Page 138 of Diamond In The Rough

“Come on.” Gentle and sweet, Micah swings me up into his arms and cradles my body against his chest. He has no interest in mediating his brother and mine. Instead, he’d rather press a kiss to my lips and start up the stairs. “You wanna go to bed and rest? Or are you feeling up to a little socialization? We could pull up a chair and get you some lunch.”

“Um—”

“Tiia-federal-agent-in-disguise-Hale.” Felix’s voice draws me around. My head wrenching on my neck and my heart thundering in my chest. If I was still connected to a machine in the hospital, everyone would be violently aware of how his presence scares me. “You should know I stood up for you.”

“You…” I look at Micah, then back at his brother. “What?”

“Back when Micah was falling in love like a chump, but his instincts said something was off. He knew things weren’t as they seemed, his entire fucking existence built around listening to his intuition. But I told him he was overthinking and to stop fighting against you.” He folds his arms and firms his lips. “I stood up for you. I wanted you to know that.”

“Well… uh… thanks?”

“Of course, I also wanted to kill you once the truth came out.” He speaks so easily, so happily, and yet, his words aren’t empty threats. They’re not a figure of speech the way so many others toss around. “I offered to do it,” he continues. “To save my brother the trauma of having to slit your throat himself, since his heart went and got involved.”

“Lix—”

“I would have taken you to the woods and dealt with it nice and quick. No mess, no fuss. Alive one second and gone the next.”

“Lix!” Micah growls. “You done?”

“Just painting a picture,” he smirks. “I wouldn’t have done it because of your job though, Tiia. My little brother has a badge, too, so it’s not like I’m completely repulsed by law and order.” He takes a step closer, standing over me so his aftershave fills my lungs, and his body warmth seeps into mine.

And yet, despite Micah’s promise to love and protect and yada yada yada, he allows the don to approach.

“I’d have killed you because you broke his heart. Because I’ve never seen him so fucking broken in my entire life.”

“We’re done.” Micah steps to the right, skirting his brother’s broad body and leaving my brother behind to fend for himself. “She needs rest. Not a pecking order lecture. She’s family now, Lix, which means you don’t get to kill her.”

“I wasn’t done talking.” He spins, easy for me to observe as I turn my head and watch the man who continues to smile. Then he grabs Micah’s shoulder, jerking him to a stop, the sharp movement tugging on my wound and eliciting a sharp breath of pain. Dragging Micah around again, he drops his hands into his pockets and tilts his head, studying my face like this whole interaction amuses him. “Did you hear Joseph Wilkes was found dead in his own bed a few days ago?”

“Uh…” Swallowing, I look up at the underside of Micah’s jaw, then down again with a frown. “Yes. I heard. It was on the news.” Then a thought hits me, a stunned reality slamming into my mind. “Was it you?”

He chuckles, glancing at my Fed brother. “Nope. And that’s not one of those ‘nope’ kinds of ‘nopes’ where everyone knows I’m lying. It’s a genuine nope. I had nothing to do with it and have no clue who did it.” He lifts his chin. “I’m not mad it happened, though. The trash has been taken out. He shot you, Hale. You should be thrilled he’s worm food.”

Micah sighs. “We’re going inside. Fuck knows, you wouldn’t leave Cannon out on the front stoop for this long.”

“Just getting all the formalities out of the way before she’s placed inside the home you swore you would never share with a woman.” He brings bright green eyes down to mine, arrogant and overly friendly. “Did you hear Jakeline Colby sold her shop?”

“Yeah. She came by the hospital a few days ago and mentioned it. Said how she wanted to travel now that she’s getting older. Something about an offer too good to decline.”

“Mm…” He drags his hands from his pockets and presents a dangling set of silver keys from his pointer finger and a keychain with a cute, little, fake emerald charm, not nearly as elegant as the one hung around my neck. “You’re not unemployed anymore.”

“What?”

“I would’ve murdered you,” he repeats. “I owe you an apology. And you’re good at selling old shit. So in honor of sharing my home with a dirty fucking badge, something my father would despise, which, in turn, makes me immeasurably happy, I decided to turn a million illegally obtained dollars into a legitimate shop that makes legal tender. You don’t have to go back to walking in front of bullets for a living, I get to make you work for me, you can sell antiques and travel, searching for romantic, Mongolian soldiers, and Micah gets to keep you close.” Then he peers at my brother and beams. “And his loyalty to you means I have a Fed in my pocket for the rest of time.”

“The fuck you do!” Roscoe booms. “I’m not a part of this.”

“It’s mutually beneficial,” Felix declares. “You’ll see.” Stepping to the side, he extends his hand toward the front door. “Welcome home.”

The end… for now.

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