Free What Remains_Reckoning by Kris Norris Page B

fallen for the girl.”
    “That I know. What I’m not sure about is if he agrees with your sentiments on the sharing arrangement.”
    “You guys know I can hear you, right? You’re like ten feet away from me.”
    Gunner turned to find Hamilton staring at them, his head still relaxed back against the couch. Morgan hadn’t moved, her ribcage rising and falling rhythmically as she snuffled in her sleep. She looked peaceful, and the sight sent a jolt of longing straight to Gunner’s chest. It constricted around a large ball of emotion, making it suddenly hard to breathe. Fuck, he was just as screwed as Ham and Wolfe. And all because of the minx sleeping on the couch.
    Hamilton eyed him for a few moments before chuckling. “I see Morgan’s had an effect on you, as well. Though I’m sure you’ll deny it.”
    Gunner shook his head. “If you’ve been listening, you already heard me admit I find her intriguing.”
    “Intriguing? You look as if you don’t know whether to strangle her or make love to her against the damn wall. I’d say that’s more than just intrigue on your part.”
    “When the hell did you two suddenly start reading my mind? ‘Cause I’d sure as shit like to know how you seem to come to the same conclusion when I haven’t even gotten there.”
    Ham laughed again. “That’s easy. We’ve spent the last decade traipsing around every shithole known to man with you. Watched your back. Damn near crawled inside that soul of yours. Pretty much the same way you have with us. We can read you like a damn book, bro.”
    He released a weary breath. “Fine. Apparently I’m not immune to our guest’s charms. But like I told Wolfe, that doesn’t mean a damn thing if she’s afraid to even touch us in passing. And no one said she’d share any of our views. That’s if we even think we could really pull it off.”
    Hamilton’s eyes narrowed. “After all the shit we’ve been through—the number of times we’ve traveled to hell and back—you really don’t think we’re strong enough to have each other’s back on this?”
    “This isn’t a mission, Ham.”
    “No. You’re right. It’s something far more important. Far more dangerous. This isn’t simply dying. It’s losing what’s still human inside us. The reason we fight. And I know, for a fact, that scares you more than anything else.”
    Gunner clenched his jaw then pushed to his feet. He needed some air before Ham and Wolfe saw through to the man beneath the stony facade. Before he admitted there could be so much more than blood and death in their lives.
    Hamilton sighed as he walked past. “You can only fight it so long, Gunner, before it’ll eat you alive inside.”
    He gazed back at the man across his shoulder as he opened the door. “You really think you can stand there and watch Wolfe or me make love to her and not want to tear our throats out?”
    “I know I could. Because in the end, her happiness, her survival, means more than my damn pride. There are only two men I’d trust her life to. And one of them is walking out the door.”
    Gunner hung his head, fisting the frame as he stared out at the moon as it peeked through the clouds high above the mountaintop. How did both men know exactly what to say to make him see the bigger picture? To understand what was really important?
    He took a deep breath and closed the door, turning to lean against it. He didn’t know if it was what Hamilton had said, or the burning sensation he got in his gut whenever he thought about walking away from them—from the promise of something better—but he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he bailed before he’d even tried. The guys were right about one thing. They’d had each other’s back so long he couldn’t remember what it was like to live without them. To wake up without hearing one of them cursing in the next room or have one of them toss something at his head when he raised it. They’d saved his ass more times than he could count, and