Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland (best books to read for knowledge .txt) 📕

calling Farley to follow. By silent agreement they left the dishes in the sink. Patrick walked Farley in the backyard, depriving the poor beast of his usual jaunt around the neighborhood. Until they resolved whatever the hell was going on, no one was going to wander too far from the house alone. As it was, Brandon stood on the back stoop, his head cocked to listen to the night, his hand resting on his gun at his hip.

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Patrick couldn"t remember the last time he"d not locked his sidearm in his safe the moment he arrived home from work. Sighing, he supposed it would be a while before he did so again.

Farley"s business accomplished, they returned to the house. He and Brandon walked all the rooms again, this time double-checking windows, closing blinds and curtains, bolting doors. Brandon didn"t say a word when Patrick jammed a chair under each doorknob. The bad guys had kicked in a door once, he wasn"t going to make it easy for them to do it again.

The house was as secure as they could get it and there was an unmarked police car on the street. He told himself to relax. He briefly considered asking Brandon if he wanted to watch some television, but he couldn"t see past his need to be with Destiny.

He hoped to permanently squash the panic that had been nipping at him since Brandon had woken him up that morning and told him Destiny was gone. He wanted to hold her. He needed to hold them both.

Patrick didn"t look to see Brandon"s reaction when he took Brandon"s hand and led him up the stairs, calling Farley as they went. Brandon followed without resistance and that was enough. Trudging through the door to his bedroom, they found Destiny sitting up, sound asleep, exactly as they"d left her.

He and Brandon shared a smile and approached opposite sides of the bed. He retrieved the half-full can of Diet Coke from her fingers while Brandon gently stroked his hand down her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open.

She was bleary-eyed. Hardly able to stay awake long enough to sit up. When she opened her mouth to speak, Bran shushed her. She immediately subsided.

Patrick carefully pulled her blouse up and over her head, her arms going up without protest. He suppressed a chuckle when she unselfconsciously disposed of her bra and threw it at Brandon"s head. Her eyes were closed once more, so it was hard to tell if she"d done it on purpose. Brandon grinned, the bra draped over his shoulder as they bent over Destiny from either side of the bed. They each kissed a cheek, helping her slide deeper under the covers and tucking them around her.

She was asleep again before they straightened up.

Patrick stripped to his boxer briefs in a matter of seconds, sneaking glances at Brandon as he did the same. Climbing into the bed on either side of Destiny, they crawled under the covers. Before Brandon could settle down, Patrick grasped his shoulder. With Destiny dead-to-the-world beneath them, he pulled Brandon over her and kissed him lightly. Once. Twice. Their lips meeting and rubbing gently for a few minutes, then parting with a last soft peck.

“Good night,” he whispered.

Brandon smiled. “Good night.”

The moment Brandon slid down under the covers, Destiny rolled toward him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, her leg hooked over his belly. Patrick curled around her back, spooning her from neck to hips. He brought his leg up to cup her bare 164

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bottom and slid his knee across Brandon"s thighs, his arm wrapping around her ribs and coming to rest on Brandon"s chest. It jumped beneath his fingers and Patrick nudged his leg higher, gently pressing Brandon"s erection between his thigh and Destiny"s.

Brandon whimpered.

Patrick fell asleep with a smile on his face.

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Chapter Fifteen

Destiny turned into the driveway at Aunt Ethel"s house and rolled to a stop, leaving the car in neutral and the engine running. Patrick parked his truck in the space next to her. She didn"t bother to protest when Brandon, who had retrieved her from her cage at work, jumped from the car and told her to stay put. She was starting to know the drill without having to be instructed.

Always ready for a quick escape. Always looking over her shoulder. Never going anywhere without one of the guys.

Though the last part wasn"t so bad, really.

She watched as Brandon pulled his side arm and tried to keep her blood pressure somewhere below the stratosphere. It was just routine. He was going to search the house, just as Patrick had the night before.

It was sad state of affairs when having to search your own home with a loaded weapon was routine.

She only jumped a little when Patrick opened the door and fell into the passenger seat. He left one foot on the ground, ready to bolt after Brandon or take off for the police station with her, depending on the circumstances. They"d coached her on what to do, what number to call, who to talk to, what route to take. Just in case.

Perfectly routine.

Who was she kidding? Her life was being turned upside-down.

Brandon had gone to work with her this morning and spoken to her building security. It was normally a perfectly secure building and her company was on a floor that was only accessible with a key card. She was as safe as she could get, she figured, and she had promised not to leave her company"s offices.

Had it been enough for the boys? Nope. She"d been furious when they"d insisted on telling her boss and the receptionist what was going on. It had taken Brandon, in that calm freaking way of his, explaining it a hell of a lot more clearly than Patrick had done, for her to understand it was for everyone"s protection. They didn"t think whoever was harassing them would have the balls to try to approach her at work again, but they had