Christ, I need a fuckin' hobby.

Teller followed me into the kitchen to help me load the dishwasher this morning. Something must be on his mind because he's not usually big on helping out in the kitchen.

"Where's your patient?"

Why's he asking? "Wrath? Resting, I hope."

"Is that going okay? You and him in tight quarters, I mean."

Shit.

I'm saved from any other awkward questions Teller has by the man in question storming into the kitchen. The fierce expression fades when he spots me, then twists into something else when he sees Teller standing close. I sigh because we've already done this so many times before.

"Morning."

He settles himself at the kitchen table. "What's up?"

Teller takes a few steps away from me. "Nothing. I was about to butter Trin up to see if she'll bake one of her cakes for Heidi's birthday party."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah, do you mind? I know your plate's kinda full right now," he says with a head tilt toward Wrath.

"I'd love to. I'll get some ideas together so we can go over them and you can pick out what you think she'd like. Or I can ask her" Heidi hates my guts ever since she stopped by Teller's apartment unannounced and unexpected. Finding me sandwiched between her brother and her childhood crush on the living room couch was probably horrifying for her.

"We've got plenty of time to figure it out. After all our family drama, I want to do something nice for her birthday."

"Of course."

He pats my shoulder awkwardly. "Thanks, babe."

He and Wrath talk while I finish up the dishes. As I start taking items out of the fridge to fix Wyatt's breakfast, Teller leaves.

"Babe, you don't have to go to extra trouble, I'm fine. Come here for a second."

"It's no trouble," I tell him as I walk over. He pats his good leg and pulls me into his lap.

"I hate waking up without you," he says, kissing my cheek.

No one would ever believe this giant, frightening man was such a mush. "Sorry. You know I can't sleep much."

"Yeah, I should be doing my job and wearing you out." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"You've been doing pretty good there, stud. No complaints."

I'm shocked he hasn't had a fit over finding Teller and me alone together in the kitchen. But so far he hasn't said a word.

Holy shit. Are we really making progress here?

Later, I take Wrath to the gym. Jake and Whisper are thrilled to see him. They're watching over a trainer I recognize but can't place.

When the new trainer's done drilling his client, he jogs over to us.

Wrath slaps him on the shoulder harder than seems necessary. "How's it going, Irish?"

My jolt of surprise must have been obvious because Wrath glances down at me and smirks. "Babe, you remember Irish Storm?"

"Uh, yeah. Hi."

The kid looks away before meeting my eyes. "Hi."

"Get back to work," Wrath grunts at him and hustles me into his office.

"Why is he working here?" I ask as soon as he shuts the door.

His lips twitch. Maybe I shouldn't stick my nose in his business.

"Never mind. I shouldn't have said anything."

His hands curl over my shoulder. "Ask me all the questions you want, angel."

"Wasn't his crew responsible for the crash?"

"Yes. And he came to me when I was in the hospital, swore up and down he had nothing to do with it and offered to work here for free until I'm better."

"You trust him?"

"No. But he doesn't have access to anything important. No keys. He's not left unsupervised. Rock, Z, Murphy, and Dex have been taking turns keepin' an eye on him."

"Oh. Why are you sharing this with me? It's not my place to-"

He circles the desk and drops into his chair. I perch in the seat opposite from him. "You my girl?" he asks.

"Yes." Wow, that came out easier than I expected. Wrath must think so too, because his face lights up in a big smile.

"Then why wouldn't I talk to you about this?"

"I-"

"Babe, you been helping me keep things afloat as much as anyone else."

"Really?"

He rolls his eyes and leans across the desk. "Yeah, really."

We spend the rest of the morning going over paperwork. During an afternoon lull, Jake pops in and settles himself in the chair next to me. "Irish is doin' well."

"Good," Wrath answers without looking up.

Jake is a lot like Wrath, in that he doesn't like being ignored. He raps his knuckles against the desk to get Wrath's attention. "Doctor give you the okay to start working out?"

Wrath's jaw drops before answering. "I've got a fucking cast on the lower half of my leg. How the fuck am I supposed to work out, dick?"

A smirk curls the corners of Jake's mouth up. I have to hand it to him, he's brave. "Your arms ain't broken."

"Funny you should mention broken arms-"

Jake laughs, cutting Wrath off. "At the very least, you need to be doing some range-of-motion exercises to keep your joints healthy and prevent blood clots."

I snicker at that, because I basically told him the same thing the other day.

Wrath flicks his gaze at me. "You ganging up on me, angel?"

"Nope."

"You want to maintain those muscles you've worked so hard for, don't you?" Jake persists.

This time Wrath glares at him. "Why you so eager to get your hands on my body, bro?"

I snort and look away.

"Who says I'm not doing stuff at home?"

"Are you?" Jake turns to me. "Is he?"

"Don't drag me into this, boys." Pushing myself out of the chair, I duck into the bathroom so they can work their shit out on their own.

When I return, Wrath's alone. "Jake still alive?" I ask.

Wrath grins back. "Yup."

"You shouldn't be so mean to him. It's nice that he gives a shit about you."

For once he doesn't have a snappy comeback.

Trinity and I are actually getting along and it's fuckin' nice for a change. Almost makes the broken leg seem worth it.

I wish things were going as well for everyone else. Contact of ours in the police department calls and lets me know Rock's girl was attacked in her own fuckin' office. Trinity's out shopping with one of the prospects.

Gimping my way downstairs, I find Z in the living room.

"Brother, you heard from Rock?"

"Not in a couple hours, why?"

"Got a call from Gandy. Something went down at Hope's office. A client attacked her or something."

He sits up, running his hands through his hair. "She okay?"

"Yeah. Rock's tied up with the cops though. Think you can go check on them later?"

He makes one of his duh faces, that just begs for a right hook to the jaw. "Yeah."

Being out of commission like this sucks.

I figure Rock's going to be spending some time away taking care of Hope after what happened. His absence doesn't bother me as much as it did a few months ago.

I understand it better now.

Because now that she's finally mine, all I want to do is spend every second with Trinity. She tolerates my clingy ass pretty well too. Although she drew the line at me going to the craft store with her this morning.

Trinity's putting an awful lot of effort into Heidi's birthday party and I doubt the kid will appreciate it. She'll probably be a rude little snot to Trinity. Just thinking about the whole situation pisses me off.

Fuckhole that he is, Teller not only weaseled my girl into making a cake, but getting all the decorations and other shit too. She's been gone all morning and half the afternoon, so I'm eager to see her, even if she is weighed down with a bunch of bags when she comes home. The smile that automatically brightens her face when she sees me? Like a long fist digging between my ribs.

"Have fun?"

"Not really." The delighted expression on her face says otherwise. Spending all this time with her, I've noticed how much she enjoys creative, artistic projects. And she's really good at them.

So even though I think it's a waste of effort on Heidi's behalf, and I'm worried Trinity will end up with her feelings hurt, I make an effort to be enthusiastic about it.

"You gonna bake some test cakes for us to try out?"

Warm laughter spills out of her. "Yeah."

She sets her bags behind the bar and takes a few steps closer. As soon as she's within reach, I yank her tight against me. Sweet, unblinking honey eyes stare up at me. We're out in the open and she's not sayin' a word about me havin' my hands all over her.

"I missed you, Angel Face," I say against her ear.

A hint of a shiver works over her. Her pretty smile disappears. "I missed you too."

Fuck yeah, it feels good to hear her admit that.

Leaning over, I touch my forehead to hers, brush my lips over hers. "Can you fit me into your schedule?"

"Wyatt?" She's breathless even though we're standing perfectly still.

My hand slides down, running over her ass. "Yes?"

She reaches up on tiptoes and kisses me again, then leads me down the hallway.

Pushing inside, she flips the lights on, but I'm right behind her and snap the switch off.

"What are you doing?"

Words are useless. I'd rather show her. I bend down and kiss her gently.

This is fucking awkward with me all gimped up. Keeping hold of her hand I hop over to the bed and sit, pulling her between my knees.