One look at Josh was enough for me to realize that no matter the consequences or reasons behind my actions, I wouldn’t change my decision to stay with him. Our fates were twined together, for better or for worse.

He reached in and scooped me out of the backseat, blankets and all, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight. “Thanks, Junior,” he called into the cabin.

“You owe us one,” my cousin called back.

Josh nodded. “You know how to find me.”

With that, he turned and strode toward his car, shuffling me when we reached it so he could open my door and settle me into the seat. He even went so far as to move it forward so my feet were closer to the heater. Ducking down, he tucked the blanket tight around me. “You good? Comfy?”

“I’d be a lot more comfortable if you told me what I’m in for,” I said.

His flash of teeth looked feral in the moonlight. I didn’t think it was a good thing that he didn’t answer me, instead shutting my door and going around to his, but the way he limped made me wonder if he was in any condition to be doling out punishment.

The nurse in me took over as he dropped into the driver’s seat. “Regardless of what you have planned for me, I want to look at your ribs when we get home. Don’t think I missed the way you’ve been wheezing.”

He sent me a saucy wink. “You just want an excuse to get me topless.”

“Always,” I shot back. “But seriously, did you hit your ribs?”

He put the car in drive and eased out of the parking spot. “You just steal my breath away, Aly.”

I nearly groaned. That wasn’t a no. “Josh, if you carried me with a cracked rib, I’m going to punish you right back.”

A wicked grin split his face, and I knew from the mischievous gleam in his eyes what was coming next. “Kin-”

I clapped a hand over his mouth.

He swirled his tongue over my palm, all the warning I had before he bit down. Hard.

I yelped and pulled my hand back.

“Ky,” he finished.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 24Josh

To quote one of my favorite TV shows, “Everything hurt, and I was dying.”

Okay, so maybe not literally, but it felt pretty close. My shins throbbed. A deep, pulsing ache radiated from my right shoulder to my elbow. Despite the way I’d sidestepped Aly’s questions, I’d definitely hit my ribs.

I probably wasn’t in any position to teach my girlfriend a lesson about breaking her word to me, but was I about to tell her that? Hell no. The way she kept jumping every time I moved too quickly, like she expected me to pounce any second, was far too satisfying.

I reached for her front door handle a little faster than was necessary, and she flinched so hard that she almost fell sideways into a planter. Oh, this was too good. So good that I was starting to think it was better to delay the punishment I had planned and focus on mental warfare.

“You doing okay, babe?” I asked, fighting the urge to grin. “You seem kind of jumpy.”

She sent me a disgruntled look that had no business being so adorable. “I’m just impatient to get inside.”

Right. As much fun as it was to torment her, we couldn’t linger out here. Our clothes were still damp, and we needed to get out of them and check ourselves over for any injuries that might require treatment.

I slipped my key into the lock and opened the door for Aly, indicating she should go first. She passed me sideways, eyes narrowed and body tense like she was bracing for an attack. The urge to lunge was strong, but I held it in check. We’d been through hell tonight, and the last thing she needed was another rush of adrenaline when her flight or fight response kicked in.

A high-pitched yowl hit my ears as I closed the door behind us. Fred came skittering out of Aly’s bedroom with his tail held high and mouth wide open as he announced how pissed he was that we’d left him alone. Maybe it was time to start thinking about getting him a little brother or sister, someone to keep him company while Aly and I were working or having Mommy-Daddy time.

Before meeting Aly, I’d never let myself think about what having my own family might be like – I’d been too afraid of passing on my genes to contemplate it – but it felt like I was already forming one with this woman. Now that I trusted myself around small things, I couldn’t get the idea of a fluffy little kitten out of my head. It seemed like the next logical step, and I could already see it now: the four of us snuggled together on the couch, Aly sipping wine, and me rubbing her feet while we talked about our days, the cats curled between us.

Ahead of me, Aly leaned down and scooped Fred up. “We weren’t even gone that long.”

Fred headbutted her in the chin hard enough that I heard a low thunk from the impact.