Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

“They need to check the scene to make sure you left nothing behind to tie you to it and close it off. We don’t want to draw any unwanted attention; the longer the cops keep away from this, the better.”

“I …” my words fall flat, and I just nod, realizing that once again these guys are saving my ass.

With nothing else that needs to be said, Cruz silently stands and offers me his hand. I take it without hesitation, and as he leads me out of the room, I can’t help but look back at King who watches the way his best friend claims my hand. His eyes flick up to mine and where I expect to find jealousy, I see nothing but a fierce curiosity that makes me wonder if maybe having a relationship with both of them is something that he’d be down with.

The thought leaves my mind as Cruz tugs on my hand and pulls me out of the living room. He leads me through the house and up to his room, where less than twelve hours ago, I’d spent one of the best hours of my life. He leads me right through to his bathroom and instantly turns on the heat lights before stripping me out of my damp clothes.

The shower roars to life, and he leads me right into it, letting the warm water calm my shivering. I tilt my head back, needing it like I need air to survive. As my body adjusts to the warmth, I slowly turn the heat up and give myself what I really need, letting the water turn my skin an angry red.

I glance back at Cruz, who stands by the door just watching me, but not in one of those pervy ways like most guys would. He watches me with concern, almost as though he’s waiting for me to break, but I’ve already had my meltdown. Now it’s time to get back up and learn how to move on from this.

“Will you join me?” I ask him, unsure why I so desperately need to feel his comfort.

He studies me for a short moment. “Are you sure?”

I nod, and just like that, Cruz removes his clothes and steps into the shower behind me, curling his arms around my waist and holding me close. “Are you okay?” he murmurs into the shower, his voice thick with pain for me, hating that I’m going through this.

I shrug my shoulders. “I really don’t know,” I whisper, turning in his arms and pressing my head against his chest as the hot water scorches my body and makes me feel warmer than I’ve ever been before. I raise my head and meet his stare, hating the concern that looks back at me. “How can you all stand to be around me knowing what I just did?”

He watches me for a moment, really considering his answer before pulling me in closer, holding me tighter, and giving me the comfort I need to feel human again. “Because when it comes down to it, we all do what we have to do to survive. You’re not a bad person, Winter. You’re incredible. You’re beautiful, smart, and the strongest woman I’ve ever met. You’re not afraid to make a stand even though the world has dealt you a shitty hand, and I know right now, you’re probably struggling to believe a word I say, but eventually, you’ll see that I was right. You’re going to get past this, and no matter what, every step of the way, we’re all going to be standing right at your back, making sure you don’t fall.”

I raise my chin, staring deep into his eyes. “You really mean that?”

“I do,” he tells me. “You don’t know how badly I wish that I could have gone in your place. I think we all feel that way, and I was going to. I had my plan and everything, but when King woke me up and said you weren’t here, I knew you’d already gone, and for just a moment, I hated you for putting yourself through that. Taking someone’s life …” Cruz trails off, his gaze raising above my head at the tiled wall behind me. “It’s not easy,” he finally continues. “It’ll mess with your head and have you questioning your worth, but you’ll make it through it. I’ll make sure of it.”

My brows furrow as I search his eyes, looking for answers that I know I’m not going to get. “You’ve …?”

I let my question hang between us, not sure if I want to know exactly what he means, or even if I’m ready to learn that there’s a darker side to Cruz that I didn’t know about, a darker side to all of them. But when Cruz just stares into my eyes, I see his answer loud and clear. He’s killed someone before, just like I did, just like the rest of them have, and for some reason, even though I don’t know any of the details, that little piece of knowledge goes a long way in healing something within me.