Body and Soul (Vanguard Towers #3) - Aiden Bates Page 0,31
shoved him down the steps toward José, and damn, I relished the juiciness of “getting the guy”. We stood side by side and watched the cop slap on the cuffs, read his rights, and drag him off into the car. Hunter snorted, amused, when José hit Ian’s head on the doorframe on the way into the backseat—the only sound he made while we watched the arrest, and José shot us a wave. As the lights of the cop car faded, we were still standing on the porch, evidence bags in hand.
“Thanks for sticking up for Brax,” Hunter said. “Wish I could have been the one to throw the gut punch, though.”
I chuckled and started down the steps, suddenly hit with a heavy fatigue.
“Are you really fucking him?” Hunter asked.
I turned slowly. He stood frozen with his hands in fists and sharp eyes peering out from the long hair over his face.
I bit down my irritation. Brax was an adult, and Hunter was being overprotective to someone who needed empowerment, not go be treated like a lost teenager. But my relationship with Hunter went deep, and my whole career depended on how well he and I got along. We were compatible in ways I’d never had with any other partners before. I couldn’t jeopardize what we had. I needed him to trust me.
I wet my lips and cleared my throat, and told it to him straight. No two ways about it. “No, Hunter. I’m not sleeping with Brax.”
Yet.
11
Braxton
The Uno cards were already packed up by the time I got back to Derek and Seb’s apartment after giving my statement in the foyer. The music was still going but the volume was down. It was kind of eerie.
“The cop give you any trouble?” Richie was by my side as soon as I got in the door and guided me over to the couch. “You get his badge number?”
“It was fine.” I sighed as I slumped onto the couch, happy for the physical support of the sofa.
Giving the statement wasn’t as big of a deal as I’d worried. Having Ry there watching over the whole thing had helped settle my nerves, and whenever I forgot a detail the cop needed, I could refer to the notes he’d had me jot down. But I was still a little shaken up when I remembered how hard Ian had hit me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if pressing charges was just asking for more trouble. Maybe I should have just cut him out of my life and forgot about it.
As soon as I sat down, a pattering of paws like a rumble of thunder—in miniature—trickled down the hallway, and Domino leaped into my lap. He purred, insistent and demanding, and then clambered up to my chest where he made biscuits with his paws. I almost died from the intense bolt of love bursting from my heart.
“Oh, you sweetie little healer.” I cupped him in my hands and he curled into a tight ball, and made himself heavy like he was trying to pin me in place.
From behind me, Wyatt threw a blanket over my shoulders and Seb chucked a candy bar into my lap. I smiled up at them, happy to be surrounded by love and care. It was amazing to me that they already knew exactly what I needed when I was down, and how well the two of them fit into the family. I couldn’t help but wonder if Ry might too.
“Is the cop happy to press charges?” Matt asked, sitting across from me on a firm ottoman.
I ripped open the candy bar and nodded. “The three of them are going to arrest Ian now.”
“Good riddance.” Derek cleared his throat as he sat down at the other end of the couch, and then shot me a sheepish look. “Sorry. I just never liked him.”
“I know.” I shrugged. “I guess I should have listened to you.”
“And me.” Matt lifted a finger.
Richie raised his hand. “Pretty sure I told you to drop his ass months ago.”
“And Eli,” Wyatt called from where he was making tea in the kitchen. “Even Uno hated his guts.”
I laughed with the rest of them, and remembered how Eli’s Alsatian, the friendliest dog in the world, had snarled every time she’d sniffed Ian in the building. I felt like an idiot for not listening to her, if not my older brothers.
“I’ve got a bad track record, huh?” I chomped into the candy bar and let the nougat soothe my hurts.