Page 73 of Jersey

"Want to tell me about your fucking smoke detectors?"

I snap my eyes in his direction. "What? Do they need new batteries?"

"They didn't have fucking batteries, Caitlyn. Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous that is? Just like your goddammed windows being unlocked," he growls. "You're a sitting fucking duck. You might as well be waving a fucking flag begging people to come hurt you."

"Are you-"

"I think that's a little harsh," Zeus says, taking up a position between the two of us.

I take a step back when his jacket brushes my hand.

"Don't touch her," Roman growls when he notices the distance I have to create.

"Not gonna touch her, but you're sure as fuck not going to treat her like shit right in front of me either, brother. Do we need to go to the store to get batteries?"

Roman grumbles something under his breath, his eyes on me the second I step out from behind Zeus. He does a sweep of my body, and although there's nothing sexual to his perusal, it doesn't stop my body from reacting that way.

I swallow and pull my eyes from his.

"We have batteries, and going to have these guys hard wire them as well. I have fifteen cameras, and I plan to have every single one installed," Roman says, his voice a little calmer now than it was just moments ago.

"Sounds like you have it all in hand," Zeus says. "We'll get out of your hair."

Roman doesn't argue, and I don't hesitate to go right back to the SUV, settling inside and focusing on getting my hands to work so I can click my seatbelt into place.

When I look up at the house just as Zeus is pulling out of the drive, I spot Roman on the front porch standing exactly the same way he was when he arrived, only now he looks even more pissed.

"He's hateful," I mutter. "It's no big deal about the stupid smoke detectors."

"It's a big deal to him," Zeus mutters.

"I'm not his responsibility. He doesn't-" I snap my mouth closed before I disclose more than I should.

What has happened between Roman and me isn't anyone else's business, and I’d never put Zeus in a situation where he'd feel like he had to choose between the two of us.

"His wife and twin boys died in a house fire," he says as he pulls out onto the street.

I don't respond. There's nothing I can say that will change anything, but that doesn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks all the way back to the cabin. I knew there was some form of tragic backstory where his wife was concerned, but I never imagined the man suffered such a great loss.

No wonder he's incapable of getting close to someone else.

Chapter 30

Jersey

"We found more information than we expected to find in Adair's car," Hemlock says.

He's situated in the front of the room, off to the right of the massive TV hanging on the wall.

Casper controls the monitor, and page after page of handwritten notes flash on the screen.

"It seems he kept all of the information on his holdings and all business dealings with him wherever he went."

"That's great fucking news," Nyx says.

"There are agencies all over the place that are following up on the information we found," Hemlock continues. "As you can guess there are a lot of places that have disbanded and hit the hills because they have gotten wind that Adair is dead."

"Like fucking roaches when the light turns on," Lark matters.

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