Page 93 of Sebastian

“Okay. The sheriff’s department. Look man, there’s no sense standing out here staring at the clean sidewalk. Let’s go inside and if you need to talk about it, we can talk.” Declan wrapped his arm around Sebastian’s shoulders and pulled him towards the entrance of the building.

They rode up to his apartment in silence. The sound of his breaths where echoing off the walls and for the first time in his life, he felt claustrophobic. Sawyer’s hand landed on his shoulder, but he couldn’t form the words to thank him. All he could think about was running out onto the street that morning to the worst thing he’d ever experienced in his life.

He stood in the living room while his brothers all milled around, looking over the space and figuring out where they would all sleep. Seb didn’t care. He just wanted to go through the motions as quickly as possible so he could get back to the hospital.

“You’ve done good for yourself here, Sebastian. I’m proud of you.” Declan placed his duffle bag down on the sofa.

“Thanks man. How’d you end up with the couch?”

“Eh, I figured those guys would only be staying a few days. I’ll swap with them when they have to get back to the distillery.”

“And how long are you going to stay?”

“As long as you need me, Seb. I’ll stay for as long as you need me to.”

“So, was Emma crashing here, or what? Because this place screams bachelor pad.” Sawyer walked over to the fridge and frowned. “Where do you keep your beer? I think we could all use something right now, especially you, Seb.”

“Fridge in the island,” Seb mumbled.

“Oh, this place is fucking fancy. Okay.” Sawyer collected five bottles from the fridge and handed them out. Cooper and Wyatt had joined Seb and Declan in the living room. They sat in silence for several minutes, all just nursing their drinks.

“Well, I guess I’ll go first,” Coop said, breaking through the silence. “How come you didn’t tell any of us about her? You worried we wouldn’t approve?”

“It’s not like that. Things were developing between us, but just got put in the pressure cooker when I found out about her past.”

“Ahh, never could stop Seb from a damsel in distress.”

“It’s not like that. Sure, she needed someone to protect her, and look where trusting me to do that got her.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “There’s something about Emma that just called to me. Her hazel eyes were like magnets the first time I saw her. I couldn’t stop myself from trying to start something with her, even if I wanted to.”

“And she just let you in, because of course, what woman wouldn’t when they know you’ve got billions in the bank?”

Sebastian squeezed his bottle so tight he thought it might shatter in his hand. Better that than smashing the bottle into his dumb brother’s face.

“Wy, I swear, if you insult her again, you’ll be headed back to Tennessee with your jaw wired shut,” he growled through his clenched teeth. Jesus, he just wanted his brothers to say whatever they needed to say so he could get some sleep and get back to Emma, but the fact that Wyatt had insulted her made his blood boil. “She’s not interested in my money. In fact she’s told me where to shove it all more than once.”

His brothers laughed.

“Good,” Wyatt smiled. “That’s all I wanted to know, Seb. She sounds like someone who will keep you on your toes, and you need that, man.”

“Look, go get some sleep. Then tomorrow, you go back to the hospital and make sure she puts in one hell of a fight,” Declan said.

“Thank you guys for coming out here. I didn’t want to pull you away from the distillery, but I’m thankful you all came.”

“That’s what family does, Seb. And we’ll be here when Emma becomes a part of the Montgomery crew one day, too.” Cooper’s words washed over Sebastian, a lump growing in his throat as he tried to shove down the fear that he may never get to see that day with Emma.

* * *

Sweat poured over his body as he sparred with the weighted bag in his home gym. He’d tried to sleep, wanting nothing more than the blank darkness to wash over him, but after a few hours of staring at his ceiling he couldn’t take the built up energy any longer.

He’d run until his legs had nearly given out, then as soon as he could breathe again, he’d put on his gloves and started beating the shit out of his hanging bag, picturing the sketch Emma had helped the FBI come up with for Marco.

That fucking piece of shit was a dead man walking, and Seb hoped he didn’t know it. He hoped Marco was somewhere sleeping right now, thinking he’d won. It would make his death so much sweeter. And Sebastian would kill him. For Emma. For everything he’d taken from her. For nearly taking her life.

Fuck.

Sebastian threw another punch, and another, grunting loudly under the strain of moving his tired body.

“That’s enough.” His brother’s booming voice filled the room.

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