"You're a dick."

"Screw you. We can't all be perfect."

Collin groaned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're not all celibate douche bags. We like sex. We have sex. What we don't do is wait around for it like you do."

"Watch your tongue," Collin hissed, the sound sending creepy vibes up my spine. I rubbed my hands over my upper arms to fight the chills.

"News flash, asshole. This isn't Iraq. You don't get to control the situation. And you sure as shit don't get to control my sex life."

"Get out."

"Screw you. I live here. I'm Chloe Bean's uncle. I help pay the mortgage on this place, so if I want to fuck a girl in the house, I will."

"Don't make me shove my fist into your face, Maxwell."

"Don't make me call you a pussy either. Oh. Wait." Max laughed once. "You are a pussy. Too afraid to go after what you want. Too terrified she'll-"

There was a thud. Then a crash. And I'd heard just about enough.

It was like I'd stepped into a frat house, with two guys wrestling on the floor, furniture falling, the rugs spun in all different directions. There were no fists, just a lot of grunting and... Wait.

Were they pulling each other's hair?

"Knock it off!" I half whispered, half yelled, not wanting Chloe to hear her father and pseudo-uncle going at it like maniacs.

Neither paid a bit of attention to me, so I walked straight to the kitchen, grabbed two giant cups of water, and hustled back to them.

"One more chance, you idiots. Knock. It. Off." Still no response. So I did what any referee would do. I dumped the cups of water on them.

"Wooo, baby." Max threw his head and smirked up at me. Water dripped down his cheeks, over his mouth, and onto the floor. I'd got him square in the face. "Let's throw you into the mix, Short Stuff. Add a little mud and a white T-shirt while we're at it."

I lifted my chin, pride radiating through my chest. Until I got a look at Collin.

If glares could kill, I'd be a dead woman from that one look alone. His fists were clenched, not a lock of hair was out of place, and his face was completely dry.

Then he stood and water ran down from between his legs, making him look like he peed on himself.

"Oops?" With a satisfied click of my tongue, I dropped the plastic cups on the floor in front of me. Then I dusted my hands off and took a step back, arms folded over my stomach.

Max stood from the floor, shaking his hair out like a dog. "I think I'm in love." He took a step forward, eyes bright and wild. "Come here, Short Stuff." He wiggled his finger toward me, grinning. "Let me kiss ya."

My shoulders tensed. "No thank you."

"Right then. Which side will it be, Colly?" Max sneered over his shoulder toward Collin, who'd also moved in closer.

My stomach dropped at the curl of his lips.

Shit.

"Right side, brother."

"Got the left then."

I blinked, staring back and forth between the two ginormous men with my hands out in front of me. "W-what are you guys doing?" I moved until the back of my heels hit the screen door leading outside.

"Payback, sweetheart." Collin's eyes met mine, sending a spark shooting through my tummy and tunneling directly between my thighs. I shuddered, wondering about this payback...secretly wishing he'd shove Max out of the room and show me how bad his payback could be.

Like he knew what I was thinking, Max hung back, grinning. "It's a good thing I like you, Short Stuff. Otherwise, I'd do much worse things to you than Colly'd ever do." Max cracked his neck from side to side before he turned toward Collin and pointed my way.

The one good thing about the moment? The two of them had silently-albeit with wrestling moves and grunts-figured out their problems. The bad? Now I seemed to have a whole lot of pent-up wetness between my legs and a big, sexy man licking his lips and stalking me in the dark.

"You fight dirty." Collin hovered over me, hands on both sides of my face against the glass.

I shivered. "I didn't know what to do. You guys were fighting and Chloe's down the hall sleeping, and I didn't want her to wake up and-"

"Stop talking."

I shut my eyes. "Okay."

As he tilted my chin up and pressed a finger against my lips, he whispered, "Open your eyes and look at me, Addison."

It was the S in my name that did it. The way the sound rolled over his tongue. God, he could make any letter of the alphabet sound sexy.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, hoping the water incident was forgiven-although I wouldn't trade what had happened for anything.

He didn't move his finger from my mouth as he said, "For what? Drenching me and Max?"

"Yeah."

"That was the smartest thing you could've done, sweetheart."

"Um..."

"You're sleeping in my bed tonight."

My heart skipped and my voice squeaked. "I am?"

He nodded once. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch."

I gulped. "Oh." I clenched my hands against my waist. "I could stay on the couch. I don't mind."

His jaw worked, and he almost looked pained but seriously sexy at the same time.

"Not gonna happen."

For once in my life, I wasn't going to argue with the guy. I may not have known what was going on inside his mind, but I'd take what I could get, even if it meant a night in his bed without him. Collin was complicated. And I was patient. My only hope? We'd find the same end goal somewhere down the line.

Chapter 20.

Collin It was five thirty, and Addie had yet to show up at my place. She'd always been there by five thirty on the nights I worked, never a minute late, so what the hell was her holdup?

Chloe was cutting teeth and had screamed in my arms for a solid hour. Not to mention I had a bitch of a headache. Now, to top it all off, I was going to be late for work.

Since I'd been training another guy to take over the late shift so I could go to days, I had to be there as early as I could. She knew this too, damn it.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Barging through the door, hair wild and braided in pink dreads and smart-ass mouth on her like always, my sister had the guts to wink at me. If I wasn't so thankful for her help, I probably would've called her out on it. I needed her too much to be an asshole.

"Not exactly. But I am late for work."

Apparently, whatever Lia's new job was, she could pick and choose her hours. I'd yet to ask her about it because I was a big dickhead. Still, my brain was all over the place nowadays, and I blamed it all on Addie. The woman made me forget things, not care about anything but the here and now. It was a blessing and a curse because I wanted the girl so badly I could barely breathe whenever she was around.

Problem was that the girl in my arms needed her more.

"I don't know where Addie is, and I don't have time to wait for her either."

"Did you try to call her cell?"

"She wouldn't answer it anyway, especially if she were driving."

"Huh." Lia clicked her tongue and reached for Chloe. Right away, the little stink stopped crying and started nuzzling into my sister's neck. I groaned. What was it with women and their ability to calm babies?

"That's not like her, is it?"

"No." I tried to ignore the twinge in my chest at Lia's observation. To distract myself, I reached for my belt and strapped it on, not bothering to look in the mirror. It was time to go.

"Have her call me when she gets here, would ya? Need to talk to her about things." Not true. Just needed to hear her voice, breathe it in, know she was good. Safe.

Lia kissed Chloe's hair and went to the kitchen. She was quieter than usual, not normal. Part of me wondered if that Travis trash from the other night was messing with her mind. Max didn't know shit about the situation, so I'd have to do some investigating myself. For now, though, I had to get to work.

I was out the door five seconds later and on the main roads in less than ten. Damn, would I be glad to have day-shift hours soon.

This wasn't my forever career; nobody wanted to be a rent-a-cop for the rest of his life. My plans were to join the PD one day. But for now, until I had the time and the money to go to the police academy, I needed to keep something stable for insurance purposes.

Traffic was thicker on the main road out of town, more so than the rush hour I usually ran into on my way to work. Teeth gritted, I switched lanes, deciding to take another way. I could still see the main road from the access road, and what I saw had my stomach churning. Fire trucks, cops, and an ambulance all sat with their lights running. And there, in the small ditch running off the side of the road, I saw a car. Addie's car.

"No." Panic washed over me, and my palms started to sweat as I turned the steering wheel. I did a U-turn up at the next set of lights, and my heart raced as I pushed the pedal to the floor.

If that really was her car...

Please, fucking please, don't let it be her.

At the thought, I drove even faster, brakes squealing when I finally slammed down on them to avoid hitting an ambulance. I shut off my truck, threw open the door, and raced like fire was in my ass toward the crowd. At the top of the ditch, I stood frozen, knees locked at the view. On a gurney fifteen or so feet ahead, sitting up and smiling, was Addie-my Addie.

My pulse seethed in my temples. My head ached. And no matter how hard I pushed it away, I was transported back in time to that day.

The call.

"I'm sorry. There was nothing they could do, honey. They said she didn't suffer. It was blunt-force trauma to the head and-"

"Stop it," I growl through the phone, not wanting to hear it. "Let me talk to Dad."

"Oh, Collin, please. We-"

Unable to take my mom's comfort, I scream through the line again. "Put Dad on the fucking phone. Now."

Knees against my chest, I rock back and forth, the sand blowing up in my face, the sound of my brothers talking under their breath around me. All's quiet on the front now, but inside my body...inside, I'm breaking-breaking so bad I can't think, can't speak.

"Get it together, Son. Mom and I love you, and we're going to help you get through this. But you've got to keep it together."

"Just... Dad, tell me this is some sort of sick joke."

"No, Collin Matthew. Why would we ever do something so cruel?"

Teeth gritted, I roar, turning to punch the Humvee. On contact, my knuckles bleed, but I feel no pain other than my heart ripping from my chest.

It hurts. It hurts so fucking bad...

"We'll keep her safe. Don't you worry about nothing but coming home alive right now. Chloe's in good hands here with your mom and me."

Chloe. My baby. Our daughter.

Fuck.

No!

"I'm gonna-Shit, watch out!" I toss the phone into the sand and puke all over everything in my path until I can't breathe.

Fucking gone. Amy's gone. I couldn't save her. Left her alone so I could be here in this motherfucking desert.

Dead.

Gone.

Alone.