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"Excellent Keep an eye on our brat I’ll let you knoe’re done Out" Coop’s voice cut off, and Lan kneas out of the loop for a bit He’d volunteered for this duty to re He’d rather watch over Alea because he didn’t agree with this clandestine shit Everyone was planning Alea’s life without including her She should be in that fucking , but he’d been outvoted

Rafe and Piper started a slow dance Kade walked up behind the over to kiss the back of her neck

Those two had backup Even if anything ever happened to Rafe or Kade, Piper al Mussad would never be alone If one of them went down, she would have two more husbands to lean on They would protect the woman they loved He’d heard sad stories about souys he’d served with in the Army Once their husbands were dead, they were often utterly alone Soto make ends meet because they didn’t have anyone else in their corner

"Nix, how you doing?" A deep voice asked behind him

He turned and saw one of the Lennox brothers holding out his hand Lan took it and tried to give hiesture,his teeth in return

Cole and Burke were near perfect twins, but Lan had quickly learned that Burke was the one who sht up when his alked in the rooood, Cole Dane’s ht now"

Lennox nodded "Good Doet you what you need Sorry I couldn’t handle it personally, but this pregnancy has been giving Jessa hell for a couple of eous redhead threaded her arh Cole’s and turned her face up to his "I just needed to get through the vo-up-my-toenails phase"

There was that smile of Cole’s Lan watched, a knot of jealousy in the pit of his stoe Cole his happiness He just wanted a little of his own

"Jessa!" Alea’s senuine as she approached the auburn beauty What he wouldn’t give to have that smile directed at him

"I heard you were here," the princess said "How is baby Caleb?"

Lan supposed it had been inevitable that Alea would become close to her saviors’ wife Alea’s friendship with Jessa made her happy As far as Lan was concerned, that pretty much was all he needed to know about the woood people, as his granny would say

He watched as Alea talked to her friend, her posture relaxed for once Cole’s brother, Burke sauntered up, sliding his arm around Jessa’s waist as they chatted with Alea

When everyone was occupied, Cole’s face turned serious With an almost imperceptible cock of the head, he motioned Lan to follow hih so they couldn’t be overheard

"What’s going on between you and Alea?" Cole asked

"I’uard That’s it" And that here it would stay because she had zero interest in him

"Bullshit Do you think I don’t have eyes? I saw the way you looked at her Man, I’ to mess with you I like very few people Alea is one of theirl is still in trouble Even if Douys found out that Khalil was the one behind her kidnapping and she’s out of danger, she’s still in trouble"

Because she hadn’t gotten over what had happened during her abduction Hoas she supposed to get over that? She wouldn’t let them see her fear or pain, so how the fuck were they supposed to help her?

"I don’t think there’s a da I can do She doesn’t want me"

"Is she into one of your crew?" Cole’s face creased as though he was thinking through a problem

"No She doesn’t like any of us" Would it be better or worse if she wanted Dane or Coop? Maybe At least soain, I call bullshit The lances this way, and she’s not staring at h, Alea jerked her gaze back to Jessa Lennox as quickly as she could In fact, a little crowd had formed around her now, as Jessa and Alea had been joined by a familiar, pretty blonde, Hannah James Her husbands, the Ja ties with the Bezakistani royal faetting on the on lately Everyone except the one woe

"You ith her those first few days after you rescued her, right?" Lan asked

"I was" Cole’s tone turned grim

"How bad was she?" He’d read the medical reports, but they were clinical Sure, he knew the date of her kidnapping, where she’d been held, when she’d been rescued He knew she’d been tortured But none of that really explained the ordeal that had shaped the woinable Look, she should be the one to tell you, but I’ to worry that she’ll never confide in anyone She looks healthy now She’s a hundred and eighty degrees froirl I carried out of that brothel In fact, she looks great, until I see her eyes"

"Drugs?" Nowhere in those fucking reports had anyone s Alea would never have done that of her own free will She was so proud and seeed her Hell, just how much of her soul had they taken?

"Shit I’d hoped Tal would have let you in on that since you’re her bodyguard" Cole groaned a little "I’ether with kid gloves She’s drifting I know they think they’re sheltering her, but soirl to open up Look, I understand the is I really do, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about getting people to heal…soive thee all by themselves If you care about Alea, you have to pry her open, ht like hell in that brothel She fought to get off the drugs Maybe she just needs a little help froht for her future"

Wouldn’t he love to be that soht me, too"

Lan stared at her openly now, not even trying to disguise his longing He didn’t give a shit what anyone else thought He was in love with that woman She would never love him back They came from different worlds She was a princess, and he had no idea who his father was

Butwhat he wanted Maybe sacrifice was really at the heart of it If he pushed her, fought for her, irl mask and find a way to be happy--even if it wasn’t with him, Dane, and Coop

"I don’t think you’ll have to fight her too hard Just push a little every day Talk to her Don’t let up and don’t let her force you to the side I kno this goes Jessa tried her hardest to shove us out of her life She said sos toout and testing us Burke and I had hurt her e’d left her alone She had to push until she realized eren’t going to disappear again, noto throw us out of her life Alea ht have the same MO"

"We’ve never been with Alea"

"We?"