She looks at me, her eyes unreadable, and then she shocks the hell out of me. "Dane, I... I love you."
I only hesitate because I'm worried I just dreamed that. I had an elaborate plan to tell her I love her tonight after I showed her what I've been working on for the past six years—my biggest, best, most incredible project.
I never expected this.
The fear of rejection crosses her eyes, and I finally snap out of my shock long enough to choke on a breath of air.
"I love you, Rain. So fucking much," I say through a whisper, afraid my voice will crack if I use anything louder.
Her smile almost makes me lose my footing, and her eyes water as she pulls me down to press her lips against mine with a kiss that could melt glaciers. Just when I prepare to move this to the bedroom, she breaks the kiss and leans back.
"Dane... I had to—"
Someone bangs on the door, startling us and interrupting whatever Rain was going to say. I rush over when the knocking becomes more urgent, and swing the door open to Dale.
"We need your help. Tria was ran off the road by Pete Mercer."
Rain gasps, but Dale grabs her before she rushes by.
"She's fine. She called Eleanor, but Kode and I were over there getting her new furniture moved in. Maverick and Corbin are out looking for him. We're going to take care of Pete before he messes with anyone else." He focuses all his attention on Rain, seriousness taking over his face. "Go be with your stepmom and sister. We don't want you anywhere near Pete."
Shit. I forgot about helping Eleanor move her new stuff in.
"I'll kill him if he touches Rain," I growl, not meaning to voice that aloud.
"Yeah, well, Kode might kill him out of principle. We handled him years ago, and now the prick is back, acting as though he's not afraid. I need your help to keep Kode out of prison."
Rain trembles beside me, and I wrap an arm around her waist, guiding her toward the door. Kode's not as crazy as everyone thinks he is, but he might go too far. Then again, I really would kill Pete if he tried this shit on Rain.
"I'll catch up with you later. Go to Tria. Make sure she's okay," I murmur, kissing Rain and silencing her objection.
Then Dale and I disappear out the door while she stays behind, still stunned. If she snaps out of it before we're gone, she'll demand to come, and it'll be a fight.
Fortunately, we're in the car before she comes out of her shock, and Dale floors it.
Pete staggers and falls, blood gushing from his nose as Kode pulls his fist back. The stupid son of a bitch collapses to the harsh, unforgiving pavement of my club parking lot.
Once Maverick located him, he and Corbin brought him here. Considering we're Sterlings and he's Pete, we're not too terribly worried about cops.
We're all standing here between my club and private parking deck, away from the prying eyes of the public. The rest of us are just watching, making sure nothing gets out of hand. Kode needs to hit something. In all honesty, he's probably needed this since Rain chose me. So I let him have this, since he needs it more than I do.
"Fuck with anyone in Rain's family again, and you won't walk away next time," Kode snarls, glaring down at Pete as he slowly gets up to his knees.
Kode has beaten the fuck out of him, but as long as the guy is conscious, I see no reason to interfere. My brother finally finishes, allowing Pete to crawl away.
We're already late, and now Kode's suit has blood and sweat on it.
"You guys go on without me. I've got to get cleaned up," Kode says, taking the proffered towel from Maverick.
As he wipes his hands off, I say, "No. We all need to be there. This is for Rain, and all of us have sunk a lot of money and time into this."
"It was your idea, Dane. It's your gift."
I frown as I stare at the brother I've always been close to. Until this, we've never dealt with tension. When we were kids and we got pissed with one another, we'd beat the hell out of each other and then shake hands. This... I don't know how to fix this.
"Kode, Rain is still your friend. This is a big night for her, and she doesn't even know it. All five of us should be there for this."
He looks up at me, his lips pursing as he ignores his cut hands.
"And if you and Rain were still not speaking, would you be there tonight?"
I've thought about that for six long years. It's hard to accumulate the amount of investors, donors, and volunteers this place needs, so it took a while. But even though she broke my heart, I still wanted to do this more than anything. As fate would have it, now I get to be by her side the day it's revealed to the world.
"Yes. I would have."
A harsh breath leaves his lips, and he nods slowly. "Fine. Let's swing by my place. I won't take long."