Page 13 of The Traitor

The man laughed, and Josie saw Knox tapping his boots and coming in behind his friend. “Move, Gage! It’s cold as shit outside! And take your boots off, you’re dropping snow everywhere.”

Snorting, Gage shed his boots, throwing them against the wall, before putting the two bags on the counter.

It was like a ball of energy had entered the room. He was the same at the shop and the opposite of Knox who was so still, always analyzing and waiting.

Gage took off his coat and slung it toward the couch, but Knox intercepted it and growled. “Behave, Gage.”

His friend winked at her. “So, Knox told me we have a new roommate. And she cleans!”

Knox hung both his coat and Gage’s and then turned the TV down before grabbing a couple of plastic bags and putting them on the counter. Only then did he look around and finally focus on her face. “Thank you for cleaning up. I don’t want you to feel like you had to. You needed rest.”

Josie felt uneasy at his intense gaze but maintained eye contact and smiled. “You’re offering me somewhere to stay and I can pull my weight. I’m not a guest. I can cook too.”

“Awesome! I love a woman who can cook.”

Knox turned to Gage. “No problem. If she cooks, you’re on bathroom duty. And snow shoveling.”

Gage whined, but Josie could see he wasn’t serious, and he started to help put the groceries away. Knox pulled boxes from the bags, and a delicious aroma filled the room. “I thought we could skip the cooking for tonight and ordered some takeout. I bought Italian from Cosentino’s.”

Josie nodded and grabbed some plates and utensils to set on the kitchen table. Knox disappeared for a few seconds and came back with a bottle of wine and a couple of minutes later they were sitting around the table digging into the food. Josie wasn’t that hungry after her snack, so she drank her wine and took the opportunity to observe the two men.

They both ate with gusto, as if they hadn’t eaten for days or weeks. Both men looked like sinfully sexy lumberjacks, as similar as they were different. Gage was younger and bulkier, had energy like a firecracker, while Knox was a tad shorter, but had a different kind of physique, more like a panther. Gage seemed like a dangerous opponent, but Josie suspected that Knox was the more lethal of the two. There was a low simmer of violence she sensed inside him that gave the threat away.

When Knox looked up from his plate and locked eyes with her, Josie knew she’d been caught staring and blushed. Her core clenched, an expected surge of lust heating her.

Knox arched an eyebrow and kindly offered her an exit. “Did you sleep enough, Josie?”

“I slept more than I expected. In fact, I only woke up a couple of hours before you came home. I think I was a little more tired than I thought.”

Josie expected him to smirk and say something along the lines of ‘I told you so’, but she was wrong. Instead he relaxed and nodded, taking a sip of wine.

“Knox told me you’re in a jam. I’m glad you accepted his offer. At least you’ll be safe and comfortable here. I can’t believe you were working three jobs!”

Knox rolled his eyes. “Hard worker aren’t words I’d apply to you, pal.”

Gage swallowed a big bite, waving his fork around. “Hey, that’s not true. I fucking train hard for the cage.”

Josie blinked. “Cage?”

“I’m an MMA fighter. The ring is called an octagon or a cage.”

It explained why he looked so fit.

Knox finished polishing off his plate and took his wine glass. “Every fighter works hard for the cage.”

“It’s been too long since you fought, old man. What do you know about it?”

“I know enough to make your ears ring.”

And in less than a second, Josie had the impression a fight was about to start. She held her breath, another second passed, then laughter boomed from the men.

Gage refilled their glasses and winked at Josie. “Don’t worry, we won’t jump at each other’s throats. We try to keep our wrath for fucking with ex-husbands.”

Wide-eyed, Josie looked to Knox. “You told him?”

“I did. He lives here and I wanted him to know and be prepared in case that no-good human comes back to town.”

Was he serious? “As long as I pay him, he won’t come back. And even if he does come back, he’s not a threat.”

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