Page 24 of Charming But Reckless

"Tank!" Atticus called out.

"Present and accounted for. You ready to put those guns down?"

The men lowered their weapons. Though I could see it would only take a second for them to raise them back up and take out anyone they deemed a threat.

I knew I'd come to the right place to keep Sol safe.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked them.

Cohen chuckled. I smiled at the sound. It had been too long since I had seen my friends. Or maybe it had just been that I was in the wrong headspace for so long.

"What do you mean what are we doing here? We had to come find you, asshole. You dropped off the grid, and we had something really important to discuss with you,” he replied.

"What the hell? You couldn't have just called? What kind of thing deserves meeting in person?"

Ronan turned to Tank's car and nodded at someone. When the back door opened, I saw a face that ripped away every last ounce of calm I had left.

"Arick?" I said as I looked into the eyes of the friend I thought I'd lost long ago; of the friend I had just been telling a story about mere hours ago.

CHAPTER 9

ARICK

"Whatever comes next,you need to let me lead," Tank said from the front seat as he turned down the long dirt road.

It was pitch black outside. The early morning had crept up on us as we drove through the night to get to this small town.

The Coleman Ranch was nestled far enough away from the city to not be close, but close enough that we didn't need to take a flight. I was thankful because I didn't know if I would make it through the entire process that came with flying. The car ride was far too long in my opinion.

"I'll do whatever you say," I told Tank.

Ronan turned back to look at me. “Just trust us. Orion would have kept your boy safe. We promise. They might be a little defensive though. They are not big fans of people showing up in the middle of the night.”

I chuckled. "I don't know anyone who would be a fan of it."

Knowing that we were on the way to get my son and that he'd been kept safe had given me peace that I had been unable to find. I was able to laugh and smile, even for just the slightest of seconds. It was great progress considering I was foaming at the mouth to anyone who got in my way before.

When we made it to the main house of the ranch, a single porch light guided our way. Four bodies came out onto the porch quickly as we slowed down. They had long weapons in their hands. Shotguns if I were to guess.

They pointed them in our direction.

Tank shook his hand. “Damn country guys. They wouldn't be able to take all of us, but they still fight to the end.”

Ronan agreed. "Yeah, they've got grit, that's for sure. Good thing we're not here for any trouble."

Tank turned to face him. "You think this won't be any trouble? I mean, sure, we're reuniting the family, but Atticus is gonna have my ass for this."

I'll have to make it up to him later."

"Sean will not appreciate you trying to fuck his husband," Ronan said dryly.

"I would never try to fuck him. He's not my type, and they're happily married. Though, being happily married doesn't always mean they don't want some fun. I've had my fair share. That's beside the point. Let's get this over with."

They climbed from the car. Ronan instructed me to stay inside until he gave me the signal.

I watched them stand; their hands raised as if they were criminals. I scoffed.

The car was insulated enough that I couldn't hear what they said. I didn’t need to hear to know things were tense. It further changed when I saw a man run outside in nothing but sweatpants and a t-shirt.

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