Page 1 of Tangled Like Us

1

THATCHER MORETTI

First thing peopleknow about me, I’m tall.

Second thing, I’m a twin.

Third thing, I’m a pain in your fucking ass. If you’re not giving a hundred shits at rest or in high water, I will hammer you.

One further, I’ll volunteer to be the bad guy if it means protecting lives and keeping minds right on the team.

But I didn’t imagine I’d lose her in the process.

I stare straight ahead and breathe hot breath out of my fucking nose.Can’t think about that now.I have a job to do.

She is my job.

And I need to unfuck this shit. I take full responsibility, and I’m going to shovel us out of the hellhole I’ve thrown ourselves in.

I have to.

A roaring beach bonfire lights up the sparkling night sky. The Aegean Sea calm and dark behind me, my boots sunk in damp sand on the shoreline. I stand still. Watchful.

Attentive.

Prepared for any hellfire.

This isn’t my first time in Greece, and that fact sits with me for an extra beat. I grew up in a one-bedroom South Philly apartment and shared a pullout couch with my brother. In my head, there weren’t many ways I’d see the world.

Eventually, Xander Hale happened. Becoming that kid’s bodyguard was a bright spot in my life. Not because I could see more of the world, but because I still had a hand in protecting someone else’s.

It’s what fuels me.

I’m strong to protect the soft.

I’ve felt that, even as a fucking teenager. I readThe Iliadin high school. Men fighting on an ancient battlefield. Facing challenges that’d test their strength of will. Embarking on harrowing adventures while serving their country.

I wanted to be a Spartan warrior.

And I grew to look like one. Broad-chested and shouldered, muscled and toned, towering and relentless at six-foot-seven. Severity within hard lines of my body and face.

No matter where my boots land, I’m meant to fight for something.

And at twenty-two, I began protecting these three famous families. Cut to six years later, and this is still where I need to be. Where I want to be. I’d put my life on the fucking line for them. It’s more than a nine-to-five job, more than a career—this is a lifestyle meant for the men who aren’t going to quit and take the easy fucking out.

I’ve kicked exits open for bodyguards who thought private security would be a straight shot to luxury. This is about keeping people safe 24-hours a day, and we’re not entitled to anything. We fulfill our purpose. If we expect more, we’ve failed at our promise to these generous, loving families who just want to live in peace.

We should be humbled to be in Greece or wherever protecting them leads us.

Stay focused.

On her.

Jane Eleanor Cobalt.

She’s sitting about twenty meters away, feet buried in the sand. Light-hearted blue eyes concentrated on one of her many brothers.

Eliot Cobalt stands near the bonfire and rehashes a story or some play. Flames lick the air, and as he gesticulates theatrically, the famous families laugh and clap.