Mastered by Mavericks (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 3)

“Where to until Dylan gets back with us?” Sawyer asked.

“Our cabin,” Reed said.

Our cabin. Nicole loved the sound of that.

Chapter Eighteen

Still reeling from the knowledge that Jaris might actually be the insider and the one responsible for Henry’s disappearance, Nicole followed Sawyer and Reed into the cabin that had been a kind of sanctuary for her from the life she’d left behind a few days ago. Still, her past had followed her here to Destiny somehow.

After placing his Stetson on the hat rack by the front door, Reed stepped right in front of her, his eyes full of sympathy. “Baby, would you like us to get a ba

th ready for you? It might help take your mind off of all this shit.”

“Nothing is going to be able to do that.” Henry? Where are you? She collapsed on the sofa and brought her hands to her face. If Jaris was a dirty cop, then she couldn’t be certain about anything anymore. Her judgment was worthless. “I can’t believe this is happening.” This was one of the lowest points in her life, and she’d had more than her fair share of them. Jaris had helped pull her out of one of the worst.

“Chicago, look at me.”

She felt Reed’s fingers in her hair, stroking gently. “I can’t. This is too much. I can’t handle this.”

“Bullshit. Now, open your eyes and look at me.”

She blinked and Reed’s face came into focus.

He smiled. “Good. Your mind is buzzing like a fallen beehive.”

She was exhausted and finding it hard to hold back the damn tears that were stinging her eyes. Her world had been turned upside down, twisted, and shredded. Nothing made sense anymore. “So? Can you blame me? Henry is gone, maybe dead. A man who I’ve known since my rookie days might be a criminal. I came to Destiny to try to do some real police work because of a missing persons report with my name on it. I thought I could fix everything. Clear Henry’s name. Get my old job back. Bring down the Russians. What did I do? I fucked up everything. I brought hell to Destiny. I–I…I can’t…” The dam broke and the salty tears streamed down her cheeks.

Reed kissed her eyes closed. “Shh. You’re trying to make sense out of something that can’t be sorted out tonight. Not by you. Not by us. Not by anyone. Dylan is the man to get to the bottom of things. That means tomorrow we’ll have the facts of whether Jaris is telling the truth or lying.”

She opened her eyes and looked from Reed to Sawyer and back again. “Jaris is a friend. A real friend. You don’t know what he’s done for me.”

Both of their faces seemed to harden as their lips thinned and their eyes narrowed. Had she said something to anger them? What?

She ventured to find out. “What’s going on in your heads?”

“Do you love this Jaris fellow?” Sawyer’s razor-sharp tone made her shiver. Jealousy? A terrifying sight on him.

“As a friend only. A dear friend, but that’s all. We’ve never thought of each other that way. He’s like a brother to me, I swear.”

Sawyer smiled his approval.

Reed nodded, letting out a big gust of air between his thick, manly lips. “You need a distraction, Chicago.”

“My brother is right about that,” Sawyer chimed in.

“Nothing can distract me tonight, guys. I doubt I’ll sleep a single wink until I know the truth about my partner and about Henry.”

“Is that a challenge, sweetheart?” Sawyer asked.

“No.” Somewhere deep inside her seemed to stir to his salacious undercurrent.

“Sounded like a challenge to me,” he said. “What did it sound like to you, Reed?”

“Definitely a challenge.” His voice deepened to a timbre that vibrated her skin. God, the man was beautiful. Too beautiful. Reed moved forward until the only thing between them was their clothing, just thin layers of fabric. Tiny woven threads were the only things separating her skin from his. Her nipples tightened as she felt Sawyer come up behind her just as close as Reed was in her front.

“Guys, we should wait to hear from Dylan. What if he gets news earlier?” The logical thing was to hold back. The slippery slope they were offering her would send her crashing into certain heartbreak. She needed to avoid going down this delicious path with them again, no matter how pleasurable it might be. Logic. Be logical, Nicole. No matter how much she tried to hold on to that idea, she kept picturing them making love to her the other night. As if they had minds of their own, her hands shot up to Reed’s shoulders, curling around his thick muscles there.

“No cell service here, baby.” Sawyer kissed the back of her neck. “Remember that? Whatever Dylan discovers about Jaris will hold until morning.”