Page 36 of Crush & Byte
Less than a week, we’d left as two brothers on a mission to humor our grandmother.Now we were returning as a family with our woman at our side, bound together in ways I still tried to wrap my head around.
“You okay?”I asked River, watching her fingers nervously tap against her thigh.
She nodded, flashing me that smile that hit me like a physical force every damn time.“Just a little nervous.”
Crush reached over, covering her hand with his.“They’re going to love you.Or they’ll answer to us.”
El Diablo’s pilot had gotten us back to Florida in record time.The guy never asked questions, which made it worth hijacking his schedule occasionally.It wasn’t like El Diablo was going to kill us or anything.I mean, he could, but I didn’t think Lemon would let him.OK, so she would if there was a good enough reason, but not because we took his jet to go get our girl.Even if she wasn’t our girl at the time.
Knox, the road captain for Grim Road, met us at the airport in an SUV to take us back to the compound.“Welcome home.”Knox grinned and took my hand in a firm grip before doing the same to Crush.His gaze went to River, and he smiled.“Mission accomplished, looks like.”He offered his hand to her.“I’m Knox.My woman, Evelyn, is anxious to meet you.”
“She is?”River looked so shocked I had to smile.
“Yep.Said she’s looking forward to meeting the woman crazy enough to take on these two.”
River looked from me to Crush uncertainly.“Is the two of them being with me together going to be awkward for anyone?”
“Nobody gives a fuck,” Knox said, his mien hardening, his brows drawing together.“And if they do, you come tell me and I’ll tell them to fuck all the way off.After I kick their ass.”
“Wow.”She blinked and ducked her head.“That’s really violent.”We all laughed, and I caught River grinning despite how uncertain she’d looked only moments before.
Crush put his arm around her and leaned in to speak next to her ear.“No one’s going to make you uncomfortable.When you meet Lemon, you’ll understand why.”
The drive to the compound passed in comfortable silence.Knox didn’t chat, letting us have as much privacy as he could in the confines of the Explorer.River sat between us in the backseat.Her thigh was warm against mine; her scent like sunshine and something sweet I couldn’t name, filled my head with memories of her body arching beneath me just hours earlier.
We turned onto the unmarked dirt road that led through the nature reserve our compound called home.Crush caught my eye over River’s head, the corner of his mouth lifting in a subtle smile that told me he was thinking the same thing I was.She was ours now, and we were bringing her home.
We rounded the final bend, and the compound came into view.River’s eyes widened, taking in the sprawling collection of buildings nestled among the trees.From the outside, it looked like weathered wood siding deliberately left unstained to blend with the surrounding forest, metal roofs dulled by time and the elements.The enormous oak and cypress trees created a natural canopy, filtering the harsh Florida sun into dappled shadows across the grounds.
“It’s beautiful,” River murmured, leaning forward to see better through the windshield.“Like it grew right out of the forest.”
“That’s the idea,” Crush said, pride evident in his voice.“Invisible unless you know where to look.”
Knox hadn’t even put the truck in park when the main clubhouse door flew open and a blonde whirlwind came tearing across the yard toward us.
“Incoming,” I warned River with a grin.“Hurricane Lemon.”
River barely had time to step out of the truck before Lemon was on her, wrapping her in a big hug.
“Holy shit, you’re actually real!”Lemon laughed, pushing away from River but holding her at arm’s length.“When these two cavemen set out to find a woman who could stand both their brooding asses, I thought they were smoking something.”
River laughed, the sound breaking through her nervousness.“They’re not that bad.Sometimes they even use full sentences.”
“Oh, I like you already.”Lemon’s grin was fierce as she linked her arm through River’s.“You need a break from these knuckleheads?”
River shook her head.“No.I really don’t think I do.”
That caused both women to giggle.“I have a feeling I’m never going to understand women,” I muttered to myself.
Rocket appeared at our side, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his woman welcome ours.“Best you don’t even try.Welcome to Grim Road, River,” he said, his voice gravelly but warm.His eyes swept over her, assessing but not unkind.“About time these two found someone to keep them in line.”
River took his hand, her grip firm.“Thank you for letting me come here with them.I know it’s not a small thing.”
Rocket lifted his chin at River.“They explain things to you?”
“The important bits, I think.I understand this place has to stay hidden.”And she did.We’d explained how Grim Road worked and that everyone here had at one time or another done some kind of work for the CIA.Spooks.We were all spooks.
Other members started drifting over from the garage and workshop, Bear nodding silently, a few of the younger guys introducing themselves with eager handshakes.River handled it all with surprising ease, her initial nervousness giving way to genuine warmth as she met each person.
