“I’ll show you.”

Pika claps my shoulder, and I pull my eyes from Zack to look at him and mutter, “Thanks.”

Once I get Maggie settled in bed, I find the guys sitting in the dinning room at the table talking. Pika and Aye are filling Zack, Lane, and Teo in on the house and the parameter, including the sensors in the desert.

“Zack,” I call, and his eyes move from Pika at the head of the table to me, and I nod toward the front door.

Mumbling, “Be back,” he scoots away from the table and follows me out of the house.

“What the fuck was that?” I question, and he doesn’t even hesitate before he speaks.

“Not sure, yet.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I run a hand through my hair. “If he—” I pause, clipping, “Fuck,” and dragging my hand through my hair again. “This shit is not okay, not with all the other shit going down.”

“I’ve got nothing to go on but my gut right now,” he rumbles, looking toward the house. “Teo sees it. He knows something’s off too.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you bring this to my attention before I had him in our house?”

“How could I watch him if he wasn’t with me?” he asks back, and—fuck—I know he’s right, but this shit isn’t sitting well with me right now.

“Flipped, man,” he whispers, looking back at the house.

“What?”

“When he knew Maggie was with you upstairs today, he flipped.”

“Jesus,” I whisper, wondering how fucking blind I’ve been. “He is not to be alone with her under any circumstances.”

“You don’t even have to tell me that shit. He hasn’t been alone with her, and won’t be. Teo and I are watching, waiting for his move.”

“He touches her, I’ll kill him. I know you guys are tight, but I’ll kill him.”

“If it comes down to that, I’ll do it for you,” he mutters, and I watch his eyes change in a way that shows how serious his statement is.

“He drugged her,” I whisper to myself, knowing down to my gut I’m right. “The only one who got close to her. She fucking trusted him.”

“Fuck,” Zack hisses, and I know he sees it now too. Eva wouldn’t do that shit. She wouldn’t. I saw the worry in her eyes when she found out what happened. Justin ran her check and it came back clean, no red flags. Lane has been playing the good guy, playing me, and playing her. I close my eyes, hating that I need to fucking tell Maggie about this shit. She’s already on edge; this shit will likely push her over.

“I can’t be here with her. With him here, I can’t risk something going down, not right now.”

Stepping closer, he drops his voice. “This is the safest place for her.”

“He’s sleeping down the hall,” I remind him, narrowing my eyes. “Right down the fucking hall.”

“Right next to me,” he says calmly, and I shake my head in frustration. “I’ll let Pika and Aye know what’s going on. No one will allow anything to happen to her.”

“Why the fuck didn’t I see this shit earlier?” I ask myself aloud.

“No one saw it.” I know he’s right, but even knowing he’s right, I want to put her ass on a plane and send her somewhere safe, where I can deal with this shit without her being in the middle of it. “We’re watching him. He has eyes on him, and Lane isn’t stupid. Even if what he’s done is stupid, he’s not a dumbass He won’t take a chance.”

“Fuck,” I clip, when I really want to roar my frustration.

“I know this situation isn’t ideal, but right now, we need to roll with it. When he makes his next move, I’ll make mine and put an end to it.”

“No, fuck no. I don’t know what his plan was, but he drugged her, could have fucking hurt her. He makes a move, I’m putting him down,” I rumble, letting the weight of my words sink in then continue. “We don’t show our hand, don’t change shit, and when I talk to Maggie, I’ll tell her to keep her guard up, but to play it cool. We don’t know his plan, but we also don’t know if he’s taking orders from someone else right now.”

“You think Paulie’s in on this shit?” he asks, and I shrug, having no fucking idea if he is, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he has something to do with it.

“Paulie has deep pockets. Money makes people do crazy shit, so it could have started out as him taking an order then turned into him wanting Maggie. Right now, I’m walking fucking blind, but I’m not willing to risk Maggie in this fucked-up game. When you talk to Pika, Aye, and Teo, you make sure they know that Lane isn’t fed anything he can pass along to someone else.”

“I’ll talk to them.”

“I’ll talk to Mags.”

“Your woman’s crazy. She may try to take him out herself,” he mutters, and I catch the smile in his voice.

“Don’t say that shit. You know she will, and that’s the last thing we need right now.”

“True, but it could be fun to watch.” He laughs, but I don’t find anything funny about this, not right now. My woman is strong, but she is going to be hurt that someone else she trusted is not someone worthy of that faith. “We’ll get this sorted,” he mutters, reading me, and I nod.

“Fill the guys in tonight. When Kai and Kenton get in, tell them we’ll talk in the morning. I’m going to talk to Maggie then, too. She needs sleep, and I want her to have at least one good night of it before more bullshit is piled on her that will keep her from resting easy,” I tell him then storm into the house, making sure to keep my face impassive as I nod at the guys, who are still sitting around the table as I pass.

When I make it to the room Maggie and I are sharing, she’s still out, but now she’s tucked a pillow to her chest with one leg out of the covers and thrown over it. Getting undressed, I shut off the light, get into bed, and pull the pillow from her grasp, shoving it behind my head.

The second I’m settled, before I can pull her into me, her body moves. Her leg slides over both of mine as her arm moves across my waist, and her head nestles into the crook of my arm. I never did this shit with a woman before Maggie. The idea of having someone so close all night would have annoyed me. Maggie didn’t have the option of sleeping any other way. I wouldn’t allow it. I not only want her close; I need her close.

Running my hand through her hair, I stare at the clock across the room, the green lights reading a little after ten. It’s early. Kai and Kenton will be in soon with their women. We were supposed to start talks tonight, but that shit will have to wait. Tomorrow is going to suck in more than one way, and I want to give Maggie one more night of just this—her in my arms, the world outside of us not creeping in.

Closing my eyes, I let out a breath, thinking that if her parents want to be there when we get married, they’ll have to meet us as soon as we hit town when this shit is done. Because I’m pulling over at the first wedding chapel I see.

With something to look forward to, I smile and fall asleep.

Chapter 11

Maggie

Locked up

WAKING WITH MY cheek pressed to Sven’s chest, my hand resting over his heart, and my leg over both of his, I blink my eyes open slowly. Looking past my hand and the expanse of Sven’s chest, I see lavender walls and beautiful dark furniture. Blinking again, I realize I slept through our arrival at Kai’s house and had been put to bed without ever waking up.