Page 57 of Surrender

I reach behind me and wrap my fingers around Bree’s wrist again. Tighter this time. Holding her to me like a lifeline. “We’re going.”

“No, wait!” He shifts in front of us, blocking our escape.

“You have no right to ask about them! No right!” I shout in his face. “Who do you think has taken care of them for the past six months? Who do you think has answered Lucy’s questions about what happened to you? Do you have any idea what this will do to her? And you show up randomly and think you can demand answers from me? Fuck you!”

Bree gasps behind me and pulls her hand free in order to wrap her fingers aroundmywrist instead.

“I needed the money!”

A wave of dizziness crashes over me. “The... money? What money?”

But I already know. I already know, and I’m about to be sick all over this hallway floor.

“The insurance money.”

16

Jack

“If you’re going to hog all the chips, you can bring your own next time,” Jude announces from his spot on Lee’s couch. He’s relaxed in the corner with an arm slung across the back and his ankle resting on the opposite knee.

Aiden looks up from beside him, the blue bag fisted in his hand with a scowl. “Maybe I fucking will.”

“It’s not like I don’t have more.” Lee throws an unopened bag at Jude’s face. He grunts and tears the package open. “I’ve learned to always get more than necessary with you animals.”

Corjan snorts into his Coke can. “Right. I’ve heard Juniper telling Bree how you and Lincoln eat through the grocery budget in three days flat.”

Lee smirks and returns to his chair in the corner by the picture window. “I still can’t get it through her head that she no longer needs a grocery budget.” He takes a deep pull from the amber beer in his hand.

“Old habits die hard,” Jude mutters as he turns his gaze out the dark window.

My brothers and I have been gathered at Lee’s for the last hour and a half. As soon as Corjan dropped Bree off safe and sound at The Rocks with the other girls, we set a meeting spot and converged for beer, snacks, and camaraderie. We might see one another several times throughout the week, but we don’t often make time to do this.

“What do you think the girls are getting up to?” Corjan asks and tosses a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

“Trouble,” Lee mutters around the rim of his beer with a smirk. “At least Juniper will be.” The smitten bastard shakes his head like Juniper’s kind of trouble is the best thing he’s ever experienced.

“Anyone need anything from the kitchen?” I stand abruptly. This conversation is taking a turn into a territory I’m not a part of and don’t want to be. A chorus of negatives chases me into the kitchen, where I catch my breath.

The problem isn’t the discussion of wives and girlfriends. The problem is there’s somebody out there tonight who I can’t help but wonder about. Is she having a good time? Did she and Bree pick up their friendship where they left off, or is she miserable trying to make old connections fresh again?

Is she safe?

Whitney seems sociable. She’s kind and sarcastic and a hell of a lot of fun. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I’m jealous I’m here and not out getting to know her in a way that has nothing to do with the sounds she makes when she comes.

The image of us cozying up at a bar, heads together and knees touching, flashes through my mind.

I sure as fuck haven’t been able to stop thinking about her, and this isn’t helping one bit. I can still hear her moans in my head and feel her curves in my hands. I’ve woken up every morning since last Friday with my dick hard and her image in my head.

I squeeze my fingers around the edge of the countertop and blow out an exhausted breath.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. My brows snap together at the name on the screen.

“Corjan, why’s your wife calling me?”

“What?” He’s out of his chair and pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the screen.

I swipe to answer and put the phone to my ear. Before I can utter a hello, her voice is coming at me.

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