Page 80 of Stolen Voices
I shrug. “I am. They were. Then they met their women, and now they live here.”
“Oh. That’s … sweet, actually.”
She reaches for the door handle, and I shout at her. “Wait here.”
“No need to yell,” she grumbles, giving me side eye.
“Sorry,” I cringe. She probably still has a headache. “It’s slippery from the rain. Please let me help you. Okay?”
She smiles widely, stealing my breath. “Okay, you can help me.”
I throw open the door before slamming it shut and rushing to Callie’s side. As she turns her body and places her feet on the floor, a white SUV pulls in behind my rental. The lights illuminate us and the entire front of the house.
Still sitting in the passenger seat, Callie blocks the light with her arm. I almost yell at Mason when the lights click off.
“Who’s that?” she asks.
“That is my brother, Mason. We need a thumbprint to enter the house.”
“Fancy.” Callie chuckles for the first time all day.
Fuck, I love the sound of her laughter. It’s all melodic and twinkly.
“Mason is all about tech. This place also has security cameras and an alarm. Also, he’s a little crazy about his wife.”
“I heard that.” Mason walks up in a puffy coat, black joggers, and matching sneakers.
“You were supposed to hear me, you grumpy asshole.” I grip Callie’s palms in mine and help her stand.
She barks a laugh, but the movement has her swaying on her feet. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close to my body and holding her up.
“Guess I’m still a little off balance.” Callie tries to play it off, but I know she’s in a decent amount of pain.
“A fifteen-foot fall will do that to you,” Mason quips.
“What the fuck, Mase? It’s not a joke.” I stare at him, seething. I’m about two seconds away from punching him.
“Sorry.” Mason nods his chin at me with a sheepish look.
“It’s fine,” Callie says.
“It’s not fine,” I fume. “Don’t fucking joke about it. In fact, don’t fucking bring it up.”
She places her hand on my chest and rubs circles, soothing the angry beast in me. “Ignore him. Hi, I’m Callie, but I guess you know that.” She waves at Mason.
“Mason. It’s nice to meet you.” My brother reaches his hand out for Callie to shake, and I growl at him.
He pulls his hand back with a smirk, then looks from Callie to me. “When did you turn into Jace?”
“Don’t,” I snap at him, ignoring his Jace comment.
The fucker just laughs. I’m never going to hear the end of this, especially when I give my older brother so much shit for being an over-the-top beast with Rylann. I get it now.
I don’t want anyone touching Callie.
“It’s cold out here. Can you please move your ass so I can get Callie inside?”
“Whatever you say, E.” Mason leads the way to the house.
