Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
But my brothers live there. And my father. And my Frankie, who’s carrying my favorite future sister or brother. Technically, the baby will be my cousin since Monty had a vasectomy.
Who cares? If it’s all the same to them, I want to be a big brother and call this island home.
Out back, under the wide awning of the porch, I spot them.
Leo, Kody, and Monty lounge on the outdoor sectional, wrapped in fleece and hoodie layers, hands curled around steaming mugs, staring at the flames flickering from the fire table.
A carafe of coffee waits on the sideboard, surrounded by a butcher block tray stacked with breakfast sandwiches, halved bagels, and foil-wrapped egg burritos. Probably Kody’s doing.
The bear with eyes as black as soot is the first to glance my way, lifting his chin in a silent You good? gesture.
Oblivious, Leo laughs with a mouthful of food, muffling whatever joke Monty made.
Monty leans back like a king, a mug in one hand, his other resting comfortably on the back of Leo’s seat.
They’re not touching exactly, but the space between them is nonexistent. Legs brushing. Shoulders bumping. A shared language in every shift of their weight, every glance.
Leo’s foot nudges Monty’s absently as he reaches for another burrito. Kody tears his in half to share. Like they’ve done this a hundred times. Maybe they have.
Feels like I’m intruding on something sacred.
“There he is.” Leo finally clocks me with a crooked tilt of his mouth. “Were your ears burning?”
“Only the important ones.” I sit on the porch steps, not too close but not too far either.
“She settling in okay?” Monty sips his coffee.
“Right now, she’s just trying to breathe.”
They all share looks, knowing exactly how those first breaths feel after drowning. But underneath their empathy, there’s a cautious undercurrent between them. Uncertainty about their new house guest.
“Where’s Frankie?” I glance over my shoulder into the dark kitchen.
“Late night at the hospital.” Leo chomps on his burrito, talking with his mouth full. “We’re letting her sleep.”
“No morning sex?” Eyes bulging, I bite my knuckles. “Oh, no.”
He flips me off without looking up from his second favorite thing in the world. Food.
They’re strange. All three of them. Beautiful and strange. They don’t talk about it, what it means to share her, what it feels like, but it’s there in every glance, every casual touch. The way Leo leans his head against Monty’s shoulder for half a second before reaching for more coffee. The way Kody’s knuckles brush Leo’s thigh as he grabs a napkin. The way Monty looks at both of them with something between pride and possession.
It’s not sexual. But it’s intimate. Like a braided rope. Three strands, different colors, different textures, woven so tight I would need a blade to separate them.
Before Monty entered the scene, I was the third in the brotherhood. I still am, but Leo’s and Kody’s relationship with me is different than their relationship with Monty. Not lesser. Just different.
I watch them for a while. The way they exist together. The quiet rhythm of shared intimacy and loving the same woman without jealousy. It’s not about ownership with them. It’s about devotion. Like monks at the altar of Frankie Strakh.
A soft wind blows in from the trees. The sky bruises purple. Monty slugs back the dregs of his coffee.
Time to start the conversation I came for. “What have you found on Jag Rath?”
That sobers them instantly.
“I ran his name through my contacts.” Monty leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Interpol has a red notice for him under different aliases. Cyberterrorism. Fraud. Murder. He’s connected to The Shadow Collection.”
“Never heard of it.”
“The group sells women out of Texas and California.” Disgust flashes across Kody’s face. “Your runaway bride wasn’t wrong to run.”
“We also traced several shell companies in South America back to his IP.” Monty sets his mug down. “All funded through offshore accounts. This guy isn’t just dirty. He’s fucking radioactive.”
“Dove said he’s left a trail of carnage since she was eight.” I exhale slowly. “She and Jag watched someone murder their parents, and he’s been controlling her life since. He became her guardian and treated her like a burden. He used her. Scared her.” I tell them everything she told me and the bits I pieced together. “She came to Sitka to kill him.”
“She had the opportunity when she aimed a gun at him and didn’t take it.” Monty narrows his eyes. “What’s her plan now?”
“Work, save money, and run far away.” I rake a hand through my hair, knocking off my hood. “But I’m certain she still has revenge on the mind. He’s returning to Sitka tonight.”
“How do you know?” Leo asks.
“She got a text from him. He’ll come for her. Probably doesn’t know she’s here yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
Monty exchanges a glance with Kody and Leo. It’s fast and efficient. A silent agreement. Then he turns back to me.