Page 81 of Three of a Kind

I can’t even handle the thought of it.

Noble is a good man. I’m not even upset that he works with Bless. She filled me in on the way over, and none of that seems to matter.

Not really.

He may have lied about a few specific details, but knowing he’s been watching out for me and Libby?

It means the world to me.

It also makes a lot more sense on why he had a steady stream of female visitors.

Bless’s core team is made up completely of women. She told me once that she’s been burned one too many times by men.

It says a lot that she trusts Noble, Gunner, and Maverick.

And now Noble could be seriously hurt because of me.

My chest gets so tight, it’s hard to breathe.

Bless stomps across the room, pulling me into her chest.

It’s a nice hug. Her boobs are soft, and since she’s taller than me, I pretty much end up face-planting into them.

She smells like honey and whiskey. It’s not my favorite scent, but her alpha pheromones are comforting.

“Noble cares about you,” she says, squeezing me tight. “He’s not going to let a couple of punks take him out. I’m going to call Stacia’s grandma in the morning. She’ll come help with Libby. That way, you can get some real rest. She’ll be happy to stay here in the house, so you don’t need to panic about that.”

“Thank you,” I say, struggling to keep from bursting into tears. “I need to call my job and Lennox…”

“Your sister is fine. I’ll arrange a call for you tomorrow. She’s in New Jersey and majorly fucking pissed about it.”

“New Jersey?” I ask, blinking repeatedly.

“She’s safe. That’s what counts. She can be angry about it, but at least she’ll be alive to experience the emotion.” Bless tugs me over to the couch. I take a seat, and she settles in at my side. “What would you give to go back in time?” She snorts. “To be as clueless as Lennox is to the reality of the world? Honestly, I don’t think I was ever that naive. Growing up in my family…” She sighs, tossing an arm around my shoulder. “I was never allowed to be.”

My heart aches for her.

I’m sure the pain I’m picking up on is hers.

It’s unexpected.

Bless is always brave and stoic.

I hate knowing how much she had to suffer to become as resilient as she is now.

“We’re all going to survive this if it’s the last thing I do,” she says, giving me a squeeze. “No more innocent people are going to suffer. We’re going to let the assholes fight it out. Once they’ve killed each other off, we just pray the lesser of two evils comes out on top.”

Wow.

That’s a sobering thought.

It doesn’t seem fair that this is the reality of the world we live in.

It doesn’t help my nerves at all when a small team of a doctor and two nurses arrives.

My eyes cut to Bless as she returns to the living room. “Why are they here?” Panic claws at my chest, and the longer she takes to answer, the worse it gets. “What do you know?”

“Noble is alive.” She swallows thickly, watching the team carry bags of supplies to a room here on the first floor. “He’s beat to hell, but he’ll live.”

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