Page 26 of Sinners Keepers
“You guys ready?” She grinned up at us, pulling on a puffy white coat that made her look like a sexy marshmallow.
“Yeah,” Law responded, sliding his hand around the nape of her neck to untuck her hair from her coat.
I gave him a sideways glance, unable to stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward. He seemed... so much less tense than usual. I could see him becoming more comfortable with her each day. Softer.
I loved seeing this side of him.
Of them.
I felt kind of disappointed in myself that I hadn’t planned something cozier for the three of us this evening, but I was also really looking forward to seeing the look on her face once she realized what I had in mind.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Hunt
Ilet out a tiny squeak of excitement as we pulled into the gravel lot of the ice skating rink. I bounced in my seat, the guys exchanging a look I couldn't quite decipher. But I didn't care what they thought about my likely over-the-top excitement. I'd never been before because... sheltered.
I. Was. Pumped.
I was thankful they wanted to do anything at all with me. They were right; I wanted to feel like I had a normal life, to do normal things. While I knew it was just a false sense of normalcy, I would take what I could get until the time came that I actually could just live my day-to-day life without having to worry about things like forced marriage and death threats. I was grateful they were putting me first, realizing that I had this need to do something fun in the midst of all the chaos and finding a way to make it happen for me while still maintaining my safety.
And while my full safety wasn’t guaranteed, I was willing to risk being hurt again if it meant not missing out on the opportunity to be here with them. Everything I was up against could fuck right off for the night.
Glistening white snow surrounded the metal open front building that housed rows and rows of skates for rent. The smell of hot chocolate and popcorn drifted toward us as we walked under the canopy.
I couldn’t freaking wait to get on the ice.
Law and I took a seat on one of the benches, the cold metal biting into my palms. A chilly gust of wind blew around us and I tensed against it. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a beanie and a pair of white gloves. Running his hand over my tousled hair to right it, he placed the soft hat over my head, then gently tugged the gloves onto each hand as his gaze lingered on mine. We were locked in that moment when Alec came back with a bundle of ice skates pressed against his chest.
“Thanks,” I murmured to Law.
I turned to reach for my skates, but Alec had dropped onto a knee, already tugging one of my boots off.
“You don't have to—”
“Let someone take care of you for once without having something to say about it,” he cut me off.
I rolled my eyes, slipping my foot into the heavy skate and then lifting my other boot to him once he’d finished strapping the first in place. As much as Ididalways have something to say about it, I really did like the way they babied me sometimes.
I looked around the surrounding area, my eyes taking in the various groups of people engrossed in their own conversations and fun. A sense of unease overcame me as my gaze darted from person to person. The feeling that someone was watching me from afar was almost too much to bear.
I tried to shake it off, telling myself I was just overly aware of my surroundings and justifiably paranoid, but a slow-burning panic began to build in my stomach. Taking a deep breath, I refused to let fear take away any of the fun I planned to have tonight.
If anything happened, I knew the guys would have my back.
Alec bent in front of me, tugging his own skates into place. I could see the outline of a gun tucked into the holster clipped onto the back of his jeans. I knew that Law’s own concealed weapon mirrored Alec’s. They rarely went anywhere without them, and while guns typically made me a little jumpy since being shot by one—something I realized during our little get-together with Roman—I was thankful for the added protection right now.
I had so many fun memories of rollerblading with my mom when I was a child, so I thought this would be easy—how wrong I was. The blades on the skates were much thinner than the wheels and once I’d thudded onto the ice, I made it all of one step before I felt like a newborn giraffe and absolutely busted my ass against the cold surface.
Alec grabbed my arm and pulled me up while Law stood behind me with a hand on my back to make sure I didn't topple back over. “Woah, Hunny. Take it easy.”
I steadied myself again and brushed them off me, “I’m fine. I’ve got it.”
My optimism that this was going to be a fun night was quickly dashed as I wobbled unsteadily, the hard metal blades of the skates snapping against the ice beneath me, and my feet slipped out from underneath me again.
This time, the guys each caught me by an elbow before I could hit the ground.
“You want me to get you one of those?” Alec chuckled, pointing to a kid who was probably four years old or less pushing a little plastic penguin across the ice that was very obviously helping her maintain balance.
