28
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Once inside, Lynx paused at the couch momentarily, eyeing it from several different directions.
Nope.
Wouldn’t work.
Too damn short.
He glanced at the kitchen, then continued into the bedroom and tossed Reagan unceremoniously onto the bed.
When her back hit the mattress, he saw she was smiling up at him, her long hair spilled out around her. The woman stole his breath. She was as beautiful now as she had been at sixteen back when he’d first noticed her, back when he’d first fallen in love with her.
But this Reagan was definitely not sixteen. She was older, wiser, and undoubtedly sexier.
And when she crooked her finger at him, signaling him to her, he couldn’t kick his boots off fast enough. Before he joined her, he did the same to hers, yanking them from her feet before crawling over her.
The instant his mouth met hers, Lynx was lost. Settling in beside her so that he didn’t rest his weight on her, Lynx curled one arm around her head and kissed her. Slowly, leisurely. It hadn’t been his original intention, but holy hell, the woman made his blood boil with a simple kiss.
Then again, there was nothing simple about kissing Reagan. He’d wanted this for so damn long. Part of him hadn’t expected it to live up to his memories from so long ago, but shit. It was so much better. And every single kiss was hotter, more intense.
Yeah, he didn’t mind making out like teenagers like this. Hell, he could do it all damn day.
Her soft fingers slipped beneath his T-shirt, moving over his skin, causing his breaths to come more rapidly, his body to heat.
Lynx couldn’t resist copping a feel himself. He slid one hand beneath her tank top, his fingertips grazing the smooth, baby-soft skin of her abdomen. The way Reagan sucked in a breath was a bonus. He wrapped his hand around her waist, his thumb grazing her stomach, fingers gently pressing into her back. He jerked her closer, wanting to touch every part of her with every part of him.
“Is that your phone? Or are you that excited to see me?” Reagan muttered.
It took Lynx a second to realize what she said.
He laughed, lifting his head as his phone buzzed in his pocket.
“I’m not complainin’,” she said with a giggle. “That might be fun.” He nodded toward the side of the bed. “In fact, I’ve got a drawer full of toys we can … experiment with.”
Toys?
Lord have mercy.
His phone buzzed again.
“Ignore it,” he whispered, pressing his lips to hers once more.
Unfortunately, ignoring his phone became impossible when the damn thing wouldn’t stop.
Extricating himself from Reagan’s arms was a difficult feat, but he managed.
“This better fuckin’ be good,” he grumbled into the phone.
“We got a problem,” Wolfe said, his tone rough.
“Talk to me,” Lynx instructed.
“Sounds like RT’s boys lost track of the police chief. They think he’s headed this way.”
“Fuck.”
“The bigger issue is Rhys can’t say anything to the deputies. Travis is on his way to meet Rhys. You wanna head on over to the shop?”
Not really, no. But he didn’t tell his cousin that. Instead, he said, “Of course.”
“Thanks. See ya in a few.”
With a resigned sigh, Lynx turned back to Reagan. She was sitting up, watching him.
“Wolfe said there’s trouble. Need to head over to the shop.” He cocked an eyebrow. “You wanna go with me?”
She nodded almost shyly.
For whatever reason, that hit Lynx in a way that had his breath halting in his lungs. This woman…
Reaching for her, he pulled Reagan closer, his lips finding hers. He kept the kiss gentle although it would be so damn easy to strip those little shorts off her and bury himself inside her sweet, warm depths.
Damn, this woman did crazy things to him. He’d never felt anything like this, and Lord knew he’d tried his damnedest to get her out of his head all these years.
It had been impossible and he even knew why.
He loved this girl. Deeply. In that forever sort of way.
And now, if they could get past this crazy shit taking place in their small town, Lynx might just be able to start focusing on the future with her.
That was his plan anyway.
Reagan couldn’t deny the disappointment of having to leave her house when she’d had Lynx right where she wanted him, but she understood it.
Even now, as she sat in one of the wooden chairs at the Cedar Door shop, she got it.
“What I don’t get is how they could lose one guy,” Lynx groused. “How fuckin’ hard is it to keep him in their sights?”
Rhys shrugged. “Shit happens, I guess.”
That seemed to appease Lynx, although Reagan could tell he was irritated by all of it. And that she understood, too.
Her gaze shot over to Amy. The woman was tense, clearly worried. Reagan couldn’t blame her in the least. This man had wreaked havoc on all their lives, but no one had endured anything compared to the hell Amy had lived. Reagan wanted to take the asshole out herself just to keep her friend safe.
“So, what’s the plan?” Wolfe asked, his voice rough. “We can’t stay holed up in this place forever.”
Before Rhys could respond, the shop door opened and in walked…
Travis Walker.
Well, not only Travis this time. Yes, his husband was right behind him but so were… Damn. The line of men who waltzed in behind him seemed to be endless. Not to mention worthy of being on a calendar or something.
“Well, hot damn!” Lynx bellowed, moving toward the group. “If it ain’t trouble times seven.”
Travis grinned.
“I’ll be right back,” Rhys said, reaching for his phone and putting it to his ear as he headed toward the door.
As her brother left, the newcomers shook hands with Lynx and did the bro-hugging thing. Loud slaps on the back and a few rounds of laughter echoed in the cavernous space.
“Come on over here,” Lynx stated.
When his eyes landed on hers, Reagan forced a smile and stood from her chair.
“Y’all, this is my girl, Reagan Trevino. She’s Rhys’s sister.” Lynx put his arm around her. “Reagan, you remember Travis and his husband, Gage. These are Travis’s brothers. Ethan, Sawyer, Kaleb, Zane, and the twins, Braydon and Brendon.”
“Lynx was spoutin’ somethin’ about havin’ a girl back at the Labor Day bonfire,” the one Lynx pointed out as Brendon stated. “However, none of us ever saw you, so we thought you didn’t really exist.”
Chuckling, Reagan shook hands all around, recognizing a couple of faces from the bonfire although she hadn’t been introduced at the time. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, darlin’,” the youngest-looking one said.
With his arm still around her, Lynx led Reagan over to where Amy was now standing with Wolfe.
The brothers greeted Wolfe, then shook hands with Amy after another round of introductions. No way would Reagan remember all those names, even if they repeated them a dozen times.
“This is my husband, Beau,” Ethan stated.
The big blond guy moved to the front and shook Reagan’s hand, then Amy’s.
Unable to help herself, Reagan studied the men briefly. She had to admit, the good looks ran in Lynx’s family. Still, there was something about Lynx that stood out from the rest. And it was more than just the tattoos.
“So, to what do we owe the honor?” Wolfe questioned, his attention on Travis.
“Thought it was time we put a plan together,” Travis stated.
“Yep,” Zane added, “and we’re the cavalry.”
Lynx chuckled. “Hell, boy, I heard you can’t even wrangle your kiddo.”
Zane grinned from ear to ear, pride etched over his features. “Maybe not, but that don’t stop me from tryin’.”
The shop door opened and Reagan’s head snapped over to see her brother joining them once again. He looked pissed and more than a little tired. She knew this had to be wearing on him. The fact that he was in love with Amy, wanted to keep her safe although his hands were tied, had to be tearing him apart.
Rhys nodded his head at her in acknowledgment and Reagan smiled in return.
“Sheriff,” Wolfe greeted, grinning. “You remember my cousins.”
“I do.”
Once more, handshakes took place, and Reagan attempted to put names with faces as Wolfe pointed everyone out one more time.
“My cousin Jared’s on his way,” Travis noted. “He’s over at DHR with his wife. Said he wanted to be part of this, too. Offerin’ up whatever help he can.”
Jesus Christ. How freaking big was this family?
Reagan thought she had a big family, but hers didn’t hold a candle to this.
Not even close.
However, it did make Reagan want to go visit her mother and grandfather. Even if they tended to fight all the time, she still missed them. And now that she wasn’t with Billy anymore, she had to wonder whether her relationship with them could be repaired. One day. She figured her mother would eventually have to realize that Billy hadn’t been good for her. Despite her mother’s belief that a man and woman should stick together no matter what, there was no denying that she and Billy had been doomed from the start. Then again, Reagan couldn’t deny one of the main reasons she’d stayed with Billy was to defy her grandfather. The man didn’t like anyone.
Not that it was a good reason, but it was a reason nonetheless.
Or it was just another excuse she’d come up with over the years to defend her actions.
Whatever.
The last thing Reagan ever claimed was to be perfect. But as she glanced at Lynx, she had to thank God for second chances.
Kelly didn’t know who these assholes were that seemed to be watching his every move, but it hadn’t been easy giving them the slip. Part of him wanted to do some digging, but he figured that was a moot point. They had to be tied to Amy somehow. And if those rednecks thought they had the upper hand, they had another think coming.
He wasn’t a fucking amateur and they were sorely underestimating him if they thought he was.
Plus, he was smart enough to know he was running out of time. At some point, everyone got lucky and it was high time Kelly made sure Amy was dealt with. One more visit to that stupid backwoods town would do the trick.
This time, he would make sure she was disposed of once and for all.
And he wouldn’t leave until he had hard evidence to back it up.