Page 21 of Ruthless Beasts

“I should be there,” he stated. “So should you. Merc, I need you at the house.”

“Why?” Unless I was missing something, that seemed highly excessive. We’ve got guards.

“The spy we caught lurking around our fence line provided her father with information on our security,” Merc offered.

“No big deal. We beef it up.” I shrugged before letting my body relax into the cushions.

“He knows we aren’t home and left her alone. We- Adam fears that he will use this information to strike. If he gets past the guards, only Max and Drew on the inside. It would be simple enough to get to her.”

“Put more guards on the inside. It’s as simple as that.” I closed my eyes. Fuck, I could sleep on this couch.

“I want one of us at the house at all times,” Adam stated.

I shot up. “You’re putting us on babysitting duty?”

“It won’t be forever. Give it a few weeks and maybe we can take her out of the house with us. Let her hang out in my office here a few days a week.”

“Do you want that?” I didn’t think he did. From my viewpoint, he didn’t know what he wanted, but I was positive it wasn’t even her. The idea of her, yes. The idea of having a wife to care for, more specifically, because once he was an amazing husband. But that girl? What could they possibly have in common to make him this protective?

“I-“ He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about it. “I don’t know what I want. But – there is something we need to talk about.”

There were tons of things I could think of that we needed to talk about, and none of them involved the girl that’s invaded our lives. “If you take any longer to spit it out, I’ll hit retirement.”

With a sigh and then a deep breath, he admitted something I knew he felt to his very core. “I wasn’t enough to take care of Elizabeth.”

I leaned forward, letting my forearm rest on my calf. “We all know that isn’t true. You were more than enough, but we didn’t see the attack coming.”

“I let my guard down.”

“We all did.”

Hell, we all failed her. Sometimes I think of all the ways I had let her down. She wanted me to join them in the car. I insisted I’d catch up. I wanted to feel the wind in my hair. I wanted to ride my motorcycle for the first time that week, but it needed a little maintenance first. I hadn’t expected that when I caught up, it would be her bloody body and lifeless eyes on the pavement that would greet me. I had made so many promises to her I never got to keep, and it might haunt me for the rest of my life.

“I can’t let Belle down.”

“Are we on a nickname basis now? That’s sweet.” My words dripped with sarcasm, earning me a glare. “You don’t even know her.”

“Have you gotten the information on her father and Accardo?” he pushed.

“Not yet. My man is working on it,” I replied guiltily.

“Then yeah, I don’t know her well.”

“There are other ways to know people that aren’t on paper. Have you tried that?” Merc pointed out, but we knew his lack of attempts to communicate with her had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with the wife he cared for and lost.

“Despite not knowing her, she’s my wife.”

“Have you thought about why that is?” I pushed because I was curious about why he did it.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s done,” he sighed, “and I want her protected.”

“And babysitting her is going to do that?” I laughed.

“It’s not just about babysitting.” His face took on a look I’d never seen before, and fuck, it was terrifying. I was almost afraid to ask. I did anyway.

“Then what is it about?”

“I want you guys to get to know her.” He finished his sentence then swiftly took a swig of alcohol.

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