Ruthless Bastard (Dangerous Love 3)

Peyton hooked her arm through Kinsley’s. “Yup. Totally ready.”

Kinsley regarded her sister-in-law, who looked a little too perky this morning. “What’s up with you?”

“With me?” Peyton asked with wide eyes, pointing to herself. “Nothing.”

Liar. “Okay…sure,” Kinsley said, not believing that for a moment.

“Let me just grab a few things,” Remy interjected, making her way around the counter. She quickly moved through the magic shop, picking up jars and incense and putting them all in a bag with the store’s logo on the front. “Ready.” She smiled more genuinely now. That was the good thing about Remy’s worrying; it was always short lived.

Peyton kept hold of Kinsley’s arm as she led her out the door, past Uptown Girl. A gorgeous red lace nighty caught her eye. “Ooh, I might have to come shopping soon,” Kinsley said to Peyton.

Peyton glanced at the nighty in the storefront and smirked. “Sure, just don’t tell Boone you’re coming here. He’ll probably have Rhett killed if he knows that you’re buying lingerie for him.”

Kinsley laughed too, but Boone loved Rhett too much to do that. They all did. Except maybe Remy. Right now, she didn’t trust Rhett. At all. Not that Kinsley could blame her. Rhett slept with women and left them. That was his MO. Kinsley was well aware this could happen to her too. Even if she was pregnant with his baby, she knew that she still walked a thin line.

When they drew closer to the bar, she noticed that the parking spaces in front were empty, except for the cruiser with the rookie inside keeping an eye on the bar—and her. She waved then sighed, reaching for the keys in her purse. “I thought the junk guys would be here by now.”

“Weird,” Peyton said, her mouth twitching.

Kinsley studied her. “You are acting weird.”

“That’s insulting,” Peyton said, looking straight ahead with beaming eyes.

Kinsley gave a sidelong glance at Remy, who shrugged and said, “I have no idea.”

Peyton just smiled.

Kinsley shook her head then used her keys to open the door. When she walked in, she was sure her eyes were betraying her. Yesterday, she’d left the bar in shambles. Today…

“What…who…” She walked to the middle of the room, which had been cleaned from top to bottom, with new circular tables and wooden chairs. The glass on the floor was gone as was the broken mirror behind the brand-new bottles of wine and liquor, and the part of the bar where the warning had been etched into now had a thin piece of wood stained the same color as her bar nailed onto it. “I don’t understand what is happening.” She blinked, whirling around. “Did you do this?” she asked Peyton, now understanding the smirk.

Peyton bounced on her toes; her hands clamped tight. “Rhett did this. Oh my God, it feels so good to say that aloud. I’ve been holding it in all morning, because Boone made me promise not to stay anything.”

Kinsley blinked. Again. “Rhett did this?”

“He sure did.” Peyton grinned. “Sweet, right? Even Boone was shocked when Rhett called to tell him the plan last night.”

This didn’t make sense. Kinsley slowly shook her head, trying to knock some sense into it. She failed miserably. “But Rhett was with me last night.” She couldn’t exactly forget his incredible hard body against hers.

Peyton stepped closer to one of the tables and rubbed her hand along it. “Boone said that he called in a couple of

old military buddies to get the job done. I guess one of them is a member of the legion or something, and they borrowed the tables and chairs from there.” She tapped the table with her knuckles. “It’s not like what it was, but it’ll work until you get your insurance money.”

“I can’t believe he did this,” Kinsley admitted then looked at Remy. “Did you know?”

Remy shook her head, looking shell-shocked. “No…No, I didn’t know. Okay, so this is incredibly unlike him.” She clamped her mouth shut, her eyes suddenly widening, and she exclaimed, “See, I told you that all the juju I sprayed Rhett with was going to bring positivity. Rhett would never have done this before. It’s remarkable.”

Peyton rolled her eyes.

Kinsley laughed softly. Letting Remy believe her magic had caused Rhett’s kindness wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything. “This is just…” Kinsley circled around, taking it all in. She wouldn’t need to close. The bar could stay open. She wouldn’t lose any money. Her throat tightened and her chin quivered…“Oh, no.” She burst into tears.

Remy was there in a second, as was Peyton.

“Probably not the reaction anyone expected,” Peyton said, rubbing Kinsley’s back in big circles. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m just happy. This is”—Kinsley wiped her tears—“so sweet of him. I can’t believe he arranged all this.”

“I, for one, think all this is good for him,” Peyton said. “Rhett needs structure, and he needs someone to care about more than himself. He’s doing the right thing. Boone was all smiles when he told me. I guess the guys had been working all night, and just left an hour or so ago.”