Loving the Wild Card (Kingdom Book 5)

As soon as he spoke, he caught Lux’s eyes, and felt heat rise in his cheeks. He supposed he should be grateful she didn’t correct him. The next thing he knew, Aviva’s held him in a tight hug.

“All that can wait. We’re just glad you’re okay. Isn’t that right, Jason?”

God bless Aviva. Josh knew he could always count on her to be in his corner to get her husband off his back. With a smile, he hugged her back.

“From what I can see he looks just fine, and if he needs hugging, he has a wife to do it,” Jason told his wife. “What I find more interesting is all that color rushing to his face.”

Easing back from him, Aviva took in his red face and Josh knew she was going to say something to cause him even more embarrassment.

“What happened Josh, are you okay? Please don’t tell me you’ve been fighting again!” Aviva asked as she began to look him over, her arms akimbo.

She sounded like a mother reprimanding a child and Josh honestly didn’t know what to say to her. Instead, he looked over at Jason in the hope he’d get his wife to back off. He should have known better. All he got for his trouble was a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Joshua, answer me.?”

“Of course he’s okay,” Jason replied for his younger brother. “He probably just got his ass handed to him.”

“No, probably about it,” Jake agreed.

“That’s not fair, there were at least three of them,” Lux said coming to his defense.

Jason began laughing. “Three, you have got to be kidding me!”

Shocked at their derision of their brother, Lux jumped in again. “What is the matter with you? Your brother was attacked by three men, bound and held hostage by a mad man and all you’re doing is laughing at him!”

“Did they have firearms?” Jackson entered the conversation for the first time.

Lux hesitated, showing a look of uncertainty. “Well... no, I don’t think so.”

By the time she finished speaking Jackson, was also wearing a big grin. “Young lady, the only way he was taken down by so few unarmed men was because you were his primary concern.”

Josh felt like walking out and leaving them to it. He knew Lux was trying to help, but she obviously had no idea what she’d just revealed.

“Are you hungry, Josh?”

Turning, he spotted MacKenzie standing at the bottom of the stairs. “I guess I could eat something.”

Fed up with the lot of them, he didn’t spare them a second glance as he took Lux by the hand and followed MacKenzie down the hall.

“Sorry,” she whispered under her breath. “I made it worse and that wasn’t my intention.”

“Don’t worry about it. If it had been me, I’d have been worse,” he assured her with a grin the color finally beginning to recede from his face. “And by the way, there were four of them.”

Josh was glad MacKenzie left them alone to eat although neither he nor Lux seemed to have much of an appetite.

After a shower and a change of clothing, they finally returned to a full family room. It was growing late, but there were still outstanding matters to discuss.

“May I get you both something to drink,” Jackson asked.

With all their drink orders met, Josh sat in silence and waited for the questions to begin. He knew they would come; he was just unsure who would speak first.

“I think an explanation is well overdue, don’t you?” Jackson asked.

“Yes, it is, sir. But I...” Josh trailed off at the sound of his phone.

Speaking a few words into the mouthpiece, he replaced the handset and silently left the room. As he walked out, he heard Jake mumble something about him answering his phone now, but not when they were calling him earlier. Josh didn’t bother to tell him, he’d been relieved of it until a short while ago.

When he returned, Josh stood back and held open the door for Sam and Rachel to pass through.

The men rose to their feet as the couple approached and Josh began introductions.

“I believe some of you have met Rachel... I’m sorry; I don’t know your last name.”

“Lee,” came the one-word response.

“Lee?!” Lux sputtered, looking at the new arrivals.

“That’s right, Rachel is my wife.”

Sam’s confirmation of the woman’s identity shocked even him. Unwilling to allow the disclosure to distract them, Josh pushed on.

“For those of you who are unaware, this is Samuel Lee, Lux’s brother.” Going around the room, Josh completed the introduction of his family.

“How are you?” Aviva asked Rachel with a smile.

“I’m good,” came the polite reply.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Aviva.”

“You know her,” Lux broke in with surprise.

“We’ve met.”

“Would someone mind filling me in on what’s going on here,” Jackson asked no one in particular.

The brothers looked at each other and Jake took up the story. “Josh asked us to keep a discreet eye on Sam while he and Lux were gone. I have to say that wasn’t easy, but we managed it up until today, when we lost track of him.

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