Rules of Desire: Protecting Erin(13)

Leaning into him, Erin eyed Wes. “What are you doing here, Wes?”

Good question. Reese closed his hand on Erin’s waist, frowning when Wes paused to check his phone before answering.

Looking up again, he gave Erin a smile that irritated the hell out of Reese. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I wanted to make sure Nelson hadn’t come to see you.”

Drying his hands, Duncan turned from the sink, his gaze whipping to Erin. “If he shows up, he’ll regret it.”

When Erin stiffened, her gaze flying to his, Duncan smiled reassuringly.

“Ace is looking into it. Lucas, Devlin, and Caleb are helping him. They’re checking hotels. Linc, Rafe, and the others are all on alert. They all know what Stark looks like, and if he shows his face around here, we’ll know about it.”

Wes smirked. “You’re all worried about nothing. Nelson has no reason to come here.”

Jared allowed a small smile, a smile that didn’t bode well for Wes. “We worry about our women. I’m sure that’s a strange concept for you.”

Wes rose and shook his head. “She should come back to Texas with me until we find him. I can make sure she’s safe.”

“If you don’t think he’ll come here, then why did you? And why should she have to go to Texas to be safe?” Reese once again revisited the image of tossing Wes out on his ass, but Erin started laughing.

“Wes, you’re out of your mind. I’m safer here than I would be anywhere else.” She looked down, running her finger over William’s cheek. “You don’t know the people in this town, and you certainly don’t know my husbands. Besides, Nelson doesn’t scare me. He’s probably long gone with the money the authorities weren’t able to find.”

Reese stiffened when Erin lifted her gaze to Wes’s again, something in her assessing look twisting his gut.

There was more than she was telling them, the flash of fury in the attorney’s eyes convincing him that he was right.

Wes jumped to his feet. “Erin, you’re not thinking! You always were too damned headstrong.” He smiled, a shark’s smile that had Reese’s hand clenching into a fist and had both Duncan and Jared stepping forward. “Erin, I’m afraid I have to insist.”

Jared held out a hand when Duncan leapt forward. “We appreciate your warning about Nelson Stark. That’s the only reason I’m not throwing you out on your ass.”

Reese struggled to hold on to Erin, who’d already risen to her feet to confront Wes, but even holding the baby, his wife managed to shake him off.

“What the hell do you mean you insist? Why do you want me to come with you? First you say that Nelson made threats against me and that you wanted to make sure he wasn’t here. Then you say he won’t show up, but you want me to go with you. Is there something going on that you’re not telling me about?”

Reese shared a look with his brothers, knowing his wife’s tone well. Not wanting her to get so upset, he reached for her with the intention of taking her to the bedroom while Jared and Duncan got rid of their guest. “Erin, baby—”

Wes’s face reddened, appearing slightly panicked. “Of course not! Erin look—”

“No! You look!” Moving closer, she poked Cramer in the chest. “Like Jared said, we appreciate the news about Nelson, but I don’t appreciate your attempt to boss me around.”

“Erin, I—”

Ruthlessly cutting him off again, Erin got in Wes’s face. “I told you that I’m safe here. I also told you that if Nelson decides to show up, which I seriously doubt, I can handle him. He’s a damned accountant, Wes. I helped take him down. What the hell makes you think I can’t handle a damned accountant?”

Wes reached out to grip her shoulders. “You don’t know the things he wrote and said while he was in prison!”

Reese had had enough, and because he was standing closest, beat his brothers to the attorney. “Get your fucking hands off my wife, or I’ll break them off at the wrist.”





Chapter Five




Still fuming after Wes’s visit, Erin turned from settling the baby and glared at her husbands. “I was handling him.”

She’d taken the opportunity to text John Ritten when she’d gone to get William, notifying him that Wes Cramer had come to Desire.

Confident that the FBI would find and follow him when he left town, Erin allowed herself to relax.

Stirring the sauce on the stove, Jared turned slightly and inclined his head, his eyes still dark with anger. “Yes, you were. Beautifully, too.”

Glancing up at him, Erin checked to see if the water for the spaghetti had started boiling, wondering how she could confide in him while he was in such a mood. “Then why did you and your brothers have to interfere? The three of you treat me like I’m incapable of handling things. I understood it while I was pregnant, but I’ve always managed to take care of myself, Jared. I took care of Rachel, too.”