Upon waking from the deepest sleep ever, I realized I was tangled in a heap of arms and legs with Joshua and Noah. Noah had a leg draped over me, mine was stretched over Joshua, along with my torso since Noah was practically lying on top of me. Someone's hand was palming my bare ass - pretty sure that was Joshua - and another hand cupped one of my breasts, erections pressing into me from both sides.

While that would have been a fantasy come to life and my semi-conscious brain had me pushing and arching into both of them, any arousal I may have been feeling was doused when I discovered Mal sitting in a chair right by the bed, staring at me. Even in the darkness, I could tell he was angry.

"I'm okay," I whispered.

He snorted. "Looks like it."

"What does that mean?"

"Seems like everyone has gotten a turn with you except me."

"Go to hell, Mal."

Joshua stirred under me at my raised voice, but he didn't wake.

"Already been," he snapped back. Rising from his seat, he shoved Noah off me and grabbed my arm to force me from the bed. I stumbled and struggled to get my feet under me. My robe was stuck between the guys, so right as I fell into Mal, the robe slipped off.

The bedside light flipped on.

Make gaped at me and not in an admiring way. "Jesus Christ."

This was his first time seeing my injuries and he was just as livid about them as Noah and Joshua had been. I wanted to cover up, not concerned about my nakedness but about Mal's reaction and his hands tightening on my waist as he assessed every scrape, bruise, and cut that marred my skin.

Meanwhile, Noah had seconds to process the site of me completely naked, clutching onto Mal, whose large hands encircled my waist, fingers digging into the top of my ass.

"What the hell is going on?"

Mal said nothing, his expression changing from rage to a cocky little smirk.

"He's trying to get his turn," I hissed and shoved away from him.

He just pulled off his t-shirt and yanked it down over my head. Which left me sputtering, not only at the speed at which he did it but also at his bared chest and abs.

Mal was a work of art. Literally. Every inch of his dark skin was covered in tattoos.

"So beautiful." My voice was so soft that he was the only one who had heard me.

He stiffened and turned away, grabbing my suitcase and slamming it down on the bed. Joshua yelped and jumped up, his long blond hair a tangled mess around his face.

"What the fuck?"

"Pack," Mal ordered, flipping it open to reveal that he had already begun the process. "We're leaving now."

"Where'd you find my suitcase?" I couldn't even remember where I had left it. "Did you go through my stuff?"

"We can't leave now, Mal." Noah swung his legs over the side of the bed, wiping a hand down his face to help clear the sleep away. "We have to pack, too."

"Then go do it. I'm ready to go."

I started emptying what Mal had put into the suitcase. Jeans, T-shirts, some bras and panties. He had done a remarkably good job and if I was actually considering going to Boston with them, I would have left it all as is.

"I'm not going anywhere."

All three of them started talking at once.

"Like hell you aren't."

"You can't stay somewhere he'll find you."

"Come on, baby. You aren't safe here."

I held up a hand. "I am not going to allow that bastard to force me out of my home."

More arguing ensued. Joshua and Noah were trying to calm Mal down, Mal was wound up because he hadn't been able to find Stephen and I was yelling at all of them to get out of my room and leave me alone.

They had all agreed that wasn't going to happen, Mal promising never to let me out of his sight as long as that psychopath was still out there. Noah talked him into waiting until the sun came up to leave. This meant that Noah and Joshua went back to Joshua's house, where all three of them had been staying, to gather all of their stuff and Mal stayed with me for the rest of the night.

He took up residence in the chair again and I lay in bed wide awake, obsessing over how awkward the room felt. It wasn't until Mal sighed and leaned forward, his arms resting on his thighs and hands grabbing his hair.

"I've never been so worried in my life," he whispered.

I reached out into the darkness for him, his fingers threading through mine. "Neither have I."

Neither of us slept as we clung to each other in the dark.

Now, I had packed and unpacked my suitcase no less than five times, convinced that going to Boston was the worst idea ever until Beth came in and convinced me that I was being stupid and this was the best thing ever.

Presently, Beth was re-packing my suitcase for me, banning me to the other side of the room and prohibiting me from coming anywhere near my bags. She had even talked Mal into helping keep me away. He sat at the end of the bed with his long legs propped up on the chair, blocking me from more than half of my room and the door. Unless I wanted to shove the bags and suitcases from the bed and crawl over it.

"I don't need a babysitter," I pouted from the corner.

Mal's eyebrow raised as if to say "Oh really?"

"What?" I huffed.

"You're a flight risk."

He wasn't wrong.

As we waited for Noah to show up, with the sun shining bright outside, I was experiencing pure terror about leaving not only this house but the state.

"I'm not going to Boston."

Beth pointed a finger in my direction, pausing from ransacking my closet to glare at me over her shoulder. "Listen missy, if Mal has to carry you out over his shoulder, you will be getting in that car and you will be going to Boston."

He grinned at me. "If I have to carry you out, that means you'll spend the whole ride in my lap."

Beth and I stilled, hearing the unmistakable sound of tires crunching over the gravel and ice. Beth's eyes locked on mine as I tensed, listening to the SUV as it came to a stop in front of the house. When I heard the car door slam shut, my panic got the best of me.

"I can't do this."

Beth held her hand out to me just as I was about to take a lunging leap over Mal. She jumped to block my escape but I faked her out and dove onto the bed, jostling Mal off balance and he got tangled up in Beth as she tried to change direction. I scampered across the bed and out the door before either of them could reach me.

Was I really trying to run away from this? Apparently, yes, because my feet kept carrying me downstairs and thudding through the hallway until I reached the front door, and even then, they weren't stopping. I could hear the two of them upstairs chasing after me, but I didn't dare pause long enough to check behind me. I grabbed the door handle and yanked it open.

"We figured you'd try to run. The back door would have been better."

I jumped back, stumbling a little, and was shocked into silence to see Noah standing there, obviously amused at my pathetic attempt to run. His amazing body was taking up the entire doorway, leaving me no room to squeeze by him, and he rested a hand on the frame as if to reinforce that fact. Shuffling my feet, only to regain a bit of my balance, I noticed him tense to grab me.

Trying to act calm and as if I hadn't just been running for my life, I smoothed my hair away from my face and lifted my chin. "Not running, just really excited to hit the road."

He laughed, loudly and deeply just like I loved and I found myself smiling. Then another deep laugh joined his and Joahua was behind me. "Wouldn't have made it out the back door either."

"Noah!" Beth exclaimed from the top of the steps. She kicked a duffel down the stairs. "Be a dear and haul that to the car, will you?"

Mal followed, hauling my suitcase behind him, with another bag hanging from his shoulder. Joshua grabbed the duffel and strode out the door. Mal gave Noah a look as he strode past.

"Help me get this in the car before she tries bolting again."

Beth and I stayed in the hall together. I could feel her eyes on me as I continued struggling.

"Shut up. I know going is the best thing to do right now."

"Good girl. Just don't kill them until after you sleep with them."

"After everything, that is the last thing I want to do with any of them."

"You are such a liar."

Her gaze slid outside where Joshua and Noah were loading my bags into the back of his Porsche. I couldn't keep my eyes from following their movements. The sun shone brightly, warming things up enough so Noah was only wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a long-sleeved light grey Henley. The material clung to his back and shoulders as he turned to take the suitcase from Joshua, the muscles in his arms stretching the fabric. I bit my lip when Joshua raised a hand to close the back hatch of the car and I caught a glimpse of the ridges of his lower abs that curved enticingly into the waist of his jeans. Beth came up beside me as I stared, nodding and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"I almost came from the sight of that, too."

I rested my head on her shoulder. "I'm not ready for this."

"You're ready. This is what you all need right now."

"What do we need?"

"Each other," she whispered.

We watched as Noah and Joshua joked about something, Mal walking up and giving him a good-natured punch in the arm before turning and giving me a wave, indicating they were ready whenever I was.

"I'm only doing this to get Riley's stuff taken care of and wait for the cops to catch Stephen. Nothing more. Nothing with Noah."

Beth let go of me and picked up my purse from the table next to the door. "Sweetie, give him the benefit of the doubt and remember what we talked about yesterday. Sort through all the baggage. Hear what he has to say, you might be surprised if you just listen."

I swallowed thickly and took my purse from her. "And if I don't like what he has to say?"

"Fuck him. Like literally. And then come home."

I nodded then made my way onto the porch and slowly down the steps. One foot in front of the other. One step at a time.

Noah was studying me as I meandered out to the SUV, ignoring whatever Joshua was trying to tell him. "She's riding with me."

The fact that he was just deciding things for me was more than mildly irritating. "But Mal said I could ride in his lap," I pretend pouted.

Mal strode over from the other car, pulling a new shirt over his head. The shirt I had worn last night and returned to him this morning was clutched in his hand. "Invitation still stands."

I glanced over at their car, not sure if it was Mal's or his. It was a dark blue sporty-looking thing, probably as expensive as Noah's Porsche. "When I get tired of yelling at Noah, we'll switch and I'll ride with you boys."

Mal grumbled something that no one could hear while I hopped up into Noah's SUV.

Glancing around at the sleek interior and running a hand over the soft leather – and heated - seat, I raised an eyebrow at my filthy boots getting muddy snow all over the floor.

Noah opened his door. "Stop freaking out. It's just a car."

"To you maybe. To me, it's four years' worth of my salary." I frowned at the puddles under my feet. The floor mat alone was probably worth one month's paycheck.

Noah reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "Seriously, stop worrying."

I glanced back at the house, my gut tightening at the thought of leaving it, leaving the last place where I saw my brother alive. What was I doing? I needed to stay home. This is where I should be. Riley was just buried last week and here I was all packed up, running away with Noah - the absolute last person in the world I should be going anywhere with. I had things I still needed to take care of. All of my dad's pictures were still spread out in his study where we had just left them.

My hand flew to the door handle, prepared to leap out of the car, even as he shifted it into reverse and eased off the brake.

"Wait!" Beth appeared in front of my door, motioning me to roll down the window. Noah muttered a few curses and threw the car back into park. I hadn't even taken my hand off the door handle yet when the window hummed and began sliding down.

"You aren't coming with," Noah spoke over my shoulder at her. I glanced back at him and saw him frowning at my fingers wrapped around the handle. "And you aren't staying here."

I frowned back, all sorts of things ready to tumble from my lips, most notably a few colorful names for him.

"Of course she isn't." Beth tossed a coat at me through the open window. "You forgot your jacket."

Noah grabbed it from me before I could react and tossed it into the back seat. "Is that all?"

Beth grinned wide and clapped her hands in utter delight. "Yes. And I also threw some extra batteries in the pockets in case you needed them." She winked at me. "But I don't think you will. He's no Stephen."

Letting her pack my bag was a huge mistake. Other than apparently my vibrator, she probably only packed lacey lingerie and high heels. I yanked the handle, ready to jump out of the car at her, the urge to throttle her more prominent than the one to escape. "You –"

She pushed on the door, slamming it shut. I heard the click of it locking and whirled on Noah. He raised an eyebrow in question at me.

"I'm no Stephen?" He forced the name from his mouth as if it tasted bad on his tongue.

"The world's worst lay!" Beth yelled as she backed away from the car.

As Noah looked at me, clearly expecting me to elaborate on that, I crossed my arms and slumped back in my seat, mouth sealed. Beth laughed as she turned to jog back up on the porch, waving and clearly pleased with herself.

"We seriously need to discuss Stephen." Noah's tone was sharp but I ignored him.

"Just drive before I change my mind."

He hesitated and I knew he wanted to press the topic further. I was going to count to five and if we weren't moving by then, my decision to stay was final. My window slid back up and I felt him shift the car back into reverse. I closed my eyes as we began backing out of the driveway, dread and panic tightening deep within my gut.

"You will be telling me about him at some point during the drive," Noah ordered as he guided the car into the street.

"I'll spill about Stephen as soon as you finally explain what you and Riley have been up to the last ten years."

He said nothing after that.