The second they walked into the house, I knew something was off. They tried to cover it up, tried to pretend there wasn’t an underlying current of tension rolling between them all, but it was so thick, I could taste it. And I didn’t like it. Whatever happened, they had to come to terms with it immediately, not let it fester. I decided to give them a little nudge of encouragement.
Okay. It was more like a shove.
“Someone start talking.”
“We’re decompressing, Sunshine.”
“This”––I swept my finger back and forth between each of them––“isn’t decompressing. It’s unhealthy.”
“We had a shock, that’s all,” Waverly tried to placate me.
“What kind of a shock?” Jade pushed. “Was Niall not the one responsible?”
“Just leave it for now, Angel.” Koen rubbed her back.
None of them stayed much longer. I watched as each member of Duncan’s team sought him out before they left, bending their heads in a hushed conversation I wasn’t privy to. When Waverly pulled him into a hug, that’s when my worry skyrocketed. The two of them were close, but I’d never seen them look so intense. Whatever went down, my man was at the center of it.
Bedtime for the kids came and went. Physically, he was present, but otherwise he wasn’t there. I had no idea how to bring him back to me. Duncan told me to head up to bed, he’d join me in a bit, but no matter how heavy my eyelids became, I couldn’t fall asleep. Dressed in one of his T-shirts that fell to my knees and a pair of panties, I went looking for him. There were only so many places in the house he could go, so I started with the most obvious, the gym.
I knew I had the right place when I saw the door to the basement was open. He always kept it closed so the kids wouldn’t get hurt on his equipment. I took the stairs one at a time, being as quiet as possible. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him standing in the middle of the room wearing only a pair of black shorts, beating the holy heck out of the heavy bag. His muscles rippled with every swing while rivers of sweat rolled down his back. I clenched my thighs together in an effort to suppress the need to climb him like a tree. It didn’t work.
“What are you doing down here, Sunshine?”
He hit the bag again and I had to bite back a groan. All that power…
Stop it, Sloane.
“I wanted to check on you.”
“I’m good.”
His answer was followed by a punch and a roundhouse kick. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was magnificent. Cautiously, I moved across the room, wanting desperately to touch him.
“You’re not.”
After a beat, he sighed. “Niall is dead.” But he didn’t stop there. “I’m the one who put the bullet between his eyes.”
“Do you feel guilty? Is that what this is all about?”
“Fuck no. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“Then what is it?”
“Niall wasn’t working alone.”
“Okay.” I stretched the word out.
“The director of the FBI, my mentor, Roger Ashland, was the one who orchestrated everything.”
“I’m so sorry, Duncan. What can I do?”
“You’re doing it, Sloane. Just by being you.” He kissed me softly. “Go back up to bed. There’s still a bit I need to work out in my head and boxing is the way I do that.”
“What if I told you I knew a better outlet?” Without waiting for his answer, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Let me help you.”
“I don’t know if I can be gentle, Sunshine.” He bent, pulling a nipple into his mouth.
“Who said anything about gentle?” I groaned as his teeth scraped the hardened bud.