Page 97 of Mine to Protect

33

Cas

“I’m moving out,”Peters grumbled from under the throw pillow on the couch. “I can’t hear you two anymore. It’s making me horny as fuck, and I’m too damn busy analyzing this bastard we’re after to go out and find someone to relieve my issue. Fuck.”

I chuckled as I moved to the kitchen. “Suck it up, fucker. Did you figure anything out with the note that crazy chick left?”

The pillow tumbled to the floor as Peters swung his feet over the cushions and sat up. “Nothing new, but my gut tells me there’s something different about this one.”

“Different how?” I cracked six eggs into a bowl for myself and added two more for Alta.

“I’ll take six too.”

“You get the last four. We need to go to the store. We’re running out of food, and I don’t want her out in public. Too many unpredictable scenarios.”

“Agreed. I’ll go later so you two can have some more alone time.” His eyes rolled to the ceiling. “You seriously like this girl? I mean, she’s cool as shit and all, but….”

“But what?” I gritted out as I whipped the eggs with more ferocity than needed.

“She’s not the type of girl who’ll let you go easily. Are you prepared for that?”

“Prepared for what?”

“The end, when we leave and don’t come back. This will end, you know. We’ll catch this bastard, and we’ll go home to DC. The longer you do this with her, the harder it’ll be for her.”

“What the fuck are you saying?”

“Put more distance between you two so you don’t crush the poor girl. Have fun, but remember it’ll end.”

Mulling over his words, I tossed the last few slices of bread into the toaster and flicked the lever down. “What if I don’t want it to end?” I said to the pan full of raw eggs instead of Peters. “What if I don’t want to let her go?”

His resigned sigh tightened my grip on the spatula.

“Then you’ll figure it out. It won’t be easy, but you’re a stubborn jackass who's used to getting his way, so I don’t doubt that if you don’t want it to end, it won’t.”

“Thanks?” I said with a laugh. “And I’ve got this covered here, if you do need to go out tonight to take care of the problem your eavesdropping caused.”

“Fuck you. It’s not eavesdropping when the walls are fucking rattling.”

I smiled at the pan as I flipped the eggs over.

Both our heads turned at the slight creak of the door. Fully clothed, hair in a high ponytail, Alta tiptoed out of the room on her sock-covered toes toward the bathroom. The moment the door shut behind her, I turned to Peters, my features set in hard stone.

“Don’t you tease her about this shit, got it? I will end you, slowly.”

He raised both palms in silent surrender. “Got it.” His words said he did, but the mischievous fucking twinkle in his eyes told me he wasn’t taking the threat seriously.

“Good morning, Chandler,” Alta said as she emerged from the bathroom and slid onto the stool beside him. My focus zeroed in on the too-small gap between them. “Sarah texted me.” She held up her phone for emphasis. “She said she needs to come back to Estes, that her friend is kicking her out.” She chewed on the edge of her thumb, her gaze focused on the phone in her hands. “I don’t want her staying alone. I kind of feel responsible for the mess she’s in now that we know I’m the one this guy is after.”

“Sleep well?” Peters asked, closing the small space between them by wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I waited for her to tense, pull away or show any sign of discomfort in his touch, but none came. As much as Peters touching her pissed me the hell off, I relished in the fact that this was yet another growing point for her. Whatever we were together was curing us both.

“Can she stay here?” she asked, avoiding his question. I smirked and nodded before returning my attention to the eggs. “Just until we figure all this out, or….”

“Or what?” I divided out the eggs and slid them onto three separate plates.

“Maybe Ishouldconsider going home to Texas, and maybe take Sarah with me. Then I’d be—”

I chucked the dirty pan in the sink, the clang vibrating in my ears as I gripped the counter. “Then you’d be away from us, completely exposed, and moving this guy to a different hunting ground. No.”

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