CHAPTER 5

SOMETHING was bothering Lily. Seth watched her from the doorway of her studio as she tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. She dabbed paint with her brush, but he could see the distant look in her eyes that told him she wasn’t really focusing on her painting.

She’d been quiet and distracted for a few days now, and it was driving Seth—and his brothers—crazy.

Lily wasn’t much of a complainer and she rarely bothered to volunteer information when something was wrong. Seth, Michael, and Dillon usually had to drag it out of her.

They’d actually been delighted once when they’d managed to piss her off enough that she’d lit into them with both barrels. His ears still stung from the dressing-down she’d given them, but they’d grinned the entire time she was doing it until she’d realized they were smiling, and then she’d given them bewildered looks and demanded to know what was so funny.

Seth had pulled her into his arms, peppered her beautiful face with kisses, and then explained to her that it was okay to unload on them. About anything at all. No matter how insignificant she thought it was. That was what they were here for. To be her rock. To protect her. To love her. Always.

He still marveled at the miracle she was. At how content he and his brothers were. She’d given them so much and they were just as determined to give back to her.

Dillon appeared at the doorway and frowned when he saw Seth staring in at Lily. “Mom’s here to see Lily and we’ve been banished to go watch football with the dads. I smell a rat.”

Seth stared pensively at Lily as she looked up when she heard them talking. A soft smile removed the consternation that had been evident moments before.

“You’re staring.”

Seth relaxed, unable to remain thoughtful when her smile tugged at his heartstrings. “Is it a crime to stare at a beautiful woman?”

She shook her head but her cheeks darkened with a hint of color. No matter how often they told her she was beautiful, that she was their world, she always got shy when they gave her compliments.

“Mom’s here. She’s kicking us out. Know anything about that?”

Lily’s eyebrow arched. “What, she can’t come to visit me without you getting suspicious?”

Dillon snorted. “I don’t trust my mother when she’s smiling that sweetly at me. She patted me on the cheek and called me her baby. I know she’s up to something.”

Seth snorted at the image of their petite mother patting Mr. Badass on the cheek and cooing at him. “Mama’s boy,” he taunted.

Dillon flashed a grin. “Yeah, so? You’re just mad because she loves me better.”

Seth rolled his eyes and then Lily laughed. God, he loved that sound. She had the most beautiful laughter. It was a far cry from the sad-eyed woman he’d first seen in the line at a soup kitchen for the homeless. She’d been so somber and serious then. That she laughed and smiled so readily now made his chest tighten.

Lily got up and walked to him, sliding her arm around his waist even as he pulled her into his side. He kissed the mop of dark curls and rubbed his cheek over the top of her head.

“Come on. We don’t want to keep Mom waiting.”

Lily slid her hand into Dillon’s and tugged him along behind her and Seth as they made their way into the living room. They both were warm and vibrant against her. Strength. Comfort. Her entire world.

And there was Michael, sitting with his mom, but as soon as she and his brothers entered the room, his gaze found hers and was so full of love that her heart stuttered.

There was so much love in this family. That she’d found a place here in their midst still boggled her mind.

She belonged. This was hers. They belonged to her.

It would be all right. She just had to keep telling herself that.

“Lily!” Holly exclaimed as she rose. “I hope I didn’t disturb your painting.”

Lily accepted her mother-in-law’s warm hug and returned the embrace with one of her own.

“You’re never a bother. I’m glad you’re here. Do you know if Callie is feeling better?”

She marveled at just how innocent the exchange seemed. She could barely suppress her grin. So far, things had gone off without a hitch. It truly looked as though Holly had popped in for a visit and wanted to spend time with her daughter-in-law.

Holly’s expression sobered for a moment. “She and Max are flying to New York this afternoon. They left for Denver this morning.”

Dillon scowled. “What the hell? She’s sick. She doesn’t need to be flying all over the damn country. I knew I shouldn’t have let her work the bar while Max was gone. He hates it and so do I.”

Holly sighed as Seth and Michael both gave frowns of disapproval as well.

“It was necessary. There are issues with Lauren. Max didn’t want Callie to go either, but she insisted, and she was right to do so. Lauren needs them. She needs all of us right now.”

Lily’s brow furrowed at the sorrow in Holly’s voice. “What happened?”

Holly’s lips turned down. “She was abused by a man she trusted.”

Lily’s husbands’ frowns turned to deep scowls. If there was one thing the Colter men held true to, it was that women were to be cherished above all things. It was a principle passed from fathers to sons and was evidenced in the way the Colter women were coddled, pampered, and protected.

“Damn,” Michael muttered.

It was common knowledge in the family that Holly had escaped an abusive husband many years earlier. It was what had brought her to the Colter men. They’d nearly lost her to the bastard, and the subject of abuse was always bound to make any of the Colter men immediately snarly.

Holly stared at each of her boys in turn, love warming her eyes. “She’ll need us all. We’re her family now. All she has left is Max. Max said she’s ashamed and doesn’t want anyone to see her or know what’s happened. I’m counting on you boys to spoil her rotten and make her feel at home.”

“You know we will, Mom,” Dillon said, his face still dark with a frown. “Damn it, but that sucks. She’s a little bit of a thing.”

Lily nodded her agreement, wincing at the image of some man knocking Lauren around. They’d all met Lauren only once—at Callie and Max’s wedding—and she’d been a beautiful, shy young woman, so different from Max’s overpowering presence and quiet confidence.

Michael’s arm came around Lily, and he pulled her into his side. He squeezed almost as if he knew how much she needed his comfort and support. And oh God, she did. More than anything she needed to know that everything would be all right. That he and his brothers would be right here, with her. Always.

“When will they be back?” Seth asked quietly.

Holly shrugged. “I’m not sure. You know how your sister is when she sets her mind to something. She won’t be coming home without Lauren and it won’t matter what Lauren thinks she wants.”

Michael chuckled. “Takes after Dillon. Both stubborn hardheads.”

Dillon curled his lip at his brother.

Holly rolled her eyes. “Okay boys, time to clear out.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t trust you.”

Holly lifted both eyebrows in mock dismay. “What a thing to say to your mother! Go on now. All of you shoo. Your fathers are expecting you.”

“It’s sad that even when I’m thirty-three years old, my mother can still make me feel ten,” Seth grumbled as he got his coat out of the closet.

He tossed jackets to Michael and Dillon, then headed back toward Lily.

Without a word, he hugged her up tight and squeezed until she was breathless. Then he kissed her, his hand lingering on her cheek.

“Be back later, baby.”

Lily kissed Dillon and Michael and watched as they shuffled out the door. Then she turned to her mother-in-law. “Ready to get to work?”

CHAPTER 6

THIS is ridiculous,” Max muttered as he drove down the interstate. “I never should have let you talk me into this.”

Callie huddled in the blanket Max had wrapped around her and adjusted the heater vent to hit her more squarely.

“I just took some more ibuprofen. My fever will break soon,” she said, trying to control her chattering teeth.

“You can barely talk,” Max said. “And your throat hurts. You have chills and fever and you have no business getting on a plane. I should check you into a hotel and have your dads or brothers come get you.”

“Don’t you dare,” Callie growled. “I can lie down on your plane same as I can lie down at home in my bed. What’s the difference?”

“The difference is you’d have someone to fuss over you, you’d have a more comfortable bed, and you wouldn’t be out in the cold and snow.”

She made a disgruntled sound and burrowed deeper into her blanket. “Lauren needs us both. I can use my sickness as a trump card. If she starts arguing, I’ll feign weakness and be pitiful. Then she’ll have to come so you can whisk me back home to my sickbed.”

Max shook his head. “You’re diabolical.”

She grinned around her quivering lips. “You love that about me.”

He shot her an amused look. “I love you more when that evil streak isn’t aimed at me.”

For a moment she stared at him, suddenly struck, as she was so often, by how much she adored this man. Was he perfect? Oh hell no. He’d made his fair share of mistakes. But he’d done everything in his power to make up for those mistakes. He showed her every day how much he loved and adored her. He took care of her. He showered her with affection. She was one spoiled woman and she loved every minute of it.

“Do I even want to know what you’re thinking?” he asked with a resigned sigh.

“I love you,” she said softly.

His eyes darkened and his fingers tightened around the wheel. “I love you too, dolcezza. I give thanks every day that you are able to love me after all we’ve been through.”

She smiled and reached over to lace her fingers through his. He raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm.

“What’s done is done. It does neither of us any good to dwell on the past. Not when our future is so very bright.”

Max gripped her hand for a long moment and he swallowed almost as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t. When he finally spoke, it was to change the subject entirely.

“Are you comfortable? Perhaps you should sleep for a while. We still have an hour and a half until we get to the airport.”

She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, willing to let him veer into neutral territory. She knew he still lost sleep when he remembered how close he’d come to losing her. “I think you’re right. I feel like a wet noodle. I want to be rested for when we meet Lauren.”

“Sleep then, love. I’ll wake you when we get to the plane.”

DESPITE her protests, Max carried her, wrapped in the blanket from his SUV, onto his jet. He made sure the pilot had warmed the interior and was ready to go the moment they arrived.

Within minutes they took off and Max didn’t wait long to unbuckle her and pull her into his arms once more. He carried her back to the lounge area to a comfortable leather couch, and he settled onto it, holding her against his chest.

She dozed for most of the flight. Max woke her up once to give her more medicine when he noted that she was once again shivering and then she drifted back off, snuggled deeply into his embrace.

By the time they landed in New York, some of the bone-deep chill had worn off. Callie felt wrung out, but at least she wasn’t so cold she couldn’t function. What she needed most now was a bath to wash off all the sweat and the sticky sensation. But she didn’t want to delay even a moment in going to get Lauren.

It amused Max that she insisted the pilot remain on standby. They wouldn’t be more than a few hours—over her dead body were they going to remain in a city with the asshole loose who’d beaten Lauren.

Even sick, grumpy, having a sore throat, and feeling like complete crap, she was a woman on a mission.

Max whisked her into a waiting car and directed the driver to take them to the apartment where he’d relocated Lauren.

“And you’re sure she’s okay?” Callie asked anxiously as she watched traffic drive through melting puddles of snow.

Max put his hand over hers. “Relax, dolcezza. I get hourly reports from the men I hired to guard her. She goes nowhere without their protection. No one gets into her apartment without their knowledge and consent. She’s safe.”

She blew out her breath. Yes, if Max had hired someone to protect his sister, he would have hired only the best. Still, she’d feel much better when Lauren was back home with them in the midst of Callie’s loving family.

At times like this, a girl needed family above all else. Callie was going to make sure Lauren had it.

Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to an apartment building.