“Addy, I’d like you to meet some friends of mine,” he said. I turned around, surprised to see a man with a woman beside him. Her long dark hair was in stark contrast to the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. She was holding the man’s arm, and a kind smile was on her face. The bump under the sundress she was wearing made it easy to see that she was pregnant.
“Hello,” I said, with a smile in her direction.
Her face broke into a pleased grin as she held out her free hand to me. “Hello, I’m Reese. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, then turned her gaze back to the man beside her. “And this is my husband, Mase.”
Husband. Oh, I liked that even better. River had married friends.
Mase was tall, with dark hair just long enough to keep pulled back in a low ponytail. His worn jeans fit him nicely, and the plaid button-down shirt he wore was long-sleeved, but he’d rolled them up to his elbows.
“Glad this one found a woman who can put up with him,” Mase said.
My back stiffened, and my smile vanished. I decided I didn’t like this Mase guy very much. “Excuse me?” I snapped, ready to defend my guy.
Reese laughed and hit Mase’s arm. “Stop it before she takes a swing at you.” She looked at me. “He’s teasing. We’re both very happy that Captain has found someone who cares about him like you obviously do. We want him happy.”
Mase made a sound in his throat that sounded like he might not agree, but he didn’t say more.
“You’ll find I’ve got a colorful group of people in my world I call friends,” River said from behind me.
I reached back and held on to his hand while studying these two so-called friends of his.
“Stop it, you two. She’s going to hate us, and I want her to like us,” Reese said with a worried frown. “These two didn’t always see eye-to-eye on things, but in the end, they became friends. We live in Fort Worth, and the second we heard about his accident from Blaire, we got on a plane.”
“His dad’s private jet,” River said with an amused tone.
Mase rolled his eyes, and Reese just smiled bigger. “OK, fine, it was a private jet, but we were in a hurry.”
These two had a private jet? He looked like he belonged in Texas but not like he should have a private jet.
“Mase here is Kiro Manning’s only son. He hates to admit it, but he is,” River explained.
I knew that name, but who was it? I had heard it before. I just wasn’t sure where.
Reese giggled and looked up at Mase. “See, she doesn’t even know who Kiro is, so you’re safe. No fangirling.”
“Fangirling, my ass. Even when she realizes who he is, she won’t be fangirling your ol’ man,” River said, sounding annoyed now.
I glanced back at River.
He grinned. “I fucking love that you don’t know who Kiro is. You know that, right?”
Dangit, who was Kiro Manning?
“Slacker Demon, baby. His dad is Slacker Demon’s lead singer.”
That was when my jaw dropped. Because I might not remember the band members’ names, but I sure as heck knew who Slacker Demon was. River squeezed my hand and frowned.
“His dad is in Slacker Demon?” I asked in a whisper, even though they could hear me.
“Yes, and he’s not nearly as impressive as you’re thinking,” Mase replied.
“Yes, he is,” Reese piped up.
I was slightly overwhelmed. How did River know these people?
“I own a ranch and raise horses. I’m not some damn rocker’s kid.” Mase sounded annoyed.
Reese patted his arm. “I know, baby. You’re nothing like him.”
“What the fuck ever,” River said behind me. He was enjoying this, apparently.
“I think we’ve visited enough. Let’s give Captain some rest, and we’ll call to check in later. Rush and Blaire have been at us to visit for months, so we’ll be there if you need anything,” Reese said.
“Thanks. Appreciate it, but it’s all good here. Give my nephew a hug for me,” River said.
“Sure thing,” Mase replied, and they left the room.
I turned back to River. “Wow, OK, that was interesting.”
He sighed. “They’re part of my past that I need to explain.”
Captain
Mase had started to figure things out. I could see it in his eyes as he studied me. When I’d told them Addy was from my past and I’d loved her since I was a teenager, it had only enhanced his suspicions of why I’d been so focused on Reese before they married. He knew her father had something to do with the death of her stepfather, who had molested her. DeCarlo couldn’t resist giving them a small hint.
But that was all Mase knew. Now I was sure he had started to piece together more of the puzzle. Which meant I had to talk to Addy before things blew up in my face and she heard the truth from somewhere else. I needed to be the one to explain it to her. Not that I had an excuse worth a damn. Killing someone was hard for anyone to accept. Even the lowest scum on earth.
Addy’s heart and soul weren’t wounded and broken the way mine had been when I thought I’d lost her. Trusting that she would forgive me and accept this was asking a lot. Losing her wasn’t possible, either. Telling her the truth was my first step. I’d deal with the next step once I knew what that had to be.
“Do you like them?” she asked, breaking into my internal battle.
“Yeah, I do. He’s a good man, and Reese is special. You’d love her if you got to know her. There’s just so much they don’t know about me that clouds their view of me. Things I want to explain to you. Things that scare the shit out of me to tell you, because I can’t lose you.”