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They were family, they had given me the same opportunities and respect that they had given their own blood born son. I would never forget that, I would never take for granted what they had done, and I would stand by their side till the very end.

Because that's what you did for family.

You stood by their side, good or bad. Nothing would cut the thread that tied us together. Despite the pit in my gut at times and the tiny voice inside my head telling me it was wrong; I was here, and I wasn't going anywhere.

My appreciation for what Nick and Birch had done, how they had saved me from dying alone in the woods, that was all I needed.

They had my back and I had theirs.

Birch came around behind the bar, arms open wide. “Babe, you know I love you.” Wrapping me in a big hug, he pressed my head into his chest. “And without you, I'd be lost.”

“You bet your ass you would be.” Curling my arms around his back, I ran my fingers up and down his spine. “You couldn't function without me.”

Slamming the glass down, Nick sucked in air through thin lips. “She's right, Birch. Your mother used to tell me that all the time, and I never actually believed it until she was gone.” His eyes went cloudy, staring off behind us as he thought of his wife.

Valentina had passed last year, it was rough on all of us. It was hard on Birch to watch his mother suffer the way she had. He would help his father care for her, both of them did their best to make sure she was comfortable and happy in the end.

I watched him shed tears that I didn't think he had. I held him at his worst when her illness had finally won and there was nothing more that the doctors could do. Birch had lost something the day she died, a small piece of himself was suddenly gone.

But nothing could compare to the pain that Nicholi was going through. For all the horrible things he had done in his life, for how dark and harsh his hands could be to others. . . He loved and cherished that woman.

It was hard as hell to watch that man lose his best friend, the love of his life. Twenty-four years of marriage, and it ended before either one was ready for it. But you can't foresee the future, you never knew when God would slip his hand down from the clouds and call back one of his children.

I wasn't sure if Nick believed in heaven or hell, or if he thought that one day he would see his wife again. There was too much pain in his eyes and hurt in his voice for him to think beyond the moment, beyond the past, and beyond the future he had lost.

Frowning, I laid my hand over his. There were no words I could say that would ease his pain. This was something he was going to have to deal with on his own.

It was going to take time for that hurt to go away, for it not to be there day after day as a constant reminder of what was gone.

I hadn't lost the love of my life, but I had lost a family. I dealt with their absence as if they had died. Because to me, they were as good as dead.

They never came looking for me, they hadn't plastered my face on missing person fliers or televised it on the news. It didn't matter that Nick had searched for month after month, no one was out there on the other end ready to retrieve his gift.

Time had helped to heal the wounds, but it was still there. It would never go away completely, the pain only dulled into this paper cut that was more annoying now than anything else.

Slapping the bar, Nick sucked in a big breath of air. “Well, I'm going to go down. When they get here, just bring them in.” Forcing a smile, it faded immediately, turning his face back to stone.

Birch and I watched him drag his feet into the back and heard him start down the stairs. Thud after thud, he clopped down the steps until he hit the cement floor, and a door closed in the distance.

Turning to look at me, Birch kissed my forehead. “I hate seeing him that way.”

“I know, me too.” Resting my head on his chest, he rubbed his hands up and down my back. “I'd be devastated if I lost you.”

“Well, you don't have to worry about that, because I'm made of steel baby.” Slipping his hands down over my ass, he gave me a hard squeeze. “I'm indestructible, like this ass of yours.” Grunting, he shifted his waist so his cock rubbed against my belly.

Pushing back, I peered up at him. “Are you serious right now? You know I have a ton of shit to do before Antoine and Collin get here. The big man is already worried enough about this deal, I don't want to screw it up.”

“You won't screw it up, we both know that. We have plenty of time, Cyprus, I can do you right here. We're not open, no one is coming in, and my dad will be downstairs. Antoine and Collin won't be here for another hour.” Licking his lips, he stepped in closer, forcing my back against the bar. “You know you can't resist this cock, Baby, you never could.”

Holding a palm to his chest, I smirked. “Full of yourself much?”

Curling his fingers around my wrist, he guided it down over his abs and onto the firm muscle under his pants. “You feel that? You do that to me, you've always made me so fucking hard. Even when we were younger, I'd rub one out just thinking about you.”

“Is that suppose to turn me on?”

“Is it working?” Using my hand, he stroked his cock. “Because if it's not, I have other ways to make you wet.”

Flicking his brows high, he dug his free hand into the small of my back. Arching my spine, my lids hooded as my nipples went stiff, tingling in my bra. He had this power over me, he always did. A look, a touch, a smile, it didn't matter. Birch made me feel things I couldn't explain.