That was the last thing I wanted, but to be expected, considering.
Eventually, Holt set me down and Theo gathered me into his arms. He felt so good too. I needed both of them, and I knew in this moment, I couldn’t have anything less.
I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. “Hollaroy came over at dinnertime last night. He’d found out that I knew about the meth, and he was going to kill me. My father too, so I pretended to go along. But then he said I had to prove my loyalty by taking care of the DEA problem. He said if I didn’t kill you, he’d kill me and my dad.” I let out the trauma of the night before another burst of tears.
Both men closed me into a tight hug, Theo at my front, Holt at my back.
“I had to make it seem like I was more than just shooting you. I had to make Hollaroy think I was really cunning. I worried he’d still shoot me and my dad otherwise. If he thought I was ballsy enough to seduce two lawmen, then maybe he’d think I was badass enough to keep around.”
“Fuck, Ali,” Holt murmured. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. We never should have let you go back to the ranch. We should’ve gotten the search warrant and taken care of Hollaroy first.”
“Did you get him?” I asked. “God, please say you arrested that slimy bastard. Did agents go to his house, too?”
“Yes,” Theo said. “Agents took him first. He’d already been arrested when we got to your place. Did he hurt you?”
His gaze raked over me.
I shook my head.
“He won’t threaten you again,” he vowed.
“If he comes near you, he’s a dead man,” Holt growled. I knew he wasn’t talking about from a bullet.
“Wh-what about my dad?” I wondered.
Theo hesitated. “I don’t know, sweetheart. We need to figure out his involvement and how much of it was coerced. If he testifies against Hollaroy, a plea bargain will probably be cut.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “I can’t believe you thought I would actually try to kill you.”
“You’re a pretty convincing actress,” Theo said, adjusting his hat, but he looked chagrined.
“Damn good shot, too,” Holt added with a grin.
I reached out to touch his chest. In the place where he should have a giant hole, there wasn’t one. Through the shirt, I only felt a ridged outline of what felt like an old scar. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” Holt said. “Just say that you’re ours.”
“Of course, I’m yours,” I breathed.
Twenty-four hours ago, it might have seemed too fast or too soon, but after all we’d been through, nothing could make me more sure. I loved these two men. I would kill for them—I kind of already had. I would protect them the same way they wanted to protect me.
So no, I wasn’t going to play hard to get. That wasn’t my style anyway. I was a straight-forward, straight-shooting, Wyoming rancher. And I wanted these two wolves by my side for the rest of my life.
Theo picked me up in a honeymoon carry. “Do you know what that means, Ali?” His eyes glowed silver in the morning light.
I laughed. “That you’re going to bite me?”
“Damn straight. We’re going to fuck you long and hard until you’re good and sorry for shooting us, and then we’re both going to leave our marks on you so no other wolf ever comes near you.”
“Sounds enticing,” I purred, so happy, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Sounds damn necessary,” Holt said. “Get her in the SUV before I claim her right here by the side of the road.”
Theo chuckled as he put me back in the back seat. He climbed in beside me.
“Don’t forget the handcuffs!” I sang out sweetly.
Holt laughed. “Oh, I’ve got your cuffs, sweetheart. We intend to keep you under house arrest for the rest of the week after the heartbreak you caused us.”
He climbed behind the wheel and drove in the direction of his place instead of the sheriff’s station. Theo put his arm around me, and I nestled into him.
“I do have horses to feed,” I said, thinking about the delicious but impractical sound of house arrest.
“We might give you time off for good behavior,” Theo rumbled, his hand sliding up the inside of my leg.
“Oh, but I don’t intend to be good.” I smirked, meeting Holt’s heated gaze in the rearview mirror.
The SUV filled with the rumble of two men’s growls. A sound I was going to crave for the rest of our lives.
17
HOLT
I barely drove the speed limit to get our mate back to my house. Our house. I had no idea what was going to happen with the ranch when Ali’s father went to jail. He was going to prison, that was for fucking sure. No charges would be brought against our mate. We’d never called in the attempted murder, and we could vouch for her full cooperation in apprehending the other two.