Mountain Darkness (Wild Mountain Men 1)

“Kitty Kat,” he said, coming into the room and pulling me into a hug. He felt hard… everywhere. Warm. Comforting. God, his scent. I thought I’d forgotten that, but no. It was engrained in my mind. And the nickname he had for me. None of it had gone away. “Nix said you were back, but Jesus, woman, when you come back, you don’t go subtle.”

He wasn’t smiling when he said it. Of course, he knew what had happened. Working in the DA’s office gave him direct access to whatever Nix and his team uncovered.

“I’m sorry about Erin,” he murmured, looking me over.

No doubt he could tell I’d been crying. I was wearing hospital-supplied clothes and looked a disaster. I hadn’t even been able to do more than finger-comb my hair after the hospital shower.

“Fuck, it’s horrible.”

He stepped back, stood beside Nix. The two of them—gasp!—together. One dark, the other fair. One serious, the other… playful. Nix had two inches on Donovan, but Donovan had the heft, the bulk of a college football player. Both of them had my heart and they were going to walk out the door, go off to the house they shared and leave me out of the middle. They didn’t want me there, didn’t need me. They had each other.

He tipped his head toward Nix. “He’ll find out what happened.”

“I know.” I did. Nix would discover the truth, would find the killer. “What are you doing here?” It was one thing for the detective on a case to show up and question a suspect, but the prosecutor? Oh. “God, do I need a lawyer?”

I looked to Nix.

“What?” Donovan asked, a little crease denting his brow. “Hell, no. I’m here with Nix to take you home. Let’s get going.”

“Going?”

“You’re coming home with us,” Donovan added, repeating exactly what Nix had said before he’d arrived. So they were living together now. Just great.

Yeah, that was never going to happen. I couldn’t stay under the same roof as the two of them. My heart couldn’t handle it.

“She hasn’t agreed,” Nix told him.

“Why the hell not? There’s a murderer out there. Fuck, just the thought of you sleeping just down the hall while he—” Donovan’s hands clenched into fists, but he didn’t finish his statement. He might be an attorney, but he wasn’t soft.

Anywhere.

“I was asking her why she left town,” Nix said.

“This isn’t an interrogation,” I countered.

“I think we deserve an answer.”

“Yeah, Kitty Kat, why did you leave?” God, when Donovan called me that…

I couldn’t look at them. They were too perfect. Too much for my heart to take. This day had been horrible. My life was a nightmare. It couldn’t get any worse by sharing the truth with these two. I didn’t have them. They weren’t mine and never would be. Saying it aloud wouldn’t change a thing. They’d leave, I’d settle into the sofa for the night. Finally, perhaps, let them go.

“Fine.” I turned, put my hands on my desk, stared down at the glossy surface. “I left because of you two.”

“Us?” Nix asked, his dark brows winging up. “You should have stayed because of us.”

Tears filled my eyes as I shook my head. “I couldn’t stay in town. I’d been stupid.”

“For wanting us?” Nix asked.

“Both of us?” Donovan added, sounding strangely hopeful about that.

I nodded, turned to face them. I tipped my chin up, met their gazes. “I wanted both of you, but you guys didn’t want me. You don’t need me. You have each other.”

The looked at each other, then back at me. “What the hell are you talking about?” Nix asked.

“You want me to spell it out for you?”

Donovan set his hands on his hips. Even though he worked in the DA’s office, he wasn’t wearing a suit, instead navy pants and a button-down shirt. Not quite a cowboy, but definitely not a city slicker. “Yes.”