“We just rode right up. No one was fuckin’ there. Crime scene tape on the doorways, blood all over the floors, but not one fuckin’ cop. Idiots.”

“I’m guessing Jimenez has more pull than we’d originally thought. Houses are usually full of cops for at least twenty-four hours after a murder, taking prints and staging shit.” He looked deep in thought, and I didn’t ask how he knew police procedure so well. He was remembering something, and his past wasn’t any of my business.

“I’m gonna get back to Callie. She’s probably climbing the walls.”

“Yeah, I’ll be in there in a bit. Let the boys know to get their shit off the bikes and outta the Yukon. Gonna need bedding—we’re staying here for the night. Something’s not sitting right.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I was glad they weren’t headed to a hotel. I sure as fuck wasn’t leaving Callie and Rose and I was glad Poet had the same idea. Unfortunately, Rose’s trailer wasn’t very big and it was going to be a tight fit, even with the boys sleeping on the floor. I knew Poet was gonna take the couch, which left me with the tiny-ass loveseat.

When I got back in the trailer, Callie was sitting at the edge of the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. The boys had made themselves comfortable around the table playing cards with Rose, so I let them know to get their shit and then I headed toward my girl. She was wearing a long-ass nightgown and I couldn’t help but smile at how innocent she looked. It was a big difference from the tiny-ass shorts she’d been wearing when I met her.

She scooted into my side when I sat down beside her, and tension I hadn’t noticed seeped from my shoulders. Yeah, the girl had completely fucked me.

“Gram gave me a nightgown,” she muttered into my armpit as I wrapped an arm around her.

“I see that. It looks… cozy,” I told her with a smile, glad she was talking without crying.

“Shut up,” she huffed. “I look like I belong on fucking Little House on the Prairie.”

Her words were like a punch to the chest and I chuckled, wheezing like I couldn’t catch my breath.

I’d seen her relieved, and I’d seen her embarrassed, and I’d seen her confused and scared. But I’d never seen her confident or sarcastic. Up until that point, I’d wanted her. I’d wanted to take care of her, pamper her, and make her feel safe. But her dry tone of voice had an entirely different effect. It made me want to bend her over the damn couch we were sitting on and fuck her. Hard. Holy shit. I readjusted my suddenly tight jeans and settled more comfortably in the couch before saying anything else. That was all I fucking needed—for Rose or one of the boys to see me tenting my jeans like an asshole.

A couple hours later, Callie fell asleep and I carried her into Rose’s bed for the night. The boys were setting up the sleeping arrangements and I didn’t want them to wake her up. The girl looked tired as hell even when she was actually sleeping. Once I had her settled, I grabbed a blanket from Rose and got situated on my tiny-ass bed for the night. My back was going to kill me in the morning.

It wasn’t too long after the house had fallen asleep that I woke up to someone moving around in the living room. When I opened my eyes, I saw Callie quietly making her way through the guys on the floor. She was stepping around them when she could, and over them when she had to, walking on her toes as if that was going to help. I could see that most of them had woken up—men didn’t get far in this life if they let their guard down, and they would have felt the shift as soon as she came out of Rose’s room—but none of them moved or made a sound.

As she was stepping over Hammer’s chest, one of the brothers that came down with Poet, I saw his eyes open and his head move slightly as if to look up her nightgown. Fucking prick. I didn’t want to startle her by saying anything, but when his hand moved as if to grab her, I’d had enough.

“Touch her and I’ll fuckin’ gut you, brother or not,” I growled, my voice raspy from sleep.

Callie squeaked and jumped, almost falling into the men sleeping on the floor. She barely caught herself and ran to me, stepping in any open space she could find between the bodies. When she got to me, she dove, landing sprawled on my chest and almost clipping my nose with her chin. I grunted as her knee came really close to my balls, and quickly moved her legs so one was between me and the back of the loveseat and the other pulled high on my waist. Fuck, even with her landing on me like a ton of bricks, my dick still sprang to attention.

“I thought you left,” she murmured quietly in my ear. She’d straightened out one of her arms so it was lying down our sides, but the other was across my stomach and bent with her hand on my bare chest. I should’ve left my goddamn shirt on, but it was hot as fuck in the room with so many people in it and I hadn’t wanted to sweat through the only clean one I had left. I was seriously reconsidering my choice when she started kneading my chest, like she was making sure I was actually there. When her hand strayed close to my nipple, my dick practically jumped in my jeans and I quickly grabbed her hand and held it in the middle of my chest.

“Not going anywhere,” I reassured her with a kiss on her forehead. I thought about telling her to go back in with Rose, but I knew she wouldn’t sleep if she did. I had a feeling the minute she thought I was asleep, she’d be on her way back out, waking up the men on the floor again.

“I’m sorry I’m being such a pain in the ass,” she whispered, relaxing her body into mine. “It scares me when I can’t see you.”