Page 96 of All the Missing Pieces

Trey smacked a hand on the table. “Sold!” He glanced at Emerson. “Right?”

She shook her head. “That’s too much.”

“I’ve traveled all over and always poke my head in galleries along the way. It’s not,” I told her. “You could be making bank if you sold them online.”

Colt moved into our huddle, a frown on his face. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why the hell not?” Trey challenged.

“It puts Em out there. Public. If her history got out there along with it, it could make her a target.”

I watched as Emerson’s shoulders slumped, a little of that shocked-but-happy surprise bleeding out of her.

I shifted closer to Colt and slowly stepped down on his foot,hard. His gaze flew to me, confusion there. “What?”

I glared back, trying to make a silent point.

“What your houseguest is trying to say more delicately than I will is that you’re being a dick,” Trey said.

A muscle ticked along Colt’s jaw. “I’m being cautious.”

I kept right on glaring at him but spoke to Trey. “I have no problem telling Law Man that he’s being a giant dick. He likes to do that often. Sometimes in good ways, other times not so much.”

Emerson choked on a laugh. “I have been wondering what this roommate situation entailed.”

“Friends with benefits. My kinda houseguest,” Trey said with a grin.

“Jesus,” Colt muttered. “Is nothing private anymore?”

I turned to Trey with a smirk. “Enemies with benefitswould be more accurate.”

He barked out a laugh. “I knew I liked you.”

“Would you three quit it?” Colt gritted out.

Emerson’s hazel eyes danced. “Come on, don’t pout. We’re just having a little fun.”

“I don’t pout,” he shot back.

I reached up and grabbed his bottom lip. “I don’t know, this was sticking out pretty far.”

Colt grabbed my wrist, tugging me to him fast and hard. “Chaos,” he growled, but there was an amber heat in his eyes. “Careful. You’re playing with fire.”

My breath hitched. “You should know by now, Law Man, I’m not afraid of getting burned.”

I glanced over at Colt as he drove. The sun hung lower in the sky now, its heat having baked the earth all afternoon. We’dspent hours at Emerson’s. Hours I’d loved because I adored Colt’s sister. More than that, I admired the hell out of her. She had an incredible strength and, more than that, an intelligence that she’d used to make herself feel safe despite what she’d been through.

Colt had gone quieter after getting a call from Ryan. He’d stepped inside, away from prying ears, to take it. And he’d done his best to hide the anger when he’d come back out. But I knew the change had put Trey and Emerson on edge, wondering what was going on.

“What did she say?” I finally asked, breaking into Colt’s spiraling thoughts.

His fingers tightened on the wheel. “Who?”

“Let’s not play that game. We’re both smarter than that.”

Colt sighed, making the turn up the mountain road that led to his house. “Tara confirmed their relationship. Broke down while talking to Ryan. All sorts of guilt and confusion. It’s been haunting her for years, getting mixed up with Kerr.”

“Bastard,” I muttered.

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