Page 33 of Bad Business

Willow shakes off her shock and hurries to retrieve her phone from her bag. Sofia takes the device and wanders off into the living room.

“We should eat, then you should probably get some rest. I imagine we will have a location soon.” Lorenzo points toward the stairs. “You two can take the first room on the left. It has an attached bathroom with everything you need to freshen up. I’ll have my staff fix us something to eat. Go,” he waves us off. “Dinner will be ready within the hour.”

“Willow,” Brian calls out, and I grit my teeth. “Can we talk?” He glances between the two of us. “Alone?”

The minute she turns toward me, I know I have to let her do this.

“Go. I’ll be upstairs waiting.” I press a kiss to her lip then turn to face Brian. “If you touch her… you won’t have to worry about Sofia because I’ll kill you myself.”

Bumping his shoulder as I leave the woman I’ve fallen in love with alone with him, I take the steps two at a time. I don’t notice my brothers following me until we get upstairs. They shove in behind me, and Drake slams the door.

“You need to get yourself under control.” He arches a brow.

I start to speak, but Roland laughs, making everyone look at him.

“What?” He holds his hands up. “You, of all people, know when it comes to the women we love, being in control is not possible.” He shakes his head. “Fuck, I want to punch that twit downstairs, and Willow isn’t mine like that. I can only imagine how Dallas is feeling right now, Drake. How about you cut him some slack?”

“Thanks, Roland, but Drake’s right.” I pace the room. “I want Willow to trust me, and punching her friend is not something I imagine will help. I have to trust her that there is nothing between them now.”

“It's not her I worry about.” Griffyn goes to the window and peers out. “It’s him.”

“Oh, shit.” Ryker stops beside him, his eyes wide with what looks like concern. “Um, Dallas. I think you might actually need to go back downstairs.” I start toward the window, but he holds up his hand. “Never mind. I think between your woman and Sofia… her friend has a clear understanding of where the boundaries are.”

I get to the window in time to see Willow storming back inside and Brian being led off by Sofia. It’s not hard to see something happened because the fuckers nose is pouring blood as she practically drags him off the back deck. I turn to storm off after her, but Drake stops me.

“Whoa. Calm down before you go down there. If something happened, you need to be clear-headed for her.” I take a deep breath. “Plus, we need to talk about what you want us to do when you take her to the meetup. You are going with her, right?”

“The only thing that would stop me is a body bag,” I grumble.

He releases his hold on me. “Let’s not go that far. But I doubt Lorenzo will let us tag along, so where does that leave us?”

“Waiting here, I guess.” I turn to face the others. “I can’t thank you enough for being here… but right now, I need to find my woman.” I’m about to open the door when a soft knock halts me. Tugging it open, I find Willow on the other side.

“Um. Can I come in?”

I step to the side and wave her through. She stops short when she sees the others inside.

“Oh. Am I interrupting y’all?”

“Nope,” Drake speaks up first. “We were just heading out.” My brothers quickly move to the door, pausing to hug Willow before leaving. When the last one leaves, I shut the door.

“You okay?” I wait, not moving until she gives me a sign that’s what she needs.

“Yes… no… I don’t know.” She steps into me, making me breathe a sigh of relief. “I punched Brian.”

“Do what now?” I wasn’t expecting her to say she was the one who made him bleed.

“He tried to kiss me, saying I was being manipulated by you. I just snapped. How could he say that shit, Dallas? He doesn’t know me—at all. And with everything else going on, I just lost it. He is supposed to be worried about my niece… not who I’m fucking.”

I tense in her hold. “Do I need to have words with him?”

“No.” She giggles. “After I hit him, Sofia appeared like an Angel or Devil… either way, she snatched his ear and dragged him off. I imagine whatever she’s doing to him is far worse than what you would do.”

“I need to be honest. My brothers saw you hit him. I was about to storm down there when you knocked.”

She leans back. “They did? Oh God.” She buries her face in my chest again. “How am I going to look at them at dinner?”

“With your head held high, that’s how. You’re a fucking warrior, Willow. Don’t forget that.”

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