Everyone drifted to the living room. London sat in the middle of the sofa, and the brothers took their respective places on either side of her. Javier’s hand tousled their wife’s long, loose hair. Xander’s hand dropped to her thigh. Decker risked a glance at Rachel on the loveseat beside him. She looked both a bit shocked and envious, and it occurred to him that she deserved to feel as desired and adored as London. Could he fulfill that need for her?
“Coffee for either of you?” the blushing blonde asked, trying really hard not to be affected by her husbands’ touches and failing more than not.
“No, thanks,” Rachel replied.
“None for me,” seconded Decker. “We won’t stay long. I’ll just grab my things . . . Rachel has been kind enough to let me crash with her for a few days while I find a place of my own, so I won’t interrupt your newly wedded bliss anymore.”
London flushed, and when Xander laughed, she nudged her elbow right into his stomach. “We love having company . . .”
“You don’t have to be polite, belleza. It’s always nice to see you. It’s even nicer to see you leave so Javi and I can be naked with our wife,” Xander snickered.
Decker laughed. “You’re an asshole.”
Xander looked like he could care less.
Shaking his head, Decker turned to Rachel. “Will you be all right here if I gather my stuff? Shouldn’t take long.”
“Sure.” She sent him a reassuring smile.
He squeezed her hand, then rose, sending Xander a look. His pal followed. Decker heard the girls talking animatedly and glanced back to see Javier watching them with a doting expression. Rachel would be fine here. Unless the bastard who’d hired out her murder was watching her day and night, he would have no idea where she was. Javi would keep her safe.
“What the hell is going on?” Xander muttered in his ear.
“I gave her a sob story about being in your way and needing another place to hang for a few days so I could look for some digs of my own. I can’t think of another ruse that will keep me with her twenty-four/seven. I’m almost sure that Rachel’s ex-husband isn’t the one trying to off her. I think he’s too clueless to hire a killer. I’ve got no other suspects, and I don’t like the way any of this smells.”
Xander appeared to mull his words, then nodded. “I can see that. And she has no other enemies?”
“Not that she knows of, according to her.”
“Think she’s being dishonest?”
They reached the guesthouse out back that Decker had been using, and he started gathering his toiletries from the granite vanity and shoving them into his duffel. “No. She can’t lie worth a damn.”
“Then she’s not paying attention?”
“More like she could never imagine that.” Decker gathered a pair of jeans and a jacket from the back of the chair in the corner and tossed them into his bag. “She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. Her ex was a douche bag of massive proportions to her for years, and she still tried to make excuses for him and see his best. She’s really . . . fucking sweet.”
“You like this girl.” Xander cocked his head and stared, looking oddly gratified by his observation.
Decker looked down and focused on his duffel’s zipper, then paused. Why deny it? “Yeah. The first time I saw her picture, it was like an uppercut to the stomach. She just manages to tug at me in a way I don’t understand.”
“Ever been in love?”
“No.”
“That’s why you don’t understand it. Love is a sneaky bitch. One minute your life is normal. The next you’re mooning over a woman who’s just mowed you down, like some tornado you didn’t see coming. She’s suddenly the center of your thoughts, and you don’t know how it happened. It’s a short trip from there to her becoming the center of your universe.”
“I met Rachel less than eighteen hours ago.” But hadn’t he already been thinking about a future with her?
Xander shrugged. “I knew London about, oh, thirty minutes when I started to think she might be the one. Javi said it was about five minutes for him. There was just an instant click.”
That made sense to Decker now. Twenty-four hours ago, he would have thought Xander was insane. “Damn.”
“When you know, you just know. I’ve seen you with a lot of women—mostly bimbos—over the years. She’s not your usual speed. You seem more . . . settled around her.”
He scowled. “Just because you’re married doesn’t mean the rest of the world wants to be.”
“You’ve never been the kind to bury your head in the sand. Don’t start now.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Xander leaned into his face. “I’ve never seen you stick your neck out this far for anyone. I mean, I paid you for years to get me out of scrapes.”
“I’m damn good at it, too.”
“The best, which is why Javi and I hired you to help with the company’s security. But you wanting to protect Rachel, taking days and days to do it, practically moving in with her . . . I know damn well it’s not a platonic situation. In the past, you were always a blow-and-go kind of guy. Once the orgasm was over, you were pretty much done and gone.”
How was that for an unvarnished truth? Pretty exact. Decker had gone through most of his life not making too many connections or calling anyplace home. The curse of the military brat. It had carried over into adulthood. But now, he had the oddest desire to plant roots and grow them. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. No, that wasn’t it. Being with Rachel appealed to him, even more than he would have thought. What if he made her his, had someone to come home to every day, got married and started a family?
Decker didn’t hate the idea. And that just about floored him.
“Maybe . . . things have changed,” he acknowledged.
Xander grinned. “I knew it! One look at you and—”
“But it’s not that simple, Xander. I’m just a fling for her.” And didn’t that suck? “Rachel thinks I’ll be gone in a few days, tops. I doubt she’ll miss me when I’ve gone. She’s only been divorced about fourteen months. She may not be ready to hear that I’m . . . falling in love.”
“She has feelings for you. It’s all over her face.”
“And when she finds out I lied to her about almost everything?”
“She’ll forgive you.” Xander clapped him on the back. “Dude, you’re trying to save her life and preserve her peace of mind.”
Yes, but would she believe that he’d wanted her for her and not just because he’d been playing the hero or fulfilling a responsibility?
“If I haven’t solved this by Tuesday night, I’m going to have to tell her that someone wants her dead, that I picked her up for a reason . . . everything. I don’t want to scare her, but I need to come clean with her. I’d just rather do it once I know she’s safe.” He blew out a ragged breath. “I don’t want to lose her.”
“Sounds smart. Who are your other suspects? What’s your plan?”
“Some ideas have been brewing in the back of my head. I need to look into her neighbors and friends, just to make sure there’s no one I should zoom in on. Her ex might not have been the one to hire me, but my gut tells me the whole damn mess has something to do with him. I’ve just got to prove it.”
“Can I help?”
“Occupy Rachel for a few minutes and let me borrow a laptop.”
“Sure. I’ll shut you up in my office at the back of the house for a bit.”
Decker lifted his duffel, nerves biting his belly. “Perfect.”
Xander shut him into the room lined with bookshelves. A sleek laptop sat in the middle of the leather-topped monstrosity. He tried not to think that the guy had probably done the nasty with his wife here more than once and focus on his task.