Page 84 of Smolder

“He’ll have Presley there,” Wilder said. “I doubt Levi is even in the house. Don’t expect to have blood there to back you up.”

Thatcher let out a sinister cackle. Wilder tensed, and the concern in his eyes made it clear that he didn’t think this was going to end well.

•Thirty-Two •

“The family is just that—family.”

Royal

The moment the plane leveled out, Sebastian reached over and unbuckled me, then took my hand to pull me over into his lap. The private jet that had been at the airstrip as soon as the snow stopped was larger and more luxurious than the one we’d taken to get here.

I’d hoped we would be snowed in, even if it meant Sebastian’s brother would be in the cabin too. Something was not right about him. Sure, he had the same sexy, dark good looks as Sebastian, but there was a sinister way about him. He frightened me, but he seemed protective of Sebastian.ThatI was thankful for.

“You okay?” Sebastian whispered in my ear as he slid his fingers through mine to hold my hand.

I wasn’t, but from what I’d gathered from the other two men, he was in trouble because of me. I didn’t want to add to his stress. I’d been the cause of enough of it for him.

“Yes,” I lied.

The corner of his mouth lifted, but his eyes held a darkness. “For such a talented hustler, Ace, you are a bad liar.”

I rolled my eyes, and he tightened his hold on me.

“You’re going to be fine. Nothing will happen to you. Except Maeme might feed you too much, but other than that, you’re good.”

They sure seemed to have a lot of faith in the safety of his grandmother’s house. I didn’t understand that. Why did they think she’d agree to keep me and not let his dad in? Was she not their dad’s mother? Was she their mother’s mom? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t worried about my safety.

“What about you?” I asked as my chest clenched tightly.

They hadn’t said much, but I’d picked up that wherever it was Sebastian had to go, it wasn’t good.

“Are y’all gonna sit over there and whisper the entire fucking flight?” Thatcher drawled from across the cabin of the plane.

Sebastian’s stare hardened as he glared at his brother. “Does it bother you?”

Thatcher picked up a glass of what I assumed was whiskey. “It’s verging on nauseating.”

“Leave them alone,” Wilder told him. “Don’t act like you’re not worse with Capri.”

That was the second time I’d heard Capri mentioned. Was there a female who was actually close to that man? It would be like befriending the Devil. What would a woman who could do that be like?

“I gave you as long as I could. He should thank me for the five days that he got,” Thatcher said.

“You gave me five days? What? You think you could have found me sooner?” Sebastian asked with a touch of amusement in his tone, as if that wasn’t a possibility.

The corner of Thatcher’s lips tugged up just barely as he drank from his glass. “You can’t hide from me. Never could.”

Sebastian’s brows drew together in a frown. “I used no connections to the family. I paid in cash. I covered every fucking base I could to make sure it wasn’t easy to find us. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how the hell Wilder figured out my burner phone number. I even bought that in cash myself. It wasn’t one of ours.”

Thatcher shrugged, looking smug.

“He put a fucking AirTag in the sole of one of your boots,” Wilder said. “Didn’t tell me about it until this morning. After you bought the burner phone and left, he went inside the place, held a knife to the man’s throat, and got the info he needed to trace it.”

Sebastian straightened as he narrowed his eyes at his brother. “You what?!”

Thatcher flicked his eyes in my direction, and I sank in closer to Sebastian. The man disturbed me.

“I saw a familiar glint in your eyes when you … walked out of that room, little brother. One that I knew too well. I expected something like this. To protect you from rash decisions, I had to do something.”

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