Chapter 36 Lines We Draw
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I paused at the top of the stairs.
The voices drifting up from the kitchen weren’t raised, but there was tension threading through them like wire. Sharp. Controlled. Too careful.
“…just saying it wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Josh said, quiet but firm. “At least until we know more.”
“She’ll feel like we’re locking her in,” Jake replied. “Which, by the way, is exactly what we said we’d never do.”
“She might feel safer that way,” Mike countered. “After that email? We can’t just act like nothing’s changed.”
Patrick’s voice cut through the others. Low. Final. “I’m not risking her. Not again. Last time, someone got close. Too close.”
I stood frozen for a beat, letting their words settle. The protective instinct wasn’t new, but the edge in their tone was. They were scared. I got it.
But I’d spent too many years being controlled, even for good reasons.
I took a breath and walked down the stairs.
All five heads turned the moment I stepped into the kitchen. Silence fell like a stone.
Patrick straightened. “Emmy—”
“No.” I didn’t raise my voice, but it stopped him cold. “Whatever you’re planning, stop. I’m not hiding in this house like some secret. Not again.”
Mike’s jaw worked, but he didn’t speak. Drew dropped his gaze to the coffee cup in his hands. Jake shoved his hands in his pockets and stared out the window like it held answers.
Josh stepped forward. “Em, we’re just trying to protect you.”
“I know.” I folded my arms, grounding myself. “And I love you for it. But I decide how I live. You don’t get to take that choice away just because you’re scared.”
Patrick’s brow furrowed. “It’s not about taking your choices—”
“It is when the result is me being shut away from the world.”
The words hung heavy in the air. No one argued.
A throat cleared behind me.
Darren stood in the doorway, calm as always, holding a tray with clean linens. “I apologize for the interruption. I’ll return later.”
“No,” I said quickly, needing the normalcy. “It’s okay.”
He nodded once and moved past us, placing the tray on the sideboard before pausing near Patrick. “With your permission, I’ll be adjusting the weekly rotation. Only minor changes. Nothing disruptive.”
Patrick gave a short nod. “Thank you.”
Darren didn’t explain further, and I realized with a twist of gratitude that he was already handling it, security, safety, the invisible pieces I didn’t want to deal with, without making me feel watched.
After he left, I stepped around the island and grabbed a protein bar from the bowl. No one spoke.
I took a bite, chewed slowly, then looked up. “You guys promised me a partnership. Not protection I didn’t ask for.”
Drew moved toward me then, silent until he was close enough to brush my hair back from my face. “Come with me?”
I nodded.
He led me into the kitchen’s side nook, where the window overlooked the back patio. It was quiet here. A pause in the house.
He didn’t speak right away. Just stood beside me, watching the trees sway in the winter wind.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “You were right.”
I glanced at him.
“You have the right to choose your life. We’ve all lived knowing what it means to carry risk. And we would take every bullet, every threat, before we let it touch you.” He turned toward me then, eyes steady. “But we don’t get to choose for you.”
The weight in my chest lightened.
I stepped into his arms, and he folded me there without hesitation. Safe. Not because he demanded I stay still, but because he would hold the line beside me, not in front of me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Always.”
We rejoined the others a few minutes later. They were quieter now, but no longer tense. Patrick looked like he wanted to say something else, but his phone rang, pulling him away.
He answered with a clipped, “Yeah?”
Then his expression shifted. Softened.
“It’s my dads,” he mouthed at me.
The guys looked up. Patrick stayed on the call, moving to the other side of the room. When he came back, he was already pocketing his phone.
“They want us to come into the city for a few days. Nothing serious, just… family time.” He looked at me. “They’d like to see you.”
I blinked. “Me?”
“You’re ours. That means you’re theirs, too.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. It felt like another step into this life I’d stumbled into and chosen fully. A life that came with power, danger, and so much love, I still wasn’t sure how to hold it all.
“Okay,” I said. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
Jake grinned and bumped his shoulder into mine. “Don’t worry. His parents love feeding us. You’ll be too full to be nervous.”
Mike snorted. “Speak for yourself. His dads are basically royalty. I still triple-check my shirt buttons before we see them.”
Josh leaned against the counter. “They’ll love her. Everyone does.”
Patrick just smiled, quiet and sure. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
The rest of the day passed with slow comfort. Drew pulled me into his lap while we read on the couch. Jake braided my hair half-heartedly while we watched a show. Patrick disappeared into his office for calls, but kissed my forehead in passing, like he needed the reminder that I was still here.
Dinner was simple: chicken, roasted vegetables, and warm bread that Darren had somehow baked while doing everything else. He really was a mystery.
I caught him near the stairs before heading up for the night.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. “For earlier.”
He gave me the faintest smile. “Miss Emerson, your strength is your own. The rest of us simply respect it.”
He disappeared down the hall, and I stood there for a moment, heart full.
Tomorrow, we’ll go into the city.
Tonight, I was home.