Page 87 of Eight Second Hearts

“Such a pretty, pretty Indie bird,” he rasps as he leans down and runs his tongue along my stomach, licking a small path clean, before he leans up and kisses me. I taste them there, and it makes my toes curl.

Ram grins. “Looks like you’re plenty warm now,periodista.” His eyes crinkle deeper as the grin turns devilish. “I think you still need more. What do you think, Tripp?”

He strokes his already hardening cock and he grins. “Yeah. She definitely needs more.”

My breath stutters as they close in on me again.

Chapter 48

Indie

“Would you come with me?” Tripp asks me the next morning after we’ve had breakfast. French toast, eggs, and bacon. Even that simple meal Tripp had made taste better than anything I’ve ever had before.

“Where are we going?” I ask, pulling on my boots. Luckily, it didn’t snow again, so the driveways are still clear even if they’re still working on the highways. We’re not the biggest town to worry about so it doesn’t have priority, but they’ll get to it eventually.

He touches my chin and leans in for a kiss. “To talk to my dad,” he murmurs. “And probably my sister.”

I tense and pause in the middle of lacing my boots. “Are you sure you want me there? That seems like something that’s pretty personal.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather have with me,” he murmurs.

“Well fuck us then,” Ram teases, his eyes crinkling.

Beau laughs. “Yeah!”

Tripp snorts. “I’d rather not subject you two to more time with the asshole than you’ve already suffered honestly.” His eyes flick to Ram. “And you don’t deserve the racism.”

Ram nods. “I’d go with you anyway. If it would help you.”

“I know that,” Tripp says, moving over to clap him on the shoulder. “And I appreciate it. I always have.” Ram tugs him into a hug.

Their dynamic has always interested me, but now that I know more of their history, it makes so much more sense. Tripp protects Ram and Beau here. Outside of these fences, Ram takes the lead, protected the other two. Beau protects with violence if given the chance, but together, they form a triad, a family as tightknit as any I’ve ever seen.

I’m still not sure how I fit within it. A triad seems more stable than four.

Beau comes over and hugs him then leans back and holds his fist out. When Tripp tries to fist bump him back, Beau turns it into some elaborate handshake that Tripp just stares at.

“Come on, Trippy!” Beau teases. “Your inability to learn complicated handshakes is tearing this gang apart!”

I laugh at his antics before Tripp eventually attempts to copy Beau before giving up halfway through. I don’t blame him. By the time Beau does the jellyfish with his fingers, I’ve already lost the pattern.

“Only if you’re sure you want me to come,” I murmur, knowing that I’d go with him regardless just because he asked.

That’s how I find myself in the passenger seat of Tripp’s truck, Bilbo in the middle of us. Again, he doesn’t wag his tail as we close in on the house, as if he knows the kind of man who lives inside it.

“He doesn’t like my dad,” Tripp tells me when I smooth my hand down Bilbo’s back. “Never has.”

“Dogs always know,” I murmur, patting him gently.

We climb out of the truck and Tripp pets Bilbo on the head. “You stay in here, boy. Don’t want him tryin’ to kick you or somethin’ stupid.”

I come around the truck and he takes my hand, threading his fingers with mine as we both climb the stairs. My adrenaline is pumping, which is strange since this isn’t my battle to fight. But it is Tripp’s. And it’s been thirty-two years in the making.

The fact that I’m here at his side says a lot about how he feels about me. I just want to protect him. I wish I could cushion him from all the things his father did to him, said to him, for the way he was treated. He didn’t deserve this childhood. None of them did.

“You ready?” Tripp asks me, looking over as we stand in front of the white door.

“No,” I answer honestly, before taking a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

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