Simon Says Die

she.
    â€œI remember,” she said quietly.
    â€œThat was the weekend before—”
    â€œI know.” She glanced back toward the break in the trees, growing more miserable the longer this conversation dragged on. Not just because of the cold.
    â€œA few weeks later, I made that trip to Savannah, by myself.”
    Her stomach jumped with dread as everything clicked. “They know about us? About . . . how it ended?”
    He nodded. “No secrets.” His expression turned wary, as if he expected her to explode.
    She wished, for once, that her infamous temper would come to her rescue. But instead of exploding, she felt like imploding, crumpling in on herself and curling into a tight ball. “They must all hate me,” she whispered.
    He gently squeezed her fingers. “They don’t hate you. I won’t let them.” His brows drew down in a harsh line. “Then again, it might be better if they did. Then they’d leave you alone.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” she asked, alarmed by his tone.
    â€œYou’re too beautiful by far. Once they’re certain you and I aren’t involved anymore, they’ll see you as fair game. Well, Braedon and Devlin will. You’re exactly their type, and they’re outrageous flirts. I should have told you before we came out here. You don’t have to face my family. I can take you home, have Casey or another agent watch over you for a few hours while I get the required family visit out of the way.”
    She was still trying not to choke up over his matter-of-fact statement about them not being involved anymore, and she was having trouble focusing on what else he’d said. Something about a required family visit? She didn’t buy that. He wanted this, to see his brothers, Austin. And he was already here. She didn’t want him to have to miss dinner with them or postpone his visit because of her.
    Especially since they weren’t involved anymore.
    She blinked against the burn of unshed tears. She deserved this, feeling miserable, after how she’d treated him. Taking the easy way out, leaving without facing his family, was incredibly tempting. But that wasn’t fair to Pierce. She sensed he wanted her with him to face his family, so she wasn’t going to abandon him now, not if he needed her. She could consider it her penance.
    â€œCome on,” she said. “Let’s go up to the house. I want to see this family of yours. If they’re anything like Braedon and Matt, I’ll consider myself honored to meet them. And if they’re mean to me, I’ll just be mean right back. I can take care of myself.”
    She could see some of the tension go out of his shoulders, the relief in his eyes.
    â€œAll right, tough girl. Let’s go.”
    This time, as they walked back toward the house, he slowed his stride to match hers, so she wouldn’t have to run to keep up. When they stood outside the front door, he leaned down beside her. “Come on, beautiful,” he whispered. “Let’s get this family reunion over with. I have a feeling I’m going to have to bash a few heads in to teach my brothers some manners.”
    She blinked at his compliment, and looked up at him, wondering if he’d even realized how his voice had softened when he’d said it. Was it possible he still cared about her, even after the “no relationship” comment?
    He pushed the door open, and she dragged her gaze away from him to face the gauntlet she was about to run. The low hum of conversation went silent as five pairs of eyes centered on them from the couches in the middle of the family room. She instinctively stepped closer to Pierce. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.
    â€œDon’t worry,” he spoke in a low voice, only for her. “They’ll love you.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward into the enormous room that resembled a hunting lodge. A massive fireplace took up the far wall and had a roaring fire inside. All the walls were painted dark brown and displayed paintings of wildlife, except for one wall that was filled with what looked to be family pictures.
    He pulled her to one of three large brown leather couches in the center of the room. Three men were sitting on the first couch, a fourth sat on the couch across from the first one, and a young man sat in a wheelchair between both couches.
    â€œMadison, meet