Torn Bond (Bonded Duet 1)

We caught up, all standing on the dock in a weird kind of circle. The case would never be far from our minds, but today was about being together and having fun. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t be aware of our surroundings at all times. We were in the open and would be out on the lake, so it would be easy pickings for someone to try and get to us, which was why I’d be on high alert.

Footsteps pounded on the dock followed by a bark, and all the guys turned around in time to see Belle running toward us. One by one, their smiles grew, and even Ryan looked happy to see her, but it was Lottie trotting beside her with her tongue hanging out that had Kyle backing away.

“What the fuck is that?” His voice was high-pitched as he grasped on to the back of my shirt.

“That’s his new dog,” Brody grunted. “He adopted it from the shelter Belle works at.”

Kyle snorted. “That girl has you so wrapped around her little finger—”

“Uncle Ky!” Belle shouted. He let go of my shirt and stepped toward her, wrapping her in his embrace and picking her up off the dock. He wasn’t wrong in what he was saying, she did have me wrapped around her little finger, but she had every other male in this family wrapped, too. She wasn’t the kind of person who used it to her advantage. In fact, I wasn’t even sure she was aware of it.

Lottie halted in front of me and sat down, her dark-brown eyes focusing on mine. She’d been sleeping in Belle’s room the last couple of nights, so she wouldn’t see me until the morning. I wondered if she was confused about what was happening and why I wasn’t in the room with her. She may have only been a dog, but she was a clever one.

“I missed all you guys.” Belle’s voice broke through my thoughts and stare-off with Lottie, and I turned to face her. She met my gaze briefly, her cheeks pinking, and then she glanced away.

“Wouldn’t miss us if you came home,” Jord commented.

Belle groaned. “Not you too, Uncle Jord.”

“What?” he asked, trying to sound innocent, but it wasn’t working for him at all.

“You know what.” Belle raised her brows. “Don’t think you’ll persuade me to come home. I only have just over a month left of this year.”

I hid the quirk of my lips behind my hand and stared at the dock as Lola walked toward us with Cade and Aria behind her. I’d lost count of the number of times Brody and Lola had tried to persuade Belle to come back home where it would be safer.

“We all ready?” Lola asked, her gaze swinging between all of us.

“Yeah, darlin’,” Brody said, holding his arms out for her. “The kids can go on the other boat, and we can be on this one.”

Lola nodded. It was what we normally did. Asher, Belle, Cade, and Aria would go on the smaller boat, and the rest of us would go on the bigger one. But I couldn’t let Belle be out on the lake on her own. And as soon as Brody’s gaze met mine, we both knew I’d be going on the boat with Belle.

We loaded up onto the boat, and Lottie was surprisingly eager to get onto it. I held my hand out for Belle to help her on, and as soon as our hands touched, a spark flew, and my breath caught. I hadn’t been able to touch her for two days, not in the way I wanted to, and it was driving me insane. If this vacation was going to teach me anything, it would be how much I wanted Belle.

Her gaze met mine, and something swirled in the dark-blue depths, something I knew would be showcased in my eyes too. She moved her foot onto the side of the boat and pushed up, her body coming dangerously close to mine. For a second, I didn?

?t move. I let there only be a few inches between us until I remembered who was around us and let go of her hand so fast she stumbled a little.

Belle’s grimace mirrored mine. We’d been good the last couple of days, but the tension between us was building, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could be around her and not press my lips against hers or feel her body against mine.

I shook my head and spun around, trying to get out of my own head, and then headed toward the steering wheel. It was fully enclosed on three sides with an opening on the left to get in and out of. Cade was manning the steering wheel, and when I told him, “We’re all set,” he started the engine and then pulled out ahead of Brody’s boat.

My shoulder leaned against the plastic frame of the enclosure, and I stared out the front of the boat. Belle and Aria were sitting in the seating area with Lottie next to them, staring at the lake and barking each time water splashed up the side of the boat. Asher lounged across from them, his shirt having evaporated into thin air. An open notebook was on his bent knees, and his pencil flew across the paper as he drew. Asher wasn’t just about MMA fighting. He was also an incredible artist.

“So…” I cleared my throat and glanced at Cade, then back at Belle and Aria. “How’s Tyson doing?” Cade snorted at the nickname I had for Aria. It had stuck over the years, and it was all because she’d knocked someone out with one punch. Aria wasn’t a violent kind of person, but she was desperate at the time. Desperate to be seen, to be heard, to feel something. I felt a kindred spirit in her. I remembered being a teenager and having no home and no family who really gave a shit. I had to take on all the burdens and be strong for myself because there was no one else who would do it for me.

“She’s great,” Cade murmured. His gaze met mine, and I could still see shadows of pain in his eyes. They’d been through so much together, and I’d never forget the way his eyes died and his body had bowed in when he’d found Aria on the ground all those years ago, helpless to the demons which had captured her and taken over. “She’s just changed one of her meds, and she seems to be doing better than ever.”

“That’s good,” I said, and I really meant it. You’d never have guessed the dark and tumultuous past Aria had, but she was working through it each day, and I had a feeling it would always be something she had to work on.

“Better question should be, how’s my sister?” Cade asked, his voice deeper now. “She seems okay, but god knows the women in this family like to hold shit in.”

I couldn’t have agreed more with him. I remembered a time where Lola put on a brave face, day in and day out, and she had everyone fooled. Everyone but me. I saw through the walls people tried to erect around them, just like I did with Belle.

“She’s as okay as she can be.” I moved off the frame and pushed my hands into my shorts pockets as Cade slowed down. We were far out on the lake now, so much so we couldn’t see the house. “She wants to finish this year at college before she makes any decisions, but if all goes to plan, she’ll be back to her normal life in a week or two.”

Cade raised his brow as he turned the engine off and dropped the small anchor in the lake so the boat would stay where he placed it. “You really think he’ll stop looking for her—or for you?”

I knew the honest answer deep down, but I couldn’t voice that to Cade, so I nodded and stepped back. “Life will go back to the way it was,” I told him, my voice now emotionless. It didn’t matter how much I didn’t want things to go back to the way they were before.