Page 23 of At Their Mercy: Part I

He slammed the door shut.

I grinned.

“It holds up,” Reese confirmed. “I saw it when we wrestled.”

Nice.

Em shook his head, but he was smiling. “I finally have all my boys together again. I’m gonna regret this.”

Reese and I chuckled.

Grrr.

I cracked one eye open and eyed my phone buzzing on the nightstand.

Whoever was texting needed to be strung up by the balls.

I bet it was a group chat. The vibrating had been incessant the past…whatever. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes. And it was a new chat, considering I muted them as soon as they popped up. The one exception being the group chat I had with Reese and Shay.

My phone buzzed again, and I’d fucking had it.

I pushed myself up a bit—only to freeze when I spotted a dark dog hair on my pillow.

That’s one, and one is none.

One was okay. Our pups shed. It was impossible to avoid altogether. But if I found more of them in bed…

Shay had been alone in bed when we’d returned around five this morning.

I dropped the hair on the floor, then picked up my phone.

Good lord.

Reese had started a chat with Shay, Emerson, and Danny. And poor old me.

Good morning, everyone. To avoid multiple texts going out, here’s all the information you need for Monday. It’s my birthday. And River’s, I guess. Em and Danny, y’all are hereby invited to a birthday barbecue. Shay asked me not to drag my ass, and apparently waiting two hours is too much. So this is the official invite. Come on over after work, and I’ll have my brisket ready.

Shay had been quick to contribute to the chat.

Hello, Emerson and Danny! I’m looking forward to getting to know you. Please stock up on stories. River and Reese have given me the green light for all kinds of embarrassing stuff, so don’t hold back. I have the right clearance to hear it all now. -Shay

We were gonna regret that.

A thought that Reese had echoed.

I already have regrets.

And then Em had joined the conversation.

I’m looking forward to getting to know you too, Shay. Don’t worry, we have plenty of stories. See you on Monday, lads.

Then Danny…

I’ll require ice-cold beer and some alone-time with Shay.

It was on from there, mainly between Reese and Danny, with Shay throwing in some laugh emojis.

“For fuck’s sake,” I sighed.