Chapter Fourteen

Grim wrapped the robe he'd found around Nicole and wished she would relax. She was stiff, her voice a monotone when she was willing to speak at all. She'd been quiet the whole trip up, lying still in his arms.

What the hell had she been through? And who did he need to kill to ensure she never had to go through it again?

He might start with Harlow's dads. He didn't have the connection with them Josh had. He didn't call them uncle. He could easily take them out. Well, maybe not easily since they were still fit and used to be Navy SEALs, though from what he'd heard in the elevator, the blonde had taken one of them down quite easily. Heather. Except that wasn't her name, and she wasn't merely Nicole's friend. She was apparently an ex-CIA operative.

"Hey, Heather who isn't Heather, are you for hire?" Grim asked. "Because I might be looking for an assassin."

Josh frowned his way. "I think we can handle it."

"Is he talking about us?" Ben asked his twin. They were sitting across the big, luxurious space Taggart called an office, putting careful distance between them and he, Josh, and Nicole. He knew it was Ben talking because Chase had a red mark across his neck where he'd nearly been choked out by Heather not Heather and the baton she carried.

"I think so," Chase agreed. "And they should calm the fuck down because they don't know the whole story. We were only doing what Jack asked us to do which is look into the potentially dangerous situation his sons are in."

"You mean look into the woman his sons are dating. She's no threat to anyone." Heather moved across the office, clearly picking her side. She held a hand out to Grim. "And my name is Kimberly Kent. Maiden name Solomon, hence the prior nickname Solo. I went by it for years when I worked as a CIA operative. Now I work with a group that searches for missing persons. That's how I became involved in this case. And Mr. Burch, I don't assassinate people anymore, though I might be willing to come out of retirement for that one. He's obnoxious. Tell me something, Mr. Dawson, how did you figure it out so quickly? From what I understood, your daughter's only been on the case for a few days, and you for less. Did she share her intel with you?"

Harlow frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. "No. I did not. I was unaware they'd been hired. I work with a woman named Ruby Lockwood. She's an excellent hacker and has some truly good facial recognition software. She told me she would get back to me with news today. When she hadn't by this evening, I called her. She told me she didn't bother to call because my dads were going to inform me. She gave them all the information. I still don't know anything beyond the fact that there's a warrant for Nicole's arrest in Oregon. Ruby tried to explain the situation to me, but she was at a rave or something and I could barely hear her. I realized what my fathers would do and ran to warn Josh and Grim."

"We didn't want you involved," Chase said, reaching for his daughter's hand. "When we realized how bad the situation was, we made the decision to handle it for you. For all of you. Josh, Grim, I understand you're upset…"

"Oh, you have no idea." Josh strode over to his uncle, pointing a finger his way. "You could have ruined everything. Do you think I didn't know something was wrong? I sure as hell did, and I was handling it. You tell my father he'll be lucky if I talk to him in the next decade."

"He was trying to protect you," Ben insisted.

"Do I look like a child to you?" Josh asked.

"Yes," the Dawson brothers said at the same time.

Harlow's head fell back, and she growled. "You two are going to be the death of me."

They started arguing amongst themselves.

It hadn't gone unnoticed that Mia Taggart had snuck into the big office. She sat on her husband's lap, an arm draped around his shoulders. Grim was pretty sure at some point Case had called his brother and put him on speaker to listen to what he'd called "the drama." He wasn't sure which Taggart, but they definitely had an audience.

He wished they didn't, but they needed help.

Nicole was silent beside him, her eyes on the floor ahead.

He put a hand over hers. "Baby, can I get you something to drink? We can go up to the room. We don't have to stay here."

She shook her head. "You should know the truth. I have some questions, too. I'd like to know how Heather…I'm sorry…Mrs. Kent came to be hunting me."

"Call me Kim, and I wasn't hunting you." Kim sat down on the sofa as Josh was telling off Chase and threatening bloody vengeance if the police were called in. "I'm sure it feels like it, but I was searching for you. I was hired by your in-laws. They told me the police had let the case go cold, and they wanted my company to find you and bring you to justice."

"So you're a bounty hunter." Grim fought the urge to drag Nic closer. "Whatever they're paying you, I'll pay you more to walk away and tell them you couldn't find her." He had some money saved up, but it was nothing compared to Josh's trust fund. He had a sudden thought. "Or to fake her death. Tell them she's dead and give them evidence that will satisfy them."

"Grim," Nic began, and at least the blank doll look was out of her eyes. "She's not going to do that."

Kim shrugged. "It might be an excellent idea, but we would have to be careful. And I'm not a bounty hunter. This isn't the type of case I normally take. My husband, Beck, and I work with a group in Colorado that tracks missing persons. Usually children or women in danger, though we'll work with law enforcement if we feel we can help and there's a risk to the public."

"She's not dangerous." He had to convince this woman to let Nicole go.

"I know that." Kim's voice went soft, and she leaned toward Nic. "I took this case for reasons your in-laws don't understand. My first instinct was to reject the job, but my son asked me to reconsider. He's working toward a law degree, and he spends a lot of time studying criminal cases. He found some major red flags with yours."

"Josh," Grim called out. "Josh, we can kill your uncles later. Come and listen to Kim now. She's explaining how she got involved and what she thinks about the case."

"Didn't you take a Hippocratic oath?" Chase asked, sounding grumpier than ever, but at least they'd stopped fighting.

"I'm a vet," Grim shot back. "I vowed to not harm your chihuahua. I can totally harm you."

"Grim," Nicole said between clenched teeth.

The fact that she was letting him know she wouldn't put up with his antisocial behavior gave him hope. "Sorry, baby. But I'm pissed at them. You should know I had zero to do with any of this. I was willing to wait until you were ready to talk."

"She's planning on leaving in a couple of weeks," Josh said, sounding a little like his uncle. "We couldn't be sure that she would trust us enough to tell us. She could have walked away, and we would never have seen her again. She would be all alone in the world, and I wasn't about to let that happen."

Josh stared at Kimberly Kent, who rolled her blue eyes and shifted to the end of the sofa, leaving a place for Josh to slide in beside Nicole.

"Alpha men," she muttered under her breath. "Like I was saying, my son found some major red flags when he studied the files about the murder of Micah Holloway."

"That's Nicole's husband?" Josh asked, finally seeming to get his anger under control.

"Nora." Nic was back to sounding monotone. "Nora Holloway was married to Micah. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm Nora anymore."

Josh turned her way. "Baby, you're whoever you tell me you are. You want me to call you Nicole? I love that name. Nora is a wonderful name. I don't care what I call you as long as I get to call you mine."

Nicole took a long breath and turned Kim's way. "I didn't kill my husband."

"I know that." There was a surety in Kim's tone that made Grim more comfortable with her. "Though given your hospital records, I wouldn't blame you. Guys, you should know that her husband physically abused her."

The thought made Grim's stomach churn.

Nicole nodded. "It was nothing at first. He would be rough, grab me too hard. The first time he slapped me I tried to leave. But he cried and apologized, and I started a cycle then. After a while I didn't love him, but I couldn't leave. I couldn't imagine how I would survive."

"You didn't have any money of your own." Harlow didn't make it a question. "He controlled it so he could control you."

"I saved some up," Nicole replied. "I was trying to leave when it happened. He would give me cash to buy groceries and I would clip coupons and use sales to save money. The one place he would let me go was the gym, so I had a locker there. I stashed my money and some other helpful items at the gym."

"You had a gun, didn't you?" Kim asked.

Grim's heart clenched at the thought of Nicole needing a fucking gun.

"Yes. I saved up and bought a gun from the scariest man I've ever met. I don't ever want to do that again. But he promised me it wasn't… What was the word he used? He said it wasn't a burner," Nicole explained.

Now Grim's stomach churned. "You bought a ghost gun?"

"A burner is a gun that's known to have been used in a crime," Kim explained in a calm voice. "What he was telling you is the gun you were buying was untraceable, likely made in the Philippines. They're smuggled into the US. I'm surprised you were able to find one."

"I couldn't buy one from a reputable dealer." Nicole's hands formed a ball on her lap, as though she had to keep herself from reaching out. "I would have to have it registered, and then Micah might have found out. There are some people online who help women leave their abusive husbands. One of them put me in touch with the dealer."

Ben stood, his hands on his hips, and he looked like a mad dad. "Young lady, that gun wasn't properly manufactured. It could have killed you as easily as your husband."

Josh put a hand on hers, and she didn't pull away. "I'm glad you were taking steps to protect yourself."

Nicole's head shook. "Guys, you don't know the whole story."

Kim leaned in, her expression serious. "Ted Holloway found out about your gun, didn't he?"

"Who is that?" Grim asked.

"Micah's brother." Nic stared at Kim like she might be throwing her a lifeline. "Yes. I don't know what actually happened. I know Micah either owed someone money or he'd taken money he shouldn't have. There was mention of the feds being brought in. Ted killed him so they wouldn't come after the family. Somehow he knew about the gun and he used it to murder his brother and then put it in my locker. How did you figure this out?"

"Roman did. So when he read the file, he was curious about a couple of things. It didn't make sense that you would kill your husband, put the gun back in the locker, and then go on the run," Kim explained. "Now you had it stashed in a way that kept it pretty hidden, but he didn't know about the money, did he?"

Nicole huffed. "So he left the money there? At that point I had almost a thousand dollars in cash stashed in my locker."

"Why the hell would she put the gun back but leave the cash?" Josh asked.

"My son found it confusing, and that was why he dug deeper," Kim explained. "He was the one who uncovered the rumors about mob ties to Micah Holloway and also embezzlement at the family's company. I assume the embezzlement was an attempt to pay them off. They likely wanted more. So his brother killed him?"

Nicole nodded.

"Why wouldn't he have them arrest her then?" Grim was confused.

"Because she could talk and someone might listen." Chase Dawson was obviously not. He let out a long huff. "I'm surprised he didn't kill you himself and say it was self-defense. But then he would have the problem of forensics." Chase seemed to be thinking his way through the problem. "The ballistics would match, but it's surprisingly hard to get gunpowder residue on the hands of someone who didn't actually fire a gun. He could say he wrestled the gun away, but he would have to be so careful to show Nicole had fired it first. He had a problem. If the feds came in, they could blame the whole family. They could freeze accounts. He also had to satisfy his mob contacts but keep the blood off his hands. He wouldn't want his parents to know he was going to off his brother. There would be eyes on the whole family if Micah disappears."

"I could explain this to you," Kim offered.

Ben shook his head. "It's better if you let him come to his own conclusions. He feels smarter that way."

"Asshole," Chase said under his breath.

Harlow stood as her father paced. "But if Ted Holloway could point the finger at someone, someone who had reason to kill her abusive husband, then the police wouldn't bother looking too closely at them. The mafia contacts might be willing to make a deal with the brother-in-law if he wasn't the one who owed them. Honestly, having the cops looking into a crime around the family might make the mob back off."

Chase nodded. "Yes. That was what I was thinking, daughter. It also occurs to me that having Nicole on the run would give his parents a target for their anger and grief. If their son's killer is out there in the world, they won't be bothering Ted." He turned to Nicole. "He gave you money and a car, didn't he? He wanted you to run."

"Yes. He told me he would give me a head start." She sounded more solid now, as though having people actually listen to her story gave her strength. "He did give me the option of him putting me up somewhere quiet and being his fuck toy, but I chose to run."

Grim looked at Josh and knew they were both thinking the same thing. They were going to kill Ted Holloway.

But she didn't need to hear that right now. She needed them calm, to keep her needs at the center of the discussion.

When someone is hurting, you need to put aside your own needs and focus on them, sweetie. I know it's easy to get mad, but anger causes way more problems than it solves.

He'd been angry at Olivia's college boyfriend, and Abby had sat him down and explained his sister didn't need his rage. She needed his love and affection.

Oh, he'd still put the fear of god into the boy, but Liv didn't have to know.

His pops had taught him that.

His mom and dads. His real mom and dads.

He was going to have to do some fast talking to keep his family together because Josh was pissed and they needed Dad.

"So the parents are still looking and you took the case." Grim prompted Kim. They needed to get through the explanations so they could get to the part where he held her and made her feel safe and they made plans.

"Yes," Kim said. "I took the case because I thought she was in trouble. I've looked into the Holloways and they're a dangerous family. If I hadn't taken the case, they wouldn't have stopped."

"How did you find me?" Nicole asked. "It's because I stayed in Willow Fork too long, isn't it?"

Kim shook her head. "I actually found you in a couple of places. It's damn near impossible to disappear these days. You showed up in Seattle under the name Helen Cage. You worked odd jobs and lived in your van. When you had to dump that vehicle, you bought a bus ticket to Chicago. You lived in a homeless shelter for a while. They remembered you because you saved a man who was having a heart attack. It would have been better for you to run, you know. You had to talk to the paramedics, and the police showed up. You had to know that would happen."

"I couldn't… He was dying. I wasn't going to let someone die." She teared up.

"And then you took care of his daughter until he was on his feet again," Kim continued. "She would have gone into foster care but Nicole convinced the social worker she was the man's girlfriend and they had applied for housing. You had to fill out forms and your picture was taken. Not smart. All I had to do was follow the good deeds. They led me to Willow Fork, and I knew I was going to find a way to fix this for you."

"Not smart but incredibly kind," Ben said, his eyes on Nicole. "Ms. Holloway, I apologize for the way we met. I know you might not believe me, but we weren't going to call the police. We were taking you back to our suite to talk to you there."

"You mean interrogate her," Harlow corrected.

"And you were going to do what, daughter?" Chase asked, his brows rising in challenge.

"I was going to lay it all out to Josh and Grim and let them decide how to proceed because believe it or not they are grown-ass, competent men," Harlow replied. "They know what they want and they get to decide how to handle the situations they find themselves in. You are treating them like children who need Daddy to save them. Like you treat me."

Chase's face flushed. "Well, I recently had to save you, so you'll forgive me for not wanting you to nearly kill yourself again." His eyes closed and when he opened them there was regret stamped on his face. "Harlow, sweetheart, I'm so sorry I said that."

"No, you're not." She looked Nicole's way. "I'm sorry they got involved in this. I really did intend to do nothing more than let Josh and Grim know what was going on. I never meant for this to happen. When I gave Ruby your picture, I thought she and I would be the only ones who would ever know your real name. Outside of Josh and Grim, of course. I trust Ruby. But my dads are overprotective assholes. I'm sorry, Nicole. Look, I'm going home. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"Harlow," Ben began.

She kept walking.

Ben stared at his brother.

Chase threw his hands up in obvious defeat. "I'll go talk to her. I doubt she means she's going up to her room. She'll probably take the jet and leave us bus tickets. I taught that girl far too well."

"Nat's going to send your ass to the couch," Ben grumbled, following his brother. "Mrs. Kent, you'll take it from here? I'm afraid we've got some family issues to deal with."

"I'll take care of her," Kim promised.

"I think we'll handle it from here, but I do appreciate your help." Josh stood as the Dawsons left. He turned to Case. "I think I'm going to need to talk to your brother about security around the ranch until we can get this sorted out. I'll talk to my uncle about getting her a legal team. I hope you'll be willing to work with us, Mrs. Kent. My uncle isn't a criminal defense attorney, but he'll know what the next steps are."

Josh was taking over. It was a good thing. Grim could concentrate on taking care of Nicole, and Josh would handle the rest. He reached out, taking her hand in his. She pulled away and stood.

"What did she mean once she got the photo?" Nicole went toe to toe with Josh. "I'm careful about cameras. I always have been. Did you go through my purse? Did you take my driver's license?"

Josh's face went stony. "I had to know what was coming after you. I love you, Nicole. You can't expect me to sit back and let whatever is waiting for you to show up."

"It wouldn't have been your license," Kim said. "It's well done, and the tech on it makes it useless for facial recognition."

"So you took a picture of me without my permission and you gave it to a person who could have called the cops on me and had me hauled back to Oregon," Nicole deduced.

"I took a picture when you didn't realize I was doing it. One morning before we took you into the café to work. I was quick and you didn't notice," Josh admitted.

They were screwing this up. Grim stood by Josh, hoping to present a united front. "You can't run all your life, Nic. We want the best for you. We love you."

"Yeah, that's what Micah said, too," she whispered.

The words went straight through Grim's heart. "That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," she shot back. "I want to go back to my room. I understand I'm basically a prisoner."

"You certainly are not," Josh argued.

"Then I can get my things and go?" Nicole asked. "Alone?"

Josh's face fell. "No. You won't be allowed out of the building alone. You take me or Grim or the bodyguard I'll have down here before morning. You're determined to make me the bad guy."

"If the shoe fits, Josh…" Nicole said. "Can Mrs. Kent walk me to my room?"

"I'll do it." Grim had to find a way to soften them both up. He was sure it was a shock for Nicole, but it wasn't easygoing for Josh, either. Or him. He was still trying to process everything Nic had been through.

Case was looking down at his phone. Mia had slipped off her husband's lap and had her own phone to her ear.

"Yeah, I'm going to need you to send extra security to the club," she was saying.

Case stepped out from behind his desk. "And I think it might be a good idea for Kim to escort Nicole to her room because you two are about to have trouble of your own."

There was a knock and then the door came open, and Grim's night was complete.

Jack Barnes stood in the doorway, a dark look in his eyes.

Things had just gotten infinitely worse.

* * * *

Josh stepped in front of Nicole because the last thing he was going to do was put her in his father's path. It was obvious his dad thought he was a child who couldn't handle his business, but the man was about to find out he was absolutely his father's son.

"Josh," his dad began.

"Move out of the way." His mother was suddenly there, and she pushed past his dad, Pops coming in behind her. Where his father looked pissed, his mother was all worry. He braced himself because his mother could be a lot when she decided her babies were in trouble. She would try to coddle him, and he had to make sure she didn't say something that would hurt Nicole.

"Mom, we should talk," he began.

His mother's eyes flashed fire. She pointed his way, and he was five years old again with his hand in the damn cookie jar before dinner. "You would do best to be quiet. I am not any happier with you than I am your father. You knew she didn't want her picture taken and you did it anyway and sent it to Harlow, who sent it to heaven knows who." She turned to Nicole, and all her anger was gone, replaced with maternal comfort. "Nicole, sweetheart, come here. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

He had no idea what the hell was going on.

Nicole stood stiffly for a moment as his mom wrapped her up in her arms.

"It's okay, baby. We're going to take care of you," his mom promised.

And the most magical thing happened. Nicole's arms clutched at his mom, and she started to cry. It wasn't more than a moment before the tears became sobs.

His mom looked up. "Sam, could you escort us up to our suite? My new baby needs time and some privacy. We'll also need some tea and maybe something to eat."

"We have food up in our room." Grim didn't know his mother as well as Josh did. "We can go there."

"Were you involved in this?" His mother never stopped rubbing Nicole's back.

Grim did a perfect imitation of a deer in the headlights. "I…I…"

His mother's head shook. "Damn interfering men going behind a good woman's back." She looked over at Kim, who was watching the whole thing with obvious amusement. "Are you the PI who is trying to help my new baby out?"

Kim stood. "Yes, Mrs. Barnes-Fleetwood. Why don't I join you and we can discuss the situation? And I suggest some wine. Nic's had a rough night."

Did they think he'd been to Disney World? He'd fucking found out the woman he loved was wanted by the law and had people who would like to kill her. Was anyone offering him a beer and a shoulder to cry on? Nope. His momma was looking at him like he was a monster and Nicole… Well, Nicole definitely thought he was a monster.

"I'll escort you up myself," Case offered. "My wife is bringing in extra security. I assure you she'll be safe here while you decide what you want to do. I've already called my brother about security for the ranch."

His mom gave Case a brilliant smile. "I appreciate it so much. Tell your brother how grateful we are for accommodating us." Her smile faded when she looked back at Josh and Grim. "You should talk to your father. Maybe you can talk about trust and how bad it is when you break it."

His pops held the door open for them. "Since you've got an excellent escort, I'm going to stay here and make sure Jack doesn't say something he shouldn't to our sons."

Abby kept a protective arm around Nicole as they moved to the door, followed by the Taggarts and Kimberly Kent.

Who had done exactly what he'd done but didn't seem to be getting blasted for it.

"An excellent idea, Sam. I'll see you upstairs," Mom said with a watery smile. "Jack can take the couch."

His father's face flushed, but he merely took a long breath.

Damn. What had happened? How had they gotten here so fast? What did they know? It seemed like a lot.

The door closed and he was left alone with Grim and their dads and a whole lot of questions.

"Joshua, we need to talk," his dad began.

His pops shook his head. "Not yet we don't." He crossed over to Case's desk and picked up the handset, bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, Taggart, go to bed. Drama's over for you, old man. And try to send a woman guard, please. My sons do not need one of those playboy assholes you always hire as bodyguards. 'Night." He hung up. "Case had Big Tag listening in on speaker phone the whole time. And Big Tag's wife called Serena Dean-Miles and kept her up to date. Serena called Lexi, and naturally Lexi then called her momma. So you're going to have to explain why you paid a private investigator to ruin Nicole's life and potentially get her thrown in the slammer for a crime she didn't commit."

He felt his jaw actually drop. "That is not what happened."

Pops shrugged and found his way to the big couch, taking a seat. "Well, the story went through a bunch of people, and two of them were romance writers. As a class of women goes, they do enjoy some embellishments."

Grim shook his head, obviously as shocked as Josh was. "How are you here? It's a three-hour drive. How could you possibly know what was happening?"

Josh could answer that. "Uncle Chase called him. Or he already had plans to be here."

"And it did not take three hours." Pops was the only one in the room who looked like he was enjoying himself. "Jack got us here in two hours and fifteen minutes flat."

"I meant to come alone," his dad said between clenched teeth. "I certainly didn't mean to turn this into a circus show."

Frustration welled inside Josh. "No, you meant to quietly come in and get rid of Nicole on the down-low, didn't you? You meant for the Dawson brothers to take her out of here, and then you were going to sit in on the interrogation. Tell me something, Dad, were you going to turn her over or pay her off and send her out there all alone again?"

The thought made frustration turn to rage. She'd been through so fucking much. He wasn't about to let her face this alone, and he didn't care what his father thought.

Grim stood at his side. "We're not going to let you get rid of her. I'll leave with her if you can't stand the thought of her being around."

Pops suddenly didn't look so amused. "I don't think Jack knew what the hell he was doing, Josh. Though it sounds like you both had the same idea, different Dawsons. So let's take this down a notch and talk this out like the family we are."

Grim took a seat beside Pops. "I'm confused. So Dad called Chase and Ben and asked them to investigate. Meanwhile Josh called Harlow and asked her to do the same. Chase and Ben caught wind their daughter was looking into the situation, called her computer girl and convinced her to give them the information they found. They called you and… I'm still confused as to how you got here so fast."

It didn't get past Josh that Grim had called Dad by his proper name.

"They found out this afternoon and called me. I asked them to wait until I was close so I could be involved in talking to her," his father admitted, scrubbing a hand over his head. "And that's all I wanted to do—talk to her."

"Sure." Josh didn't buy it for a second. His father could be a ruthless bastard—a thing Josh admired him for. That side of Jack Barnes only came out when protecting the people he loved. "You find out the woman involved with your sons is wanted for murder but you weren't going to do anything."

Dad sighed. "Like I said, I was going to talk to her. I was going to figure out what the situation is. I know you don't believe it but this isn't my first rodeo. I know that all is not what it seems sometimes. I damn straight know sometimes a person can get falsely accused. I came up the hard way, son."

"He did," Pops agreed. "It made him cranky."

His father turned on Pops, frowning fiercely. "Do not forget where we are, Samuel. We can go spend some time in the dungeon if you need to."

Pops smiled, a brilliant expression. "I always need to." He stood, crossing the space between them and putting a hand on Dad's neck. Their easy affection was something Josh was not only used to but counted on. "I'm here to take the testosterone level down a bit. It's why I came along. So two alpha males don't tear each other up because they don't know how to properly communicate. I knew you weren't coming out here to meet with Chase on a bit of business. If you were going to meet Chase for business, you would be in Dallas. So much closer. I know you think this all went to hell because Lexi called Abby, but it was always going to go to hell, Jack."

His father lowered his head until it rested against Pops's, and he took a moment to breathe as though the other man gave him strength and calm.

Josh looked over and Grim was watching them with open affection. Maybe Pops was right, and it was time to bring the heat level down.

But not before he made things plain to his father.

"I'm in love with Nicole, and there's nothing you can say that's going to make me turn her away," Josh stated plainly.

His pops mouthed the words told you before stepping back. "Grim, do you feel the same way?"

Grim stood, joining Josh. "I do."

"Yeah, I get the feeling you'll be saying those words soon," Pops said under his breath. He returned to his seat. "I'm happy for you both. I look forward to some grandbabies. It's been too long since I was around someone on my intellectual level."

Pops winked as Dad turned, pointing his way. "That's a good twenty, Sam."

"Let's make it thirty," Pops shot back.

"Okay, I love you both, but could we dial back the sexual tension? You're my parents and it's getting to me," Josh complained.

"I know we're in a club and that's apparently a trigger for Pops to turn into an unapologetic brat, but it's gross. I say that with all love and respect." Grim groaned and sat back.

"I love freaking the younger generation out." Pops looked infinitely pleased with himself.

"I'm glad you all find this amusing, but Nicole is in trouble, and that means we're all in trouble." Dad was back to looking tense, his shoulders straight. "According to Chase there's serious evidence against her. You can't expect me to not talk about this."

"But you didn't talk about it." Josh was right back to tense, too. "You went behind my back and planned how to deal with the situation without me or Grim being involved at all. I love you, Dad. I appreciate everything you've ever done for me, but this is how you lose me. I am not a child. I am a fully grown man who you raised and trust with your business. You don't get to hand over all the things you don't want to do and then walk in and tell me how to run the place, and that damn straight includes my love life. I'm going to marry Nicole."

"We're going to marry Nicole," Grim corrected.

"You can't marry Nicole because Nicole doesn't exist," his father pointed out. "Son, you don't even know her real name."

"Her real name is Nora Holloway, but her name doesn't matter," Josh countered. "I'm going to ask you something and I want you to think about this. If you'd found out Mom was in the situation Nicole is in, would you have backed off? Or would you have trusted in the love you had for her? Would you have shrugged and moved on and hoped it all worked out for her? Or would you have fought?"

His dad went serious. "You know what I would have done."

"Don't expect me to be less of a man than you are." Josh stood in front of the man he would look like when he was older. There was no way to deny that he was Jack Barnes's biological child. It was in his hair and eye color and the build of his body. It was also in his stubborn will. But he was his mother's child, too. And beyond all biology he was Sam Fleetwood's. It was his pop's infinite patience, his quiet grace that took over. "Dad, I don't want to fight with you. Grim and I need your help. I know you see me as a kid, but I'm not. I'm ready to start my family even if that means fighting whatever demons are coming after Nicole. Even if it means fighting you."

His father took a long breath and moved into his space. "There's no fight here, son. None. I'm sorry. Grim, come here." Grim moved in, and Dad wrapped them both up. "I'm proud of both of you. I know it was wrong and I should have talked to you, but it's hard for me to stop trying to shield you from the world. You boys and your sisters are precious to me."

"And Nicole is precious to us," Josh said. "When you get to know her, you'll love her, too."

Dad stepped back. "I know I will." He looked at Grim. "You all right, son?"

Grim stood there for a minute. "I don't know. I feel weird."

Pops was right beside him. "It's okay, son. It's called emotion, and it's hard to deal with. You'll get the hang of it in another forty years or so. Josh handles it better because he wasn't raised entirely by religious zealots steeped in toxic masculinity. The masculinity he was raised around was open and honest, but it took us a while. Grim, you know it's okay to cry, right? Ain't no one here going to think less of you."

Grim's jaw went tight. "I love you. I don't say it because I maybe don't feel like I should. Or I don't feel like I deserve it. I've been quiet because I don't want to screw things up, but I'm mad, too. It's all a fucking storm inside me."

Dad put a hand on Grim's shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "You don't ever hold back on me because you're worried I'll kick you out or stop caring about you. Never going to happen. I know more than most that family doesn't have to be blood. You are my son, Jared. I'm human and I make mistakes. I expect you to love me anyway."

"I do," Grim said, and there was a sheen of tears in his eyes.

"As Josh said, don't expect me to be less," Dad said and pulled Grim in for another hug. "I love you, son. Nothing's going to change that."

There was a sniffling sound, and Grim hugged him fiercely.

"Would now be a good time to tell them that we changed our wills and split the estate three ways?" Pops asked.

Grim sighed and looked more calm as he pulled back. "Of course you did. I don't expect anything like that. Dad, Pops, having you in my life is more than enough."

Josh rolled his eyes. Grim wasn't very aware. "They're talking about you. Years ago Lexi had them pull her out of the will since Dad gave Lucas their father's estate."

"She doesn't do too poorly on her own. That was the funniest part. I was worried about how hard a ranching life is, and then her books exploded," Dad said, sounding far calmer than he'd been. "No, Lexi asked that we leave everything to her siblings. To Olivia and Josh and Jared."

Now there was no way to mistake the tears in his brother's eyes. "I don't…"

It was his turn to give Grim a hug. "You do deserve it, and before you get worried, Olivia and I were in full agreement. You're not leaving all this chaos to us. We need you."

Grim held him every bit as hard as Nic had held on to their momma.

When Grim finally let go there was resolve in his eyes. "She's mad at us. She thinks we betrayed her."

"Yeah, well, I'll be sleeping on the damn couch for a couple of weeks," his dad said, settling in next to Pops.

"Nah, she'll give in once she realizes we're all presenting a united front," Pops corrected. "You just watch. Abby's going to be our secret weapon when it comes to Nicole. Now let's call in Ben and figure out what's going on with that girl so we can kick whoever's ass we need to and move on to the baby-making part. I'm not joking. I miss having kids around."

"I'm getting him a puppy," Dad promised. "You three will take all the time you need. But he's right. We do need a plan."

Josh sat beside his brother and listened to his fathers.