rose up in my belly when I thought about the last twenty-four hours, and how good his kiss had felt, but I quickly popped it. “FBI agent falling for a small-time artist? Doesn’t seem likely…”
“Small-time?” Derek exclaimed, always one of my biggest cheerleaders.
“What has your career got to do with who you date anyway?” Wyatt’s sweetness oozed into his questions and made it impossible to argue with him.
I brought the blanket around my shoulders. “It just… it just does! You guys wouldn’t understand. You’re all on the front lines, even you Wyatt.”
“Furry front lines, I guess.” He grinned proudly.
“It’s a different world. I don’t put my life on the line, ever. I don’t know why someone who spends their day being a superhero would want to be with me. I feel a little like dead weight, you know?”
“Um, excuse me, but Special Agent Ryland Masters would be lucky to have you, Brax.” Richie pointed at me like he was a drill sergeant.
Matt grunted in agreement, and Derek nodded enthusiastically.
Seb glanced at me and Wyatt, then pointed at my brothers as he laughed. “You three just did a one-eighty on Ry’s eligibility, you know that right?”
Derek shrugged and then beamed at me. “I think it’s a good match.”
“Ryland’s a good guy! I liked him!” Richie held up his hands in defense.
“Didn’t you just call him an uncle, Richie?” Wyatt smirked over the rim of his tea mug, always happy to get one up on quick-witted Richie.
Richie opened his mouth to retort but Derek cracked up laughing when nothing came out, and the rest of us started to howl too. I was feeling lighter from spilling my secret to some of my brothers, though of course the most important one wasn’t there. Hunter.
Not two seconds after I thought how awful it would be if I ever had to tell him about my feelings for Ryland, the door opened and there he was with his long hair mussed and a smirk on his face. He came swaggering in cracking his knuckles.
“Did you get Ian?” I sat up straight as my pulse jumped.
And it jumped even higher when Ryland appeared behind him, his bright blue eyes set on mine the moment he stepped into the room. He looked so fucking good in his suit, as always. Ugh, I could hardly stand it.
“Yeah, found him on his porch snorting coke.” Hunter swooped over to the coffee table, took Richie’s cup of tea, and slurped down half of it like it was a cold beer after a hot day of manual labor.
Hunter had taken the last sip, but Richie didn’t flinch. He probably didn’t even notice, because he was staring at Ry, along with everyone else.
Ryland glanced around at us and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh… okay…”
“How are you, Ryland?” Seb asked with a grin.
“Good… We got our guy.” He walked over to stand beside me and squeezed my shoulder supportively.
Wyatt bit his knuckle, and Seb swooned back against the chair.
“What about his friends?” I asked quietly as I looked up at him, my stress melting under his touch.
Hunter finished off the tea and set the mug down loudly. “Got one. The other got away but José is going to check out the local haunts. Don’t worry, he’ll get him.”
I bristled, and Derek must have noticed because he immediately pointed at me.
“You’re staying here tonight,” he said in his no-room-for-negotiation voice.
“Yeah, in my apartment.” I frowned and crossed my arms. I half-hated the feeling of being babied by my brothers.
Matt sat up tall. “You can come stay with me. I’ll keep an eye out.”
Derek nodded at Matt. “I’ve got an early shift, but I can drop by tomorrow afternoon—”
“Hey! My apartment is my safe place. You think he’s going to get through two floors of ultra-protective brothers to attack me again? Really?” I was angry, but I would have bet it was obvious to them my resistance was fueled by fear. I desperately wanted to be home, in my safe space. I needed to process what had happened. I needed to paint.
“I could stay with you to keep you safe.” Ry squeezed my shoulder.
Everyone fell silent and stared at Ryland. But he wasn’t going to back down. He never gave in to the peer pressure from my family. It was one of things I liked about him—he always wanted to put me on my own two feet.
He met everyone’s gaze, and then pointedly looked down at me. “If…it’s all right with you, Braxton?”
I quickly