Resonance of Stars (Greenstone Security #5) - Anne Malcom Page 0,66

promised, and she was recovering quickly without any of the more severe side effects. Still, Duke watched her closely. The worst-case scenario hung over his head, taunting him with how easily he could have lost her. Before he’d even fucking had her.

She was his.

It was a Neanderthal thing to even think and no way was he stupid enough to say it out loud to the feisty, independent woman who was still pretending she didn’t feel for him the way he did for her.

Her shields had all fallen away this morning—with her submission. The fucking memory made his cock twitch.

He had to stop thinking about it before he drove himself crazy. So instead, he focused on something else that was driving him crazy. Not just crazy, it was something that sent murder coursing through his veins.

That was better to focus on at this juncture, especially since Anastasia was out with his father and brother, the only two other men he’d consider her safe with.

“You good?” Keltan said, on alert.

Duke knew why, he was meant to keep contact at a minimum, as a precaution. They had excellent safeguards against anyone tapping into their shit, but they weren’t stupid enough to risk it.

Duke felt comfortable risking it for this. “Anastasia had foster parents,” he said by response. “Didn’t treat her good. Want you to get in contact with whoever you need to, make sure they can never take in a child or collect a paycheck for doin’ so again. If they’ve got any kids with them right now, get them out.”

A small pause on the other end of the phone. A small pause filled with fury. Keltan had kids. He had fuckin’ morals. He had certain ideas about what to do with people who treated kids and women badly. As did Duke. “Got it,” he replied easily.

“Appreciate it.”

“Do I owe Rosie a thousand bucks?” Keltan asked, tone less tinged with fury.

“Come again?” Duke asked, watching Anastasia walk from the stables with his father. Her hair was piled into a ponytail, most of it jostled loose from her ride. She laughed at something her father said. The sound carried with the wind and it was fucking sweet.

Because it was real. Watching Anastasia here was like watching that fucking ponytail. It was ordered, perfected at the start, controlled. But slowly, this life, his family, maybe even him, had together jostled it loose. Jostled her. So she fell out of that fucking act. That image. Watching her become herself was something to marvel at.

“We’ve had a pool going,” Keltan said in his ear. “It’s about half and half. Between who thinks you’re gonna come back with her, drop her off, and never work again. Or come back with her as yours. Rosie, interestingly is more romantic about it all. As is Heath, also interestingly. Luke disagrees, maybe ’cause of the cop in him or maybe ’cause he just likes disagreeing with his wife. I would’ve pegged George as a realist, but he’s with the romantics on this one. Not that I’m not romantic. Every man worth his salt is, and if you repeat that, I’ll beat the shit out of you.” Keltan paused. “But I also know that people are sometimes exactly as they seem. Am I wrong?”

Duke shouldn’t have been surprised at all this shit. The office was like a bunch of fucking high schoolers, especially since he was the only one not married. Well, apart from the new hire, Knox. But no one knew fucking shit about him. He did his job, spoke as if words were rationed, and didn’t offer anything about his personal life. Rosie had considered it her personal mission to find out more about him, using interpersonal skills instead of hacking into his background—only because she’d tried to hack into his shit and there was nothing to hack. An interesting first for Rosie.

So no, Duke wasn’t surprised that they were taking fucking bets on this shit. He should’ve been more pissed off than he was. But he was too busy listening to the sound of Anastasia’s laugh and watching her legs move in those jeans.

“Yes, brother,” he said, as she walked toward him, still smiling. “You’re totally fuckin’ wrong. She’s everything but what she seems.”

Duke had had a weird look in his eye since I got back from herding cattle with his father and brother.

No, that was a lie.

He’d had a look in his eye ever since he ate me out at the breakfast bar, and then after Harriet had