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“You putting your grubby hand in my face was uncalled for.”

“I’m deeply offended, and I don’t even know why.” Axel slides to the end of the bed and stands up to stretch.

“Damn it,” I grouch. “He still has boxers on.”

Cole starts laughing and flops on his back. “I heard you found out the hard way that Axel sleeps naked.”

My face flushes just thinking about the first time that I saw Axel naked. It was before anything happened, and I thought for sure I was going to die on the spot. Now I’ve seen him more than naked, and it’s still hard to believe. Chelsea pops a kiss on my cheek and climbs off the bed. “I’ll start breakfast.” She disappears from the room with all of our eyes on her.

Sean plasters himself to my back, and that surprise kiss flashes through my mind. It caught me so off guard that I didn’t even have a second to really enjoy it. And I’ve been thinking about him telling me we would do more later since it happened. He throws his arm over my waist and lays his hand on Cole’s hip. “Shut the door,” Cole says quietly. Axel walks over to close it with a frown.

“What’s going on?”

“Ari called me last night. He knows that we’ve been looking into them.”

I sit up so fast that I almost give myself whiplash. “The fucking software. Shit, I’m sorry, Axel. I forgot I put it on all the phones.”

Axel raises his hand to cut off my rambling. “It’s not a big deal. What did he say?”

“He didn’t act mad, just hurt. He said for you to call him if you want his team to be pulled from Gavin.”

“I don’t think it’s Ari,” Sean says, pulling me to lay back down. “It just doesn’t add up. If Charlie wanted you dead, he’s had plenty of chances.”

“Charlie doesn’t want me dead, though,” Axel argues. “He said we were for the bigger picture.”

“That was after he found out about us so he could use you as leverage against me. I don’t think his plan was to keep you alive until then. I agree with Sean.”

“Aw.” Sean pops a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “That makes my heart pitter-patter.”

Axel rolls his eyes and looks at Cole. “Did you pick up anything else from the conversation?”

“Like I said, he’s not mad. If we really did figure it out, then they would have taken out Gavin by now and split.”

“Has anyone checked on Gavin?”

“I did about an hour ago,” Cole admits, sitting up. “I couldn’t sleep, so I’ve been keeping an eye on him. Ghost is on alert, too, but I had to tell him why.”

Axel scrubs his hand down his face. “Ghost needed to know. We need to talk to Ari.”

“We should have done that before you had me searching,” I say and grimace at the look Axel gives me. “I mean, you guys have ways of interrogating without anyone knowing. He would never have found out that way.”

“Let’s get ready for the day and meet in the office to come up with a plan. I think Chelsea needs to know what’s going on, especially since we’re looking into people she knows.”

We all agree and go our separate ways. I jump in the shower, brush my teeth, and make my way downstairs. Chelsea is in the kitchen with music playing, swaying her hips as she cooks. I lean against the doorway and just watch her.

My time with her yesterday exceeded everything that I thought it would be. I couldn’t get enough of her, and she never complained. She even initiated it the last time when I tried to give her a break. I knew she would be perfect, but seeing her naked body for the first time is nothing compared to what my mind conjured up. I want to get lost in her, and I know my heart is already gone when it comes to her. But I’m no longer afraid of that feeling. Axel, her, or this family, they aren’t going anywhere. Charlie tried to break us, but all he did was bring us closer. I walk up behind her and slide my arms around her waist.

She jumps and then relaxes against my chest. “Good morning, Lovie.”

“Good morning.” She grinds her ass against me and laughs when I groan. “Good morning to him too.”

“You dirty girl,” I laugh. “What are you cooking?”

“Evie sent me a recipe for a breakfast casserole. She stole it from Micah.”

“You’ve been talking to Evie?”

“Yeah, she added me to their girl group chat. They’re so much fun to talk to.” Maybe if things did go south with Amber, she would have them. We know for sure we can trust them.