Page 233 of Fearless

His warmth seeps through me and I lean back, absorbing his strength.

“Everything okay?” he asks. “You seem to be staring at a door.”

A laugh tumbles from my lips. “I was just thinking, we’ve never walked through it as… as a group.”

“It’s… something, huh?” he asks, nuzzling my neck. “Not getting cold feet now, are you?”

“About being with all three of you? Absolutely not. I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

“Weirdly, I have to agree,” he confesses quietly. “Just… don’t tell the others though.”

“I’m a princess,” Daisy squeals as she jumps the final step and lands with a very loud thud for such a small person.

“Oh wow, look at you,” Mav muses, picking her up around the waist and spinning her around.

“Are we ready to go?” Reid asks, joining us with JD and his brothers hot on his tail.

“Yeah, we just need?—”

“Wait,” Kristie cries running down the stairs like a woman on a mission.

My heart sinks at the look on her face.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“We can’t leave until we do something.”

I stare at her, waiting for her to explain, but she doesn’t. Instead, she ducks behind JD and lifts his shirt.

“What the?—”

“Hey, that’s my?—”

My eyes widen as I take in the sight of my little sister with a gun in her hand.

“Kristie,” I warn, taking a hesitant step closer.

She shakes her head and laughs at me, but it’s a little more manic than I’d like to see, and it sends a wave of fear through me.

“It’s not for me,” she balks, assuming that’s what I’m worrying about.

“Someone open the basement,” she orders, looking around for the door she’d have slipped through last night. “Now,” she snaps when no one moves.

“Uh, shit. Y-yeah.” JD rushes forward and disengages the lock, dragging the hidden door open.

In a heartbeat, she’s racing down the stairs, and I’m hot on her tail. Heavy footsteps behind me clue me into the fact we’re not alone.

“Which one?” she demands after passing a couple of doors.

“End on the right,” Reid states, and she comes to a grinding halt in front of it.

Her chest is heaving and her eyes are wild. But she looks more alive than I’ve seen her since finding her in that club.

Yes, she might be about to commit murder, but her passion for life and living right now makes me so fucking happy.

“Go on, Dove,” JD says, reminding me that I’ve got the authority to unlock these doors with my handprint now.

Oh, how times have changed.

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