Page 44 of Three Souls Who Break

“No, but if he can remember who it is, we can find them.”

Stepping back, I lowered Corbin’s truck to the floor. I’d learned fast that once these men considered you part of their family, they’d be there for you no matter what. That meant I got the Lynx brothers mindset on this whole car almost hitting Corbin and me thing. Peyton and Greer were some of the best when it came to security. But this wasn’t a situation where we had a stalker.

“It was a one-time thing,” I told him. “Nothing has happened since. It might have been someone not paying attention like Corbin said.”

“You mentioned them speeding up though.”

I shrugged. “How many times have we seen on the news where a person accidentally pushes the wrong pedal and ends up hitting a curb or jumping it into a building?”

“This wasn’t a brick wall. This was you and Corbin. Have you been staying at X’s?”

I propped my hip against the bed of the truck. “I have, and there’s a security system on the house. In addition to that, Xaiden has a large gun safe that Corbin and I know the code to, not that I expect Corbin to fire a weapon. Furthermore, Xaiden wouldn’t let anyone get near us.” I already had this teed up. I was waiting for the day JJ or one of the others made a comment about my apartment. I got it. It wasn’t the safest. The only reason it was before was because JJ was living in it with me, and he was under his dad’s watch. With JJ gone, it was me, myself, and I looking out. I didn’t feel unsafe there.

“Just because X knows how to fight doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt,” Greer stated. “A bullet is no match for a fist.”

It took some effort to resist rolling my eyes. I knew this shit. I was on the receiving end of my father’s fist for far too long. While I didn’t carry a gun on my person, I kept one in my car. A legal one I had a permit for. I didn’t bother bringing it inside Xaiden’s since he had a small arsenal under his roof.

What Greer was saying came from a place of care and worry. After what Dominic had been through in this very shop, and what JJ went through thanks to Malik, I understood why he was concerned. But all I had to go off of was one incident and nothing more.

“I’ve been keeping my eyes out to and from work and when I’m driving around Dremest,” Greer continued. “If I see the car, I’m grabbing the plate number. At least then we can check it out.”

“And what? You still need access to the PD’s database. JJ was right when he said you shouldn’t hack a government system. I shouldn’t have asked that.” I regretted it. When I’d asked it, at the thought of something happening to Corbin, I meant it. I wasn’t worried about myself, hadn’t been in a long time. Corbin was different. So was Xaiden.

An engine revving outside caught our attention. We stopped talking and listened. I knew that sound. It came from one very sexy Jaguar.

With the push of a button, the bay door opened, revealing a dressed-up Xaiden Dremest on the other side. Black slacks, a moss-green button-down, and a black tie with matching moss-green stripes going across it at an angle. I couldn’t resist striding over to him, gripping the tie in my hand, and pulling him down until his mouth met mine.

Xaiden’s tongue teased along my lips so I’d part them. We kissed like no one was watching because when we were like this, when Corbin was with us too, the world fell away.

One of the idiots behind me wolf whistled, which caused Xaiden to lean back. I kept my hand on his tie, sliding it down to the end, then turned and pulled him by it into the garage.

“Damn, Greer, have you ever seen anyone handle X like that before?” JJ asked.

“Nope, but I love it.” He grinned big. “How does it feel to have Val lead you around, X?”

“Like fucking heaven,” Xaiden responded.

“What’s with the clothes?” JJ asked. “I’m used to seeing you more casual.”

“Tenant meeting tonight. Apparently, there are too many flyers in their mailboxes, too many barking dogs in the hallways, and too many loud cars on the street. I’m honestly not sure what they want me to do about any of it. I can’t control the mail or the vehicles on the road. As for the dogs, as long as they’re not barking incessantly at all hours, I’m not doing anything. I think the tenants need a hobby. Most of them are elderly and have nothing better to do than rat out their neighbors or complain about stupid shit.”

Greer smiled. “I bet you wish you’d gotten the car dealerships now.” It was well known between us that Xaiden’s parents would hand the businesses over to their sons. Dexen would eventually get a chain of car dealerships and a big-ass farm. I really wanted to see him trade his suits in for muddy jeans and boots he could wade through animal muck in.

“Hell no,” Xaiden replied. “I don’t want anything to do with that. My dad loves cars, but it’s not my thing. Though maybe Dex could hire Val to run them.”

I turned to peer up at him. “Are you fucking high? I might love being under a hood but no way in hell do I want to manage anyone. I’d run that place into the ground.”

“You’re smarter than you think you are.”

Patting his thick arm, I responded, “While I appreciate the vote of confidence, the answer is still fuck no.”

“What time does Corbin get off work?” JJ asked, changing the subject. He knew I wasn’t big on talking about myself. I was confident when I worked on a vehicle, but I didn’t like to think about a career path or moving up a proverbial ladder.

Xaiden wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me close. “We might be asleep by the time he gets home.” There was a hint of sadness in his voice, one I doubted the others noticed. If Dexen was here, he would have been all over his brother trying to find out what was bothering him.

The issue was felt by both Xaiden and me. It was like Corbin was holding back or pulling away. I wasn’t certain. I knew he cared about us and wanted to be with us, but ever since we saw him Monday night, he’d been off. He couldn’t talk about work like Xaiden or I could. Corbin had to make sure he kept details about his patients private. There was something bothering him though. He’d felt better after the last time he talked about work with us. His mood went downhill again. Was it work, a patient, or was it Xaiden and me?

Corbin went through the motions, kissed us, spent glorious hours in bed with us. He had yesterday free and when I asked him to meet us for lunch, he declined, saying he had errands to run. Corbin wasn’t a complicated man. He’d taken up jogging on Xaiden’s road instead of going to the park. We grocery shopped together. Fuck, we were pretty much inseparable when we weren’t working. Still though, something didn’t feel right.

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