ran an agitated hand over my head. “I’m not going to let him anywhere near her, Mark, plain and simple.”
“That’s fine but don’t go looking for trouble. She’s going to be a sitting duck if you go after the son and end up locked up.”
“I’m pissed, Mark, not stupid. I want her safe and this guy taken down a notch or two. I’m well aware that me rearranging his face isn’t going to accomplish either of those things; however, if he comes at me I make no promises.”
“If he comes at you, take him out, but remember, guys like this use laws and regulations to fight, not bare knuckles and fists. Tell Shaw to be extra careful, tell her to try and be around someone else at all times. Look at getting her a Taser or some mace and tell her if he shows up or put his hands on her again to call the police. She can get a harassment order in place if he keeps hounding her and once the police are involved there isn’t much a judge can do to make the report go away. Give her my number just in case and tell her to call me if she has questions or just needs to talk. Like I said, that’s a special girl you got there, kid. You wanna keep an eye on her.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“I know you are, and Rule …” I waited a moment while he finished. “It’s good to see you finally settling down. You’ve always reminded me a little of my son, wild and carefree, but you needed something to give you purpose. For my son it was fighting for our freedom and protecting his country; for you I think it’s figuring out you are worthy of the kind of love and affection a girl like that can offer. You two take care and I’ll be in touch.”
I hung up the phone just as the door swung open and Shaw stuck her head in. “Come on, let’s eat so we can go.”
I looked at her, I mean really looked at her, and that slippery stuff in my chest suddenly settled right in the center. Her green eyes got wide when I tugged her into the bathroom and pulled her between my spread legs so that she was up against my chest. I rested my chin on the top of her head. Sometimes the difference in our height was just delightful.
“Are you okay?” She put her hands around my waist and gave me a tight hug.
I let out a breath that I felt like I had been holding for a hundred years. Suddenly I knew that no matter how my parents felt, no matter what happened in the future—near or far—I was for once doing the absolute right thing. “Yeah, I’m good. Better than good, actually.”
“Okay. Well, I don’t want to be late so come eat some pancakes and take me to school.” She gave my ass a little pat and bounded back out of the room. I shook my head on a little laugh and followed her out. Rome was up and sitting at the table listening to her tell him about the bizarre brunch yesterday but Nash was nowhere in sight. I had let both of them know what was going on with Polo Shirt yesterday and I think they were both on hyperalert so that I didn’t go off the rails. My brother gave me a questioning look as I sat down, but I wasn’t about to go into detail while Shaw was prancing around feeding us breakfast.
“You still good to go and get her car with me?”
“Yep, but I’m going to swing by Mom and Dad’s while we’re there. You wanna come?”
I flipped him off because he knew the last thing I wanted to do was see my folks. “Can’t. Anyways, I have an appointment at noon.”
Shaw placed plates in front of both of us and took a seat on my right. She gave me a warm smile and I knew, besides feeling right, that this is what I had been missing for so long. I felt at home; this girl, my brother, my friends, all the things that I had surrounded myself with suddenly made so much sense, and I had a clarity that had been missing since Remy’s death. I loved my family, but I had never felt like I was part of them. This world I had developed, this life I was living, was a good one, filled with solid people who saw me for who I was and cared about me anyway. My throat got tight and I had to hide the swell of emotion behind a glass of orange juice or otherwise risk blubbering like a baby. I cleared my throat. “I’m gonna run Shaw to school then come back and get you, is that cool?”
“Sure. I’ll go kick Nash and see if he wants to hit the gym with me while you’re gone.”
I glanced at Shaw. “You’re going to have Ayden take you to work after school, right?” She nodded at me and continued to eat her breakfast. “Good. I’ll come get you from the bar when your shift is done. Your car will be here so you can decide if you want to stay or go to your place later.”
She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I don’t get out until two. It’s Monday night football so we’re busy. I’ll probably just stay here. Besides, you need to buy me a new phone tomorrow.”
“Why does he owe you a phone?” I glared at my big brother but she answered before I could tell him to shut it.
“I broke mine by accident and Rule offered to replace it.”
“He did? That doesn’t sound like my little brother.” I knew he was just trying to rile me up, but awesome sex and having Shaw close at hand with a plate of pancakes in front of me made that an impossible task. I smirked at him and leaned back in my chair to reach out and put my arm across the back of Shaw’s.
“I’m turning over a new leaf.”
He snorted, and eyes that were so similar to mine gleamed with repressed humor. “For you to be considering someone else like that is more like turning over a whole freaking tree, not just a leaf, but good for you. Being considerate is a nice change for you.”
“Screw you.”
Shaw rolled her eyes and let her fork clatter to her plate. “You’re both ridiculous and I’m going to be late, so let’s go.”
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Let me grab shoes and we’ll head out. Go grab your stuff. Thanks for breakfast.”
“Sure.” She ran out of the room and I pushed to my feet. I glowered at my brother.
“I do know how to be nice.”
“Only when you want something.”
“True enough. I want her.”
“Looks to me like you got her.”
“Now I just need to figure out how to not screw it up.”
Rome got up as well. “You won’t, Rule. When it matters you never do, just remember that. Hey, what did your cop buddy say?”
“That she needs to keep her eyes open and he wants me to get her a Taser or mace. He thinks the little punk is pretty insulated because of his old man, but he pretty much said if he tries anything with me I can lay him out. It sucks, he shouldn’t be allowed to put his hands on her and live to tell about it.”
“We’ll keep her close and keep it under control; you know we got your back in this, lil’ bro.”
I made a face and lowered my voice because I heard Shaw coming back down the hall. “If anything happens to her, Rome, I’m going to lose it. I mean, I know I kind of went off the rails when Remy died, but something tells me if that girl ends up hurt or worse there won’t be any recovering from that for me.”
I think he was probably going to answer something back but Shaw popped up at my
