“Wrong one.” He tugged the heavy box from her, put it back in the vehicle, and handed her one so lightweight as to be pitiful. When she frowned at him, amusement lit his eyes again. Still, without saying anything else, he picked up her two suitcases.

As they reached the porch and saw the two doors, Lindsey hesitated.

From an upstairs window, Abby’s call came. “Door on the right. It’s open.”

The living room was empty of furniture. Delicate floral wallpaper covered the walls, a gilded mirror hung over the white brick fireplace. Abby had left behind a worn needlepoint carpet in the center of the hardwood floor. Pretty and feminine.

A wide arch divided the space between the living area and dining area. There, a dining room table and chairs remained, which Abby probably hadn’t needed in Xavier’s already furnished house.

“Lindsey!” Followed by Xavier, Abby trotted down the stairs, saying, “Now, my girl, you can explain exactly why you insisted you had a great place and you didn’t need—” She reached the bottom step and stared. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”

Xavier snagged his wife with a long arm. “Easy, fluff, she’s not at fighting weight.” With Abby pinned to his side, he put a finger under Lindsey’s chin to tilt her face up. His black gaze lingered on her cheek before he glanced at deVries and lifted his eyebrows.

“Happened when Tex had a face-off with a gang,” deVries stated.

“DeVries rescued me,” Lindsey said reluctantly. She certainly didn’t begrudge praising him. Harder to swallow was admitting to her friends that she’d been in trouble.

“How’d you anger a gang?” Xavier asked, his deep voice carrying the hint of a growl.

DeVries put an arm around her and drew her back. “They wanted to beat up a boy.” He held his free hand at his ribs to show Dakota’s height. “Lindsey and her pepper spray had them stymied for a few minutes. When I got there, they’d gotten brave enough to charge.”

Did he actually sound proud of her? She leaned on his warm, hard body for a second, until common sense returned. You’re wanted for murder. Lovers are not in any plan in any foreseeable future.

She stepped out of his reach. Good thing he couldn’t get all bossy with Xavier watching.

On second thought, this was deVries. He might anyway.

“What the hell!” Dixon’s horrified shout came from the front entrance.

With a groan, she grabbed her forehead. Holy heck, her head was going to fall right off—and would probably bounce along the floor and trip someone. Oops, sorry, did I just kick Lindsey’s head? Considering the way her day had gone, she wouldn’t be surprised.

Dixon charged across the room. DeVries’s snarl made him skid to a halt.

“She’s bruised up, boy,” deVries snapped. “Keep it down and take it easy, clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” the young submissive whispered and held his arms out. “Linnie?”

She stepped into Dixon’s embrace. His gentle sympathy was a balm for frazzled nerves. “Pretty, pretty Linnie. It’s okay, girlfriend.”

God, she loved her friends. After a minute of sheer self-indulgence, she stepped back. “Thanks, Dixon. I needed that.”

“Anytime, sweet thing.” He smirked at Abby. “I told you she’d want to see me.”

Abby rolled her eyes at Lindsey. “We were coordinating schedules at Dark Haven when Xavier called. Dix wanted to be sure you were all right.”

Lindsey bit her lip. Xavier hadn’t even talked to Abby before offering the duplex. “I’m really sorry Xavier just kind of dumped me on you. But I’ll pay rent starting today and—”

“Oh hush. My liege has laid down a decree. Do you want to get me in trouble?”

“I—”

“Seriously, I agree with him. My liege won’t let me pay for anything these days, so I’m not hurting financially. Take the duplex for a month, and we’ll talk, okay?”

Charity. It rubbed on a person like a wool saddle blanket. And yet, she did need to get away from her other apartment. “Thank you.”

“Now, you’d better sit down before you fall down.” Abby tugged out a chair at the dining room table and motioned for her to sit. “We’ll play helpless females and let the guys unload the car.”

“Forget the female stuff. We’ll let the Doms unload.” Dixon sat as well, bouncing once in glee. “You two missed the fun last weekend. Like HurtMe pitching a hissy fit at johnboy. He thinks johnboy trespassed on his personal territory when he—”

Drowning out Dix’s voice, Xavier and deVries clumped into the house, carrying another load. Only half listening to the gossip, Lindsey slouched in the chair and watched the men work.

On the next trip, Rona followed them in and walked through the archway to the dining area. Hands on hips, she gave Lindsey a thoughtful perusal. “The way you’re moving your head says you have a headache.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in administration?”

“Nurses never stop being nurses. Did you take anything?”

“Uh-uh.” Lindsey shook her head…carefully. “Isn’t that stupid? I can’t believe I’m sitting here hurting and didn’t even think of it.”

Rona opened her purse. “I have ibuprofen.”

Dixon jumped up. “I’ll get water.”

By the time she’d taken the pills and settled back, the men—who now included Simon—had finished unloading the few boxes. With every trip, she’d felt deVries’s gaze land on her, as if he thought she’d drop dead if he didn’t keep an eye on her.

When Simon walked over, Lindsey frowned. “I’m sure there’s a rule somewhere that a boss isn’t supposed to help his secretary move.”

He didn’t even smile. “There is. However executive administrators’ assistants are in an entirely different category of regulations.”

Rona snorted. “In fact, according to Simon, the rules are the boss has to order the pizza.”

“I never buck the regs.” Simon glanced at his watch. “Pizza and drinks should arrive any time.”

Pizza? “You guys…” Lindsey’s eyes filled; her shoulders began to shake. No, no, no. No crying. Because if she started, she’d never stop. Blinking hard, she sucked in a breath and pushed the weakness away. “Thank you, Simon.”

“My pleasure, pet.” He frowned as his gaze skimmed over her face; then he walked over to talk to Xavier.

Rona disappeared into the kitchen.

A clinking noise made Lindsey turn. DeVries was coming in the front, tossing his car keys from hand to hand.

Lordy, why did he have to be the one to stampede her hormones? Taken piece by piece, he didn’t seem as if he should be so compelling. The cropped hair was meh. His face looked more battered than handsome. His body—well, okay, his build was even better than any superhero’s. In fact, he was kind of like a really deadly Thor. She sure couldn’t forget what his naked body felt like against her and exactly how rock hard each muscle was.

Gaze fixed on her, he prowled across the room, much like an Anatolian guard dog checking out a potential threat. He went down on his haunches beside her chair. “I’m going to give you some time to get settled in.”

The way his thigh muscles bunched under his thin jeans was mesmerizing. “Uh-huh.”

He unhurriedly ran a finger down her uninjured cheek. “Another day or so, we’ll have dinner and talk.”

Wait. Dinner? She snapped back to the conversation. No way. She pushed his hand away from her face. “DeVries—”

“Zander.” His fingers curled around hers.

God, he was more stubborn than an oak stump. “Listen, I understand why you were unhappy with me, but it’s better if we leave well enough alone.”

“I’m not much on leaving well enough alone.”

“I am. Friends and that’s it.” She gave his hand a firm shake and let go. “Thank you for the rescue.”

Unreadable gray-green eyes simply looked at her for a prolonged minute. Without another word, he rose and walked out the front door.

She’d won.

So why did it feel like she’d lost?

“Holy fag-fucking-doodles,” Dixon breathed. “Did the Enforcer just make a move on you?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Mmmhmm.”

Abby didn’t speak, but her brows drew together as she glanced at the door.

“Well, I gotta get my ass in gear. My shift starts in an hour.” Dixon kissed Lindsey’s cheek and rose. “If you need anything, sweet cheeks, you give me a call.”

“I will. Thank you for coming over.” God, having friends was…was the best thing in the world.

As Dixon left, Simon helped Lindsey to her feet. “Rona is setting up so we can eat outside. What would you like to drink?”

Right about now, her mama would be making margaritas. The unexpected sweep of homesickness shook her. I want to go home. “Anything is fine.”

Simon led her to the patio with Abby following. Xavier had pushed the two patio tables together and was arranging the chairs while Rona set the table.

Lindsey looked around in amazement. The backyard of this side of the duplex was fenced-in and lush with autumn blooms. It reminded her of the gardens shown in fairy-tale books.

Abby opened the cooler set by the door. “Want a beer?”

The desire to say yes ensured her answer. “No. Not today. A diet soda, please.”

Simon lifted an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“If I drink when I’m anxious, I get more scared.” And since last spring, she’d rarely felt safe. She gave him a crooked smile. “It’s not worth it.”

With a start, she realized Xavier was watching her. “Sounds as if you’ve been afraid before today,” he murmured. “Why is that, pet?”

Oh shit. When would she learn she couldn’t blabber? Especially around men like Xavier and Simon, who actually listened. Even deVries displayed Dom-focus. “You know how it is… A nasty husband can leave bad memories.”