“Yeah.” Brass nodded seriously. “Then she’d have to divorce you for cheating on her inside the state pen.”

“Cheating on her?” Harley looked confused for a second and grimaced. “That’s…just wrong! I am attracted to females.”

“It depends on who you ask. I heard once that some men find true love behind bars.” Brass winked at Harley. “You do have a nice ass. I’m sure I’m not the only man who will see it that way.”

“I’m never bending over in front you again.” Harley flipped Brass off. “And that’s not an offer. I have way higher standards.”

“Enough,” Trisha laughed. “You guys are starting to make my stomach hurt. Why don’t we give my tummy a break and pick up our card game? I was kicking some serious ass.”

“You were not.” Harley stood. “I’ll get the cards.” He strode to the stairs. “We were letting you win.”

“He’s a sore loser,” Brass whispered.

“I heard that!”

Chapter Sixteen

Slade turned when Moon crept up next to him. The wind picked up. Slade hooked his thumbs inside his jeans pockets, having gone home and changed before he’d returned.

Moon took a deep breath. “Are you enjoying standing out here listening to us cheer her up?”

Slade said nothing.

“You really upset her when you made nasty accusations. She treats us as though we are brothers and I can promise you there is nothing between her and Justice. I’ve been on her security detail for weeks and she just hangs out with us when she’s not working. I knew she was sad but I didn’t know why until today.” He paused. “You shouldn’t have left her the way you did. Why would you do it? She’s amazing.”

Minutes passed. “I was afraid that being with me would endanger her. It made sense at the time but it was all for nothing. I feared for her safety above my desire to be with her. I’ve put her in much more danger now that she’s carrying my child. She’ll be a target for the hate groups and I unknowingly put her in more danger by not being there when she needed me.” Slade’s voice softened. “I also wanted to give her time to make certain how she felt about me but I really needed it myself too. Does she know I’m out here?”

“No. We told her we scented a storm coming. It is hard to want something very much when we have learned anything we value gets taken from us.”

Slade silently agreed.

“She thinks you used her for sex and you don’t care about her. She is carrying your child and hurting. Do you realize she is a miracle?”

Slade turned his head to glare at the other male. “Of course I know, damn it.”

“But you left her alone.” Moon shook his head in disgust. “I wouldn’t allow anything to stand in my way to be with her if I were lucky enough to find a woman similar to her who cared for me, especially not my own fear. I know all about loss with our shared past. I know how terrifying it is to feel anything because it opens us up to the possibility of deep pain.” He took a breath. “I would risk anything for a woman I loved.”

“She was attacked for her association with us. I believed being with me would only increase the danger. It wasn’t just all about my fear of growing attached to her.”

“She knew the risks when she took the job. She is smart, Slade. Homeland had been attacked before she arrived and it can happen again. She watches the news, sees the protestors spew their hatred of us to anyone who will listen when they make their threats, yet she still came to us. She allowed you to touch her knowing what Ellie and Fury faced and still do. She was present when Fury took the bullets meant for his mate. You may have believed you were being honorable but you were wrong. She’s already in danger and the degree doesn’t matter. What does matter is having a strong male at her side to protect her if someone tries to harm her. You failed in that.”

Pain lanced through Slade at the truth of the words. “She won’t forgive me.”

Moon glanced at the house. “You need to make her understand how much you care and that you’ve learned how much she means to you.”

Slade glanced at the cabin. “Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Actually, yes. I’ll go inside and talk to the guys. I’m sure they will do what I say. They care about Trisha and want her to be happy. I believe you can make her understand if you love her as much as I suspect. It might not sit well with Brass though because he is very close to her as a friend. Stop growling. There is nothing between them.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I am going to talk to them and we will camp outside tonight after she goes to sleep. You are going to go in there to get your female back when she is alone.”

* * * * *

Trisha turned over on the bed and came up against a warm body. Her hands touched hot, bare skin. She gasped as her eyes flew open but it was too dark to see anything. She’d fallen sleep at some point and the men had gone downstairs. She scooted back.

“I guess the floor was too hard for you? You better be dressed from the waist down,” she warned the guy sharing her bed. She wished she had their keen sense of smell or sight to determine which of the three she spoke to.

“Mmmm,” the voice murmured softly. The body adjusted closer and an arm slid over her waist.

“Hey,” Trisha protested and shoved at his chest. “Roll to the other side of the bed. I don’t mind sharing but I’m not a body pillow you can curl around.”