Dirty Toe Drag (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 6)

“You gonna stab me?” I ask as she kicks off her shoes and then climbs onto the couch with me, huddling under the blanket with me.

“Not today.”

The ice around my heart cracks a bit as she lays her head on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my arm.

“You okay?”

“No.”

“Okay.” She squeezes my arm. “I’m here.”

For a future murderer, she has a heart of gold. With a lump in my throat, I ask, “How did you get here?”

“Stella.”

I figured. “Where is she?”

“Outside.”

I gawk at her. “You didn’t let her in.”

“I know. She can come through the window. You needed a hug,” she says simply, and I can’t help it. I grin against the top of her head. I kiss her head and then notice Stella climbing through my window.

Her gaze meets mine, and instantly, tears flood those gorgeous gray eyes. As she comes toward me, she says, “I’m gonna kill you later, Emery.”

“Noted,” Emery deadpans as Stella wiggles herself under my blanket and wraps her arms around my neck.

Wow, talk about being enveloped in love.

Stella kisses my jaw, and I lean my face into hers, feeling the wetness from her tears. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an asshole.”

“No, you’re surviving, and I didn’t help with that.”

“Even if I had been prepared for it, I would still feel like this.”

She holds me close. “I love you.”

My eyes drift shut as Emery declares. “I love you too, Wes, but not in the way Stella does. Mine is more of a big-brother kind of thing. You’re my people.”

My lips curve as they both tighten their grips on me.

Being surrounded by their love, I almost don’t know how to handle it.

My protective shield, made of the Brooks girls.

One thing is for sure, just like I told that sperm donor and his whore, I don’t need anyone else when I’ve got these girls.

We stay just like that, three peas in a blanket pod, watching Schitt’s Creek as they cling to me. I didn’t realize I needed their love, but I’m damn glad they are showering me with it. Unfortunately, I learn that Emery isn’t good at watching TV unless it’s murder shows. After only three episodes, she passes out against my arm. Stella’s lips move along my jaw as she asks, “Can I talk to you in the bedroom?”

I nod, and she lets go of me, getting up. Once I’m free of her arms, I move Emery so she is lying against the arm of the couch. I cover her with my blanket and then get up, following Stella into my bedroom. I shut the door behind me as she sits on the bed. Unsure of myself, I move toward her, sitting down beside her but not close enough for us to touch. I look down at the floor, curling my toes in the carpet as I tuck my hands into my pockets. I take a deep breath and feel her gaze on me.

“Are you okay?”

I shake my head. “I’m not as bad off as I was before you guys showed up, but I’m still a little shaken.”

“That’s understandable. Again, I am so sorry—”

I cut her off, though I still can’t look at her. “I already forgave you, Stella. I was upset and needed someone to blame for them showing up. I know you kept it from me out of love.”

“Oh, I did. I even cussed him out, Wes,” she admits, and I look over at her.

“You did?”

She nods. “Hell yeah, I did. I let him have it and told him to stay away. I must have not been that scary,” she says with a look of annoyance. “But I tried.”

“Thank you.”

“I would have run them over with my car,” she declares, and when she reaches for my hand, I thread my fingers through hers.

“I know you would have.”

“I hate that they found you.”

“I got an order of protection against them, so they won’t be able to come back.”

“Good.”

“Though, I may move just in case.”

“Absolutely.”

“I hate them,” I admit, and she squeezes my hand.

“I know. I do too.”

“I hate how much power I am giving them.”

“Then don’t,” she urges. “They are nothing to you. They didn’t make you the man you are. You made him, and you owe them absolutely nothing.”

“You’re right, but seeing them just brought back all those painful memories.”

I meet her gaze, and her tears are welling up once more. “I don’t think you realize how badly I wish I could make them all go away. How I wish I could erase all of them and replace them with only beautiful memories. But, Wes, we’ve talked about this. Your past doesn’t need you. Those evil people don’t deserve you. Banish them all, don’t give them an ounce of your happiness or your thoughts, and be the man you have worked so hard to be. The man I absolutely and wholeheartedly love with all my soul.”