Page 54 of Sold on Them

“That was…a lot of emotion from you all at once, Cor,” Royce says before grinning. “It’s a good look on you.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Glancing at Mackenzie and Damon, the three of us break out into laughter that only grows when Cormac waves his hand in the air as if brushing us off.

Royce turns in his seat. “When we set this plan in motion, it was mainly for Parker’s benefit. If the two of you weren’t interested in me and Cormac, we would’ve been fine with it. We still would’ve done whatever we could to make sure that Parker was able to have a relationship with you, but I hoped it would be something more. I hoped the five of us could be family in whatever form that took, and that’s still what I want.”

“Damn. Why did I start this?” Mackenzie sniffles.

Turning toward her, I realize she’s crying, and I can’t help freaking out. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? What can I do? Please don’t cry. I’ll do whatever I can to fix it.”

“Still can’t handle Mackenzie’s tears, I see. Glad to see some things never change.” Damon snorts, wrapping his arm around her shoulders with a wince. “Feeling a little overwhelmed, Mac?”

She nods. “It’s my own fault. This really wasn’t the time for this conversation, but I couldn’t seem to keep my mouth shut.”

“You’re probably in shock,” Royce says softly. “I have a buddy who was a medic that lives in the area. Pretty sure he’s a doctor now, but I’ll have him meet us at your house. Both of you need to get checked out, and I’m sure you don’t want to go to a hospital.”

“Definitely not,” Damon and Mackenzie say together.

“Okay, I’ll give him a call.” Royce faces forward once more, his phone already in his hand.

I bite my lip, unsure what to say now. Is this really happening? Are the five of us going to try to make this work? What will that look like?

Mackenzie twines her fingers through mine. “Don’t go getting lost in that head of yours. Stay here in the moment with us, yeah? There will be plenty more conversations to come, but don’t invite trouble we don’t need, Parker.”

Knowing she’s right, I squeeze her hand and try to turn my brain off. It’s easier said than done as the car falls into relative silence, the only sounds are Royce murmuring into his phone.

“O’Reilly will meet us at Mackenzie’s house shortly. He’s coming in from Detroit as well, so we’ll beat him there. He said he’s taking his bike though, so who knows. He’s a speed demon on that thing,” Royce tells us when he ends the call.

I hum my agreement. O’Reilly was in the same unit as us for a while. I didn’t know he’d gotten out, but the two of us were neverclose. He was always an adrenaline junkie, so Royce’s words make sense to me.

Silence comes over the SUV once more, and I settle back in my seat and close my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because the slamming of a door has me jolting awake. I blink my eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them. A bone deep exhaustion rushes through me, and I know I’ve reached my limit. Glancing at my watch, I see it’s just after noon. I’ve been awake since seven yesterday morning. It’s not the longest stretch I’ve been awake by any means, but it’s been wrought with emotions, making it feel so much longer.

“You coming, Parker?” Mackenzie’s voice is quiet, and when I turn to look at her, I find she and Damon are already out of the SUV. In fact, I’m the only one still inside.

“Right. Yeah.” I reach for the door handle, struggling to grasp it and open the door. Frowning, I attempt once more. When I fail, the door opens to reveal Cormac.

He shakes his head. “You need to go to bed. Hell, we all need to go to bed.”

“Can’t yet. Need to make sure Mac and Damon are okay first.” I allow him to help me out of the SUV. When I waver on my feet, he wraps his arm around my waist with another shake of his head. “Thanks, Cor.”

“The house is all clear,” Royce calls out.

Huh.

I didn’t realize he wasn’t standing here with us. Damn, I really do need sleep.

Cormac helps me walk up to the house with Damon and Mackenzie walking in front of us. Mackenzie is limping slightly but makes no complaints.

Once we make it inside, Royce is just about to shut the door when the sounds of a motorcycle tear down the street. He shakes his head as he steps outside to greet O’Reilly.

“Let’s figure out where everyone is sleeping while Royce chats with O’Reilly. We can have him examine the two of you there, and we’ll get you showered before we all get some much needed sleep.” I’m not sure I’ve heard Cormac’s voice that soft before. “Little one, do you want to direct us where to go?”

“Sure,” Mackenzie says, exhaustion threading her words. “My bed should be just about big enough for all five of us—if that’s okay with everyone. It’ll make me feel better having us all together.”

Cormac nods. “Then we will be. Lead the way.”

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