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stepped my writing up and everything else just started to fall into place.
My story, the one I have been molding for years now, is finally coming to fruition,
and I feel an overwhelming sense of pride in my story and, more importantly, in myself. I
have Asher to thank for that. For encouraging me to follow my dreams and never give up.
I am just finishing another chapter when I feel him walk up behind me. He cuddles
close and kisses my head.
Are you ready to go? he asks.
Yeah. Just let me save this and turn everything off.
Once I ve grabbed my purse off the back of my computer chair, I walk down the
hallway and work on strengthening my courage for what s to come. Time to make sure
the emotional basket case is locked up tight and the strong woman Asher needs me to be
right now is ready to play ball. I push all my fears, nerves, and worry aside and get ready
to walk the road less traveled with my fianc.
Damn, I love the sound of that.
***
The drive to Corps Security doesn t take long. Since the apartments are pretty
centrally located to everything in town, we make the short drive in about ten minutes. I
notice when we pull up that we re one of the first to arrive. Sway isn t even manning his
normal spot front and center in his salon s front window. I swear, sometimes I wonder if
that man even works. The only time I ever see him actually doing hair is when one of us
girls goes in. Other than that, he s bopping around the room with his ever-present smile
in place.
I see Axel s huge black truck sitting next to Greg s minivan rather Melissa s
minivan. Other than that, the parking lot is pretty vacant. I guess that s normal for a
Sunday afternoon. All of the businesses around Corps Security close up on Sundays. The
guys are normally closed as well, but with this emergency meeting, they didn t waste any
time coming together and being there when Asher said that he needed them.
Those men truly are the definition of brotherhood.
I come out of my musing when Asher s hand gives mine a small squeeze. I look down
to where our hands are laced together on his thigh before looking up and giving him a
forced smile. He shakes his head and lifts my hand to give me a kiss.
Everything is going to be okay, Sunshine. Trust me, okay?
I nod my head, not trusting my words. I just know that, if I open my mouth, all of my
careful bravado will crumble. I get another squeeze of his hand before he lets go and
climbs out. I watch his dirty-blond hair shine when the sun hits it. His face seems&
almost peaceful, and I don t even let myself think of what that could mean.
Let s head on in, he says, reaching out to help me step down.
Hey, I whisper, grabbing his arm before he starts walking towards the door. I love
you.
He gives me a heart-stopping smile, turning to wrap his arms around me. I love you,
too, he says against my temple.
It seems weird to walk into the lobby of Corps Security and not see Emmy. I know
there s a lot going on with her and Maddox right now, but this place just isn t the same
without her bright smile greeting me. The last report I heard from Asher about those two
was that he got a very short message from Maddox saying that he was handling shit and
he had Cat. I don t know who the hell Cat is, but I hope that Emmy is okay with her.
Even with Emmy gone, we usually had the pleasure of being greeted by a very
attractive Davey. He s almost too attractive for his own good. His cheekbones are high
and strong, his jaw is perfectly square, and when he smiles, his blindingly white teeth
seem to blink at you. The girls always joke that he looks like he walked straight off a
runway and strutted right into CS. Which I would believe since he managed to catch the
eye of the master strutter himself Sway. Those two have been a heavy and adorable item
ever since they first met.
The lights are dim in the lobby since they aren t open for normal hours and are just
coming in to meet in the conference room. There s the big light that comes from behind
the large CS sign behind Davey s desk and the light that hangs over Coop s memorial
portrait. Other than that, it s just dark and ominous.
I follow Asher s lead when he heads down the hallway that I know leads to their
offices as well as the conference room in the back. Axel and Greg are in deep conversation
about the pros and cons in hunting big game. I don t even want to know what the hell
that means. I shiver at the thought, causing Asher to tighten his hold on my hand and
look at me in question. I just shake my head and look around the room.
Hey, guys, I say when we step into the room, doing my best to plaster on a happy
smile.
Hey, Chelc. How are you feeling? Greg asks warmly.
I m doing okay, just tired. Pretty sure that s normal though all things considered.
He laughs when I wave my hand over my big belly.
You have no idea. Melissa was tired all the time. Just nap when you can. She said
that helped.
Izzy was the same way with Nate. Things seem to be different this time around
though. Hang in there. You re almost done. Axel smiles at me, but before I can address
them, I m beat to the punch.
Yeah, bet that s because it s a girl this time, Beck jokes when he joins the group.
That would be interesting with how protective you are of Izzy and Nate. I can see it now.
You re going to have that baby in a bulletproof bubble before she can talk.
I laugh because, really, he probably isn t wrong. Axel is crazy about Izzy and Nate,
almost to the point where it s overkill. She seems to love it, so I guess that works for
them.
Looking over at Asher, I think for the millionth time how lucky I am. He seems to
have little bits of each of these strong alpha males personalities in him. He has Axel s
protectiveness without being over the top. If what Melissa tells us is correct, he shares
Greg s bedroom skills. He has that huge heart of gold that Beck is famous for. And of
course, he shares Maddox s strength and determination.
I always found it fascinating how much these men all act like a family, but when you
get right down to it, they really are brothers. Just minus the shared DNA. Sometimes I
think that makes their bond stronger. They ve fought together, worked together, and lived
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