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I turned on Venoo, to dissuade her if she tried to follow me and talk The music was so loud it h that I got a few last-s done for the tour, and set in place a few details I had hanging with the recording for Black Market Alphas

Really, helping start-up bands, getting new bands out into the world for other people to hear,else at the ood ot a chance to hear, because they nevertours It was a shaavethat I produced for myself did

When I left to head to the tattoo shop, there was no sign of Ayden and I didn’t know if that made me feel better or worse I chose not to think about it too hard and headed don I hated to leave the car parked on Colfax, so I went farther dohere Nash and Rule lived in a converted Victorian and parked there It took h I was a few irl who barely looked sixteen

Cora rolled her eyes and toldto have a low pain tolerance, so thatwith it I told her I would wait, but Rule ca at his phone as asked me if I had a minute I wasn’t really in the , so I didn’t really have a choice I nodded a greeting at Nash, atched us walk out the front door with a frown He orking on soh, so he didn’t say anything or make anyat the screen of the phone and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie

"Roood in a fewthat, so I wasn’t sure what to say Rule’s older brother was cool, and a total badass, take-no-shit kind of guy, and I liked him a lot I knew there was some tension there with the faer living--had rave with him

"That’s cool"

"It would be, if he would stop being an asshole I want hiets back, so he doesn’t have to worry about trying to figure out where he’s going I knoon’t go ho to the folks"

I rubbed my hand across the back of my neck and wondered why he wanted to talk about this away from everyone else

"If he o?"

"I’ to buy her a house"

I balked a little because I had known Rule for a long tiirl had been a shock, the idea of hiht unthinkable

"Wow, dude, that’s a huge step"

He shrugged a shoulder and leaned back against the glassthat was the front of the shop

"It doesn’t feel like one She’s it for ainst the chilly glass

"You thinking e and babies there, Archer?" It baffled inal lone wolf, and his track record oth But once he had decided that he was going to commit to Shaw, he had done it with the sa else in his life

"Honestly, , I’ll by her one the size of her head She wants a kid, I’ll take her to bed every night until she has one, and I won’t cos the way they are now, until the end of time, then I’m cool with that, too All that matters is that it’s her and me at the end of the day That’s what I wanted to talk to you about"

His eyes were serious and pinned lass It was hard to look away from that winter storm when he turned its full force on you

"When the right one coure it out You e your life and you do whatever it takes to keep them with you I would be half the man I am without Shaw She makes me better, she makes me happy, and I can see that Ayden does that for you, too"

I was going to interrupt, going to tell him that I wasn’t the one who had walked away, that I had dealt with her secrets and her evasion, and still fallen in love with her anyway, but he held up a hand and stopped s with her are convoluted I know she isn’tit easy to love her, but that’s when it’s most important that you do it anyway Trust me, I’ve been in her shoes Shaw explained a little of what Ayd’s dealing with, and it isn’t pretty, and it sure as shit isn’t easy, but I know you could handle it if you just pushed through"

I frowned and tried not to let his words rattle around infrom, appreciated that he really did think that love was so fro to battle the walls Ayden had up, and he wasn’t the one there when that dahed and looked at hi to lie about how I felt about her, but I also wasn’t going to pretend like I had hope for things working out beyond the way they had