Page 57 of Trouble

Damnyouth.

I shuffled after him through the small clearing that housed our shack, ignoring the stunning beauty that surrounded me. I was way too sore and way too grumpy to appreciate the lush little enclave, the woods surrounding it, and the mountaintops lining the horizon as far as the eye couldsee.

Maroon led me through the trees until they gave way to a calm, slow-movingriver.

“It’s the same river you heard when we were walking up. It’s just much safer in this part—you can swim if you like, but only here. It’s got some nasty undercurrents further down, and a lot of sharp rocks.” My bed partner dropped his belongings on the shore and stuck a toe in. “Refreshing!”

I wanted to bitch about the fact that he clearly expected me to wash in a goddamnriver,but given the fact that I’d had to squat behind a bush to pee last night, I just didn’t have any more fight left in me. With a resigned sigh, I grabbed the toothpaste and sat down to clean myteeth.

Next to me, Maroon dropped his boxers—giving me an eyeful of his perfectly sculpted arse—and thenraninto the goddamn water like an over-excited Labrador. I squealed as ice-cold river water splattered me and got a deep laugh in response before he finally—at the middle of the river—dove headfirst into thewater.

“You jerk!” I growled when he finally popped up again, red hair plastered to his scalp and eyes sparkling with mischief and pure zest for life. I hadn’t seen that expression on either of them for more than a week, and despite my general annoyance—and soaked top—seeing it now made something in my chestwarm.

“Come on in—the water’s great,” he said, splashing in my general direction, but without hitting me thistime.

“Yeah, it’s not.” I held out my wet top for emphasis. “It’s colder than a meltedglacier.”

“Unless you plan on smelling like ripened cheese, you’ll have to come in eventually,” he teased. “We won’t see a hot shower for a least amonth.”

I paled. “Amonth?You’rejoking.”

The twin’s teasing smile fell for that look of seriousness they’d both had all day yesterday. “It’s going to take Blaine some time to figure something out. We’ll be here for quite a while. And after that, we may have to move to another safe location. I know this is a lot for you to deal with, love, and I’m sorry. I tried to protect you from all this shit, and I know I’vefailed.”

“But… my job,” I croaked when it finally fully sunk in that I wouldn’t be back to my regular life for quite possibly a very long time. “I can’t just disappear. They’ll fire me! I have to call them, I have to let themknow—”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, and from the look of him, he truly was. “You can’t. Perkinson knows where you work, it’s not safe to get in touch withthem.”

“But—”

“Your job is not more important than your life, Audrey.” His voice was suddenly stern, demanding obedience. It was such a sharp contrast to his usual self, it finally cracked through the last defense I’d put up around myself to get through this insanity. With a rush of startling clarity, I finally understood that my life would never go back to how it had been. If I even made it through alive, I’d never go back to my old job, I’d never gossip with Eileen over piles of reports, and I’d never get the promotion I’d killed myself to get for the past threeyears.

My career was over. You didn’t just take off for more than a month with no warning or explanation and not have it go on your permanent record. Everything I’d worked for for as long as I could remember wasover.

The twin was as surprised by my tears as I was. When the first deep sobs broke free of my awfully constricted chest, he flinched as if the sound caused him physical pain. Then, without hesitation, he came out of the water and onto the shore to wrap me up in his wetembrace.

I leaned in against his chest, not caring that he soaked me through with cold river water, just grateful to be held as everything I’d held dear seemed to fall apart and leave me feeling so naked and alone I could barely standit.

All my life, I’d worked myself to the bone trying to get the perfect career, and within a day it had been stripped from me, leaving me with nothing. I was nothing without my job—it was my entire identity, my entire life. I couldn’t even imagine what my parents would say when they found out their youngest daughter had ruined her prospects. It wasn’t like I’d be able to tell them it was because I’d somehow gotten involved with the mafia. No, I was completely on my ownnow.

Except for the twins who’d caused this disaster in the firstplace.

As I cried my eyes out on the redhead’s shoulder, I had the vague realization that I wasn’t angry at them for dragging me into this. Angry that they’d deceived me, yes. Angry and scared thattheywere mafia—yes.

But not angry that they’d inadvertently lost me everything I’d ever worked for. Because… because the only way they could have avoided it was if we’d never met atall.

As I clung to the twin whose name I wasn’t even sure of, I knew I’d never been truly alive until the day I met Liam. I didn’t know why, or even how, but I knew it was thetruth.

“You okay?” he murmured against my ear when my tears finallystilled.

I nodded shakily. The coldness of his wet flesh was finally starting to seep through my emotional state. My clothes were soaked now—there was no way I could leave them on, or I’d risk getting sick. I pushed against his chest and he releasedme.

“I need to wash. And I might as well give my clothes a quick rinse too. I’ve been wearing them for nearly two days and I didn’t exactly get a chance to pack anyspares.”

He didn’t say anything as I slipped out of my clothes, but I could feel his eyes on me when I stood naked—and freezing—by the side of the river. I fought back a blush at the knowledge of his attention—he’d seen me naked before, and I’d just been cuddled up against his bare form as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Now was not the time to getbashful.

I washed my clothes as quickly as I could, using the bar of soap he’d brought, and then forced myself to wade out in the freezing water. It was even colder than I’d thought from the splashes I’d received, and I squealed the entire way until I slipped on a smooth river stone and plungedunder.

When I came up again, gasping and spurting water like a lost orca, deep, masculine laughter rang through the quietwoodland.

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