his heel to see Myrt had somehow managed to walk up behind him, the early morning sun rays framing her as they streamed through the pine trees. The angle of the illumination made her nightgown and robe translucent, giving him a view of all the slightly rounded curves she kept hidden with her on-the-baggier-side clothing selections. He stifled a groan and did his best to ignore his rapidly chubbing dick. Another vision for the spank bank. Seemed like every time he got close to Myrt, he found something else to like about her.
“I was just convincing myself of that.” He gestured to the mailbox. “Wanna be my spotter as I open it up and see what’s inside? Keep me from tanglin’ with a rogue rock or whatever’s there?”
“What happened to it?” She peered around him at the edge of the drive where the mailbox had stood. A broken post was the only evidence left behind. “Something broke it? What broke it off like that?”
“A someone, not a something. I was on the phone with Truck just now letting him know.” He shrugged and then crouched, extending his arm far to grab the bent-over handle on the twisted mailbox door. It took several tugs, but using one boot to hold the box itself still, he eventually got the door to open with a muted shriek.
“What’s in it? Who would do something like this?” Bane glanced up to find Myrt crowded in behind him, her legs braced close to his hip and thigh as she leaned in to see what he was doing. The sun behind her still kept many things in shadow, but the upper swell of her breasts was on full display, the top of her robe gaping open.
“I don’t know.” He smiled when she transferred her gaze from the mailbox to him, the apples of her cheeks rising in a returned grin. “Let’s find out, shall we?” At her eager nod, he turned back and upended the mailbox, giving it a shake. A piece of metal fell out, and as he reached out to scoop it up, Myrt gasped, sounding shocked.
Still crouched, Bane swiveled to face Myrt, not surprised to see she’d gone pale. Whatever this was, it meant something to her, which put the asshole from yesterday in prime position to be the motherfucker who’d destroyed the mailbox.
Bouncing the twisted metal in one hand, he looked between it and her, then back again, still coming up blank with what it could be. Finally he decided to give way to his curiosity, offering the scrap up balanced on one palm. Surprisingly, Myrt didn’t reach for it. Arms folded across her body, she gave every impression of being terrified.
“What is this?” He plucked it from his palm and held it up, rotating it to see every side. From this close, he could see lines and angles in the metal, which hinted at what it might have been before being mangled. On one side, it looked as if it had melted, the faint details running together to make the puddled base. He looked at her again, studying her features for any clue of what was driving her reactions. “Have you seen this before?”
“One of my little brothers likes soldiers.” Her trembling words didn’t make sense.
He’d opened his mouth to ask what she meant when he saw it. Like a picture that tricked senses into seeing something that wasn’t there before revealing the true image, things fell into place for him, and he noticed the little things that made her words terrifyingly prescient.
“It’s a metal soldier.” He wasn’t asking a question, but she nodded all the same. “Sturdy enough. I think it’s lead.” He pressed his thumbnail against the metal, not leaving a dent. “Maybe aluminum. My uncle had a set. I remember playing with them when I was little.” He folded it into his fist, hiding it from view. “You think this belonged to your brother?”
“It has to. Why else would he put it here and make certain we’d find it?”
Bane stood, staring down at her bowed head, shoulders drawn forward in an effort to fold herself into nothing. He took a chance and stepped nearer, and when she didn’t retreat, came another stride closer, within arm’s reach, and he took another chance, reaching out to bring her tight against his chest. With flexed arms around her shoulders and back, he held her firmly, ignoring her rigid frame, rewarded when finally—fucking finally—she relaxed. Her muscles loosened in a quick sequence, setting