country music away from the girl. Savage is a part of my soul and the truth is the country music takes me back to when we met. That coffee shop, the rain, our vehicles parked too close, and my door unable to open. We’d fought. I’d ended up in the vehicle with him and he’d kissed me. I’d fallen in love with Savage that night and hadn’t even known it. For a year, he’d seduced me and become my best friend. Then he went off on a mission and never came back.
Well, not for years.
And the truth is, this is the first time he’s left since we got back together.
This, I tell myself, is growth for us.
I need to know he can leave on a mission and he’ll always come back.
Unless he can’t. And therein lies the reason I have wine in my hand. Something about this entire situation feels wrong. So very wrong.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Savage
Like clowns in a mini car, me, Adam, and Asher pile into the large sedan I rented, a sedan that isn’t large at all. “I will not make a joke about Asher’s legs over his head right now,” I say, as he tries to get comfortable in the back seat while Adam is busy removing Asher’s space, by shoving the driver’s seat back even further.
Asher curses as he ends up in the middle of the seat, head touching the roof. “My legs are not over my head, but my damn knees are at my ears. Who was in charge of the rental?”
I wiggle an eyebrow at him and he grunts. “Of course, you were.”
I settle into my seat and move it back only to have Asher grunt again while Adam sets us in motion toward our first destination, White Castle, where burgers and fries become the rocket fuel of superhumans.
That’s us.
And once we’re inside the fast-food joint at a table, that’s when the real magic and planning starts.
We huddle up in a small corner booth and get busy stuffing our faces. “What now?” Asher asks, finishing off one of the three burgers he ordered.
“Yeah,” Adam says. “What now?”
“According to Max,” I reply. “I’m supposed to text him when I land so he can give me further details. And fuck that shit is my answer to that.”
“Amen, brother,” Adam says. “This could all be a setup that ends with you getting your head blown off.”
“Yep,” I say, taking a handful of his fries since mine have been disposed of in my belly. “If Max thinks I’m a dumbass, I’ll be happy to kill him.”
“Not a dumbass,” Asher snorts. “Just a pain in the ass.”
“And proud of it, pretty-boy rocker.”
Asher grins. “Pretty? You should have told me how you feel sooner, Savage. I would have told Candace to step aside.” He snatches a handful of Adam’s fries.
Adam scowls and not at the conversation. “I’ll go get us all more fries.” He pushes to his feet and walks toward the counter.
“Nuggets,” Asher calls over his shoulder and when Adam doesn’t reply, he grimaces. “He could have asked if we wanted anything. You want something?”
“I’ll eat yours,” I promise.
He laughs. “Which is why we all get extra, Savage.” He slides out of the seat to follow Adam toward the counter.
This is how brilliant plans are created—with food and intellectual conversation.
I eat the rest of Adam’s fries and my phone buzzes with a text. I glance down to read a message from Candace: I miss you. I love you. I want to call you but I don’t want to distract you. Just come home to me, sooner rather than later. I have a bad feeling about this, Rick.
I glance toward the counter where Adam and Asher appear to have left the jest at the table behind, and traded it in for a serious conversation. They think this is a setup. I’m not sure they're wrong. And yet they’re here, brothers from another mother, in this to win it no matter what the cost.
I stand up and walk to the door, stepping outside, the cool but not cold air washing over me.
I dial Candace and she answers on the first ring. “Oh God. I didn’t mean for you to call. I’m the daughter of two military parents. I know distraction can get you killed.”
“I’m at White Castle, baby. The only thing getting me killed right now is the food.”
“You should be here,” she says softly.
The rasp of emotion in her voice twists me in about ten knots. “I don’t disagree,” I assure