Pierce

Chapter Twenty

Pierce~

Pierce and Declan arrived at Declan's house at the same time and walked up the steps together with Natalie in between them.

Before they could reach the door Lexi exploded through it and wrapped Natalie in a tight hug.

"Oh my God, Natalie! I'm so glad you're okay!" She clutched Natalie with so much force he could see her wince beneath Lexi's tight hold.

"What happened? Did they touch you or just follow you? Did they try to take you somewhere or were they just trying to scare you?" Lexi's frantic questions were falling out of her mouth faster than Natalie could answer them.

"Deep breaths, Lex." Declan said with a chuckle.

Natalie placed one hand on Lexi's shoulder and looked straight into her eyes with a bright smile.

"I'm okay Lexi. They didn't touch me or hurt me - just scared me."

Lexi blew out a hard sigh of relief and took Natalie by the hand.

"Well I've already poured you a glass of wine and have made us a cozy spot on the couch so you can relax."  Lexi said as she led Natalie inside before turning over her shoulder to address Declan.

"Caleb and I iced some beers for you guys on the back porch, figured you would want to unwind a little on the deck while you talked shop with the team."

"I appreciate it baby." Declan said as the group walked through the front door and into the living room.

"Boss, how many times do I have to tell you. Don't call me baby. It makes me uncomfortable." Caleb joked.

Declan offered him a middle finger in return as he headed through the living room and toward the back deck to join Marcus who was already one beer in.

Caleb eyed Pierce and stopped him in the kitchen before he could make it outside.

"You okay, Hollywood?" he asked genuinely.

Caleb was so intuitive, it was hard to hide anything from him.

"Yeah. My nerves are shot, but I'm okay...because she's okay."

Pierce sighed deeply and scratched the back of his head before he continued.

"When we got the call, all I could see was what they did to Lex..." his voice trailed off as his emotions started churning.

"I know, man. I felt the same way." Caleb admitted.

Both men turned their attention to Natalie and Lexi who were cocooning themselves in a pile of blankets on the couch with wine glasses in hand.

"Look at them though. They're okay." Caleb had always been skilled at staying in the present and being grateful instead of bitter. It was a skill that Pierce strived to emulate, but always fell short.

Pierce nodded in agreement as he admired Natalie and tried to be present in that moment with Caleb.

Right here, right now, they are perfectly safe.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to need something a little stronger than beer." Caleb added, heading over to Declan's liquor cabinet.

"You want anything?"

"Nah, if I start in on that shit right now I won't stop until I'm under the table." Pierce said as he headed toward the back deck.

As he passed behind the large couch he stopped and leaned over Natalie, wrapping his big arms around her and laying a trail of kisses up her neck and onto her cheek from behind. Her cheek raised into a smile against his lips and she let out a small hum of contentment.