Rescue looked a little horrified and a little offended. “My dogs are stable, missy.”
When she realized that she’d inadvertently insulted Rescue, her eyes flew to Brand for help.
“I’m sorry, I…”
“Don’t worry about it. Rescue’s dogs are stable. He’s the one we’re not sure about.”
Rescue grumbled. “I’ll go get Daisy.”
Brandon turned back to Cami. “I’ll stay until you’re settled in.”
“You’re coming back tomorrow?” She licked her bottom lip and looked around, which he’d learned she always did when she was nervous.
“Count on it.” They sat on the side of the bed in the room Cami would occupy. “And I’ve got a present for you.”
“What?”
He had her full attention.
“A new will. Airtight. Leaves everything to your parents in the event of your death. I’m going to send it over tomorrow morning. You’ll sign two originals in the presence of witnesses and a notary. One of those originals is going to the club’s safety deposit box. The other is going to be personally flown to Boston by a reliable courier of our choosing and filed with probate court. Then that courier will deliver a copy of the will and proof that it’s been filed with probate to Trey Michaels. In person. By tomorrow afternoon, he’ll have no reason to want you dead.”
Her eyes filled with liquid. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
“I don’t know.” He reached over and swiped a tear trail away with his thumb. “Maybe because you were scared. Your dad, too.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“It’s almost over. Meanwhile, you see those windows?”
She looked up. There were windows across the north wall, but they were up high at ceiling height, and were only six inches high. They let light in during the day, but no one could see in from outside, not even from a great distance, and certainly no one could get in.
“Yes.”
“They were designed to protect people we care about. You’re safe here.”
She wanted to ask if she was a person he cared about, but Rescue arrived at the doorway.
“Daisy says she’s ready,” Rescue affirmed.
Cami looked in the direction of the doorway and instantly fell in love. Daisy wasn’t just a dog. She was without a doubt the most beautiful German Shepherd in the world. Cami was sure of it.
Daisy was a black and tan Shepherd with eyes that said she was smarter than most people and a doggy smile that could have been an arrogant smirk.
Rescue led Daisy over to Cami. He reached out and patted Cami on the thigh. When he did, Daisy put her nose to Cami’s jeans-covered thigh, sniffed for a few seconds and then sat down. Rescue unfastened the leash attached to Daisy’s collar and handed it to Cami.
“She won’t let anything happen to you,” Rescue said.
“Will she let me pet her?”
“’Course. She’s affectionate. She’ll snuggle up in the bed with you if you let her.”
Cami reached out to pet Daisy and Daisy responded by pushing her head into Cami’s hand. When she laughed, Daisy’s ears came up as she studied Cami, apparently liking the sound of the woman’s delight. Brandon agreed. It was nice.
“You ever had a dog before?” Rescue asked.
“No. But I wanted to. I’m keeping her.”
“You mean forever?” Rescue asked.
“Yes. I mean forever.”
He chuckled. “You’re gonna owe the club a chunk of change. She’ll go for about fifty thousand.”
“Done.”
“Not up to me. I just do the training. Brant makes the deals. You’ll have to talk to him.”
Brandon leaned over and said close enough to her ear that she could feel his warm breath. “Don’t worry. If you want that dog, she’s yours.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I know the owner of the company. Really well.”
To Rescue, she said, “I’ll talk to Brant tomorrow and ask him about terms.”
“Up to you. Daisy don’t care who she belongs to as long as she’s taken care of.” Cami doubted that, but didn’t respond. “If Brant decides you can have her, I’ll school you up on how to take care of her.”
“Alright.”
Rescue walked out of the room.
“He’s kind of a character,” Brandon said.
“I see that.”
“It’s a story.”
“It always is.”
“Yep.” He sighed. “I better take off.” She grabbed his sleeve. “Cami, you’re okay here. Promise.”
“I know. It’s just that…”
“Get some sleep. I’m going to catch up on stuff and I’ll be back tomorrow.”
She turned loose of his sleeve.
“Okay.”
At the door he turned.
“Oh. Your stuff probably won’t make it here until day after tomorrow. So make a list of what you need, clothes, bathroom stuff, whatever, and give it to Rita. She’ll make sure it’s taken care of. But if you want particular, you know, labels or whatever, you need to specify.”
She reached up and ran her hand over her hair. “My hair.”
“What about it?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over being shocked when I see myself in a reflective surface. I can’t grow it out, but I’d like to change it to a color that’s like my own.”
Brand’s face softened. “I’ve gotten to know you like that so it looks natural to me. But I can understand how you feel.” He actually had really good reason to understand how she could feel like an alien in her own body. “We can get somebody to come take care of it.”
“That would be good.”
After Brandon left, Cami pulled on a night shirt and climbed into bed. When she reached for the bedside lamp switch, she noticed Daisy was watching her expectantly.
She patted the bed and almost shrieked when the dog came sailing through the air, jumping over where she lay, to make a perfect landing on her other side. Daisy turned in a circle and then snuggled into the side of her hip.
“Well, you’re not him,” Cami said, “but I guess you’ll do.”
Daisy let out a noisy and contented sigh.
At some time during the night Cami roused. Either she’d heard a shout and a woman’s loud laughter in her dream or someone nearby was having a boisterous time. She reached out and stroked Daisy’s fur, which had an inexplicable soothing effect. Since the dog seemed completely unconcerned, Cami rolled over and went back to sleep.
The next morning Cami woke to knocking on the door. She looked at the clock. It was after nine.
“Just a minute!”
Rescue was at the door. “That dog needs to go out. She’s not a machine, you know.”
“Oh, well.” Cami felt a little embarrassed for not anticipating Daisy’s needs. “She didn’t come with an owner’s manual, you know.”
She instantly felt bad about copping an attitude with Rescue, but it was bad enough being awakened without a rude awakening.
When Daisy trotted over to him, he reached down and petted her, but his expression never changed.
“Leash.” Rescue was nothing if not succinct.
Cami was looking around for the leash, but Daisy beat her to it. She took the leash in her teeth and dragged it to Rescue, who fastened it on her collar. Cami had to wonder what else the dog knew.
She shut the door behind them, brushed her teeth, washed her face and put on the only clean shirt she had. She might have been tempted to stay where she was, but her stomach had other ideas.
There was no one in sight when she stepped out into the hall. The bartender, Rita, appeared to be washing glasses. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” replied Cami. “I was wondering if I could get some, ah, toast or something?”
“Sure. Go help yourself.”
“Okay.”
Cami made her way past the office. The door was open and Brant was on the phone. She continued toward the kitchen a
nd found it empty.
There was a selection of fresh fruit by the sink, which seemed promising, and two enormous boxes of varied donuts on the table, which looked more like roll of fat lying in wait than yummy goodness.
It was a large industrial kitchen, built to make food for a lot of people at once. That meant that there were a lot of places where loaves of bread could hide. After opening and closing more than a dozen stainless steel cupboards she found the bread stash. Four loaves of white. One loaf of whole wheat.
She grabbed the whole wheat and plopped two slices into the high-speed six-slice toaster. While she was waiting she located peach jam, a saucer, a knife, a glass and orange juice. She could have sat down at the long center island table to eat alone, but she grabbed her breakfast and carried it out to the bar.
Rita seemed like a decent sort and she might learn more about the strange lifestyle of bikers.
“Can I join you?”
Rita turned around and smiled. “Well, sure. I don’t usually get company between breakfast and beer.”
Cami claimed a place at the far end of the bar near where Rita was working.
“Brand told me you may be wanting to get some stuff today since you had to shed your own things.”
Cami nodded. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
Rita scoffed. “It’s no trouble at all. Not like I’ll do it myself. I’ll hand it off to one of the prospects.”
“Prospects?”
Rita looked at her strangely. “You are a virgin, huh? Prospects are guys who want to be club members someday. First, they get a try out that lasts months, sometimes years. Their commitment and loyalty are tested. Severely.”
“Sounds like sorority rush.”
Rita laughed. “I don’t think so, honey.” Rita set down the towel she’d been using to dry glasses, squirted lotion onto her hands, and rubbed them together. “Now, while things are quiet,” she said in a conspiratorial tone, “dish the dish on Brandon. What was it like to be with him nonstop for, what was it, three days?”
“Yeah. Three days. What do you mean?”
“Come on. I mean he’s a really desirable guy and you’re about to be an unmarried woman. So…”
Cami didn’t want to out Brandon if he was keeping brooms company, but surely he couldn’t hide his orientation from people who were this close to him.
“Nothing like that.” She shrugged. “Maybe he’s, you know, not into women.”
Rita gaped for a full five seconds before bursting into laughter. “That’s a good one. The boy is the definition of player. I guess he decided to keep it purely professional with you. Good for him. Business first. His dad would be proud about that.”
“Are you absolutely sure about this?”
“There is no doubt.”
Cami chewed a couple of bites of toast. “Have you…?”
Rita shook her head. “Noooooooo. But he’s brought girls to parties and interacted with them in ways that, like I said, leaves no doubt.”
While Cami ate she mulled that over. Perhaps he had put a wall between them so that he could take care of business. That would make sense. But it also meant that Cami had a chance to get her wish and find out what Brandon’s kiss was like before the adventure came to a close.
On the tail of that thought, Brandon walked through the door. He looked over and smiled at her on the way by, but didn’t speak. She gathered up her plate, her glass, and the jam and followed him into the kitchen. The refrigerator was open and he was bent over, looking for something.
Thinking, it’s now or never, Cami set the breakfast stuff down on the island, swiped her mouth with the napkin to be sure there were no stray crumbs and tapped Brandon on the shoulder. When he stood up and turned around, she launched herself at him, grabbing both sides of his face and pulling him down into a kiss that was as klutzy as it was sincere.
Just as she felt him pulling back from her, someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked backwards. And it hurt.
At the same time she was looking at the face of an apparently shocked and surprised Brandon… was his hair that long yesterday?... a redhead was continuing to yank on her hair.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” the redhead hissed in her ear.
Brigid had known when she married Brash that she needed to steel herself for a lifetime of running interference between him and the women who wanted to get their hands on him. Guys who walk into a room and draw the attention of every woman there aren’t born every day.
“I’m…” Cami grabbed at the woman’s grip on her hair. “Let go of me!”
Brigid let her go, but shoved her against the counter when she did.
The blow to Cami’s hip took second place to the fire on her scalp. She reached up to rub her head. As the pain began to subside, she looked at the two people who were evidently waiting for an explanation. She thought she knew every one of Brand’s expressions, but that was one she’d never seen. And the woman looked ready to kill her.
“Brandon…”
He held up his hand as if to stop her right there. He looked at the redhead and shook his head slightly. She rolled her eyes and then they both started chuckling.
“Listen, sweetheart,” he said.
“What do you mean ‘listen sweetheart’?”
She glanced at the woman, who said, “This isn’t Brand. This is Brash. My husband. Who also happens to be Brand’s brother?”
Cami’s gaze jerked to Brash. Her lips parted as she studied him closer.
“Yeah,” Brash said, “his twin brother. I guess he didn’t tell you.”
“No,” she said. “He didn’t tell me.”
Brigid motioned toward Cami’s hair. “Sorry about the…”
It was Cami’s turn to hold up a hand. “That’s okay. Let’s just forget this happened.”
“You want to go see him?” Brash asked.
“Go see him?”
“Yeah. He’s at work.”
“At work. I thought this was work.”
“Nah. This isn’t his work.”
“I can leave?”
“Not by yourself. But you can leave with me. I’ll grab a couple of the guys. You’ll be safe as mother’s milk.”
“I heard you got here with the clothes on your back,” Brigid put in.
Cami looked from Brigid down to the rumpled shirt she was wearing. “What gave it away?”
“It doesn’t look bad, but… You and I are about the same size.” To Brash she said, “Let’s stop by the house so she can change clothes. I can loan her a few things until her stuff comes.”
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you. And, about what happened with your, um, husband, it wasn’t very good. I promise.”
“Now, hold on,” Brash said. “It’s not like I was trying!”
“You better quit while you’re ahead, beautiful,” Brigid told him. “It’s fine with me that she thinks you’re ‘not very good’.”
She winked at Cami and started toward the door.
Brash followed her saying, “I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”
“The only reputation you need to be worried about is what I think of you,” she countered.
Brash paused at the office door.
“We’re taking the girl to see Brand.”
“No.”
“What do you mean no?”
“I mean no. She stays here.”
“Come on. I’ll have three guys with me. We won’t be gone longer than an hour.”
“Three guys?”
“Yeah.”
“Who?”
“Eric. Rock. Crow.”
“Eric, Rock, and Crow.” Brant seemed to be considering that.
“If Brand can take care of her by himself for three days running all over the countryside, I think the three of us can keep her safe for an hour.”
“Okay. An hour.”
“Might take just a little longer. We’re gonna stop by the house so Brigid can loan her some clothes and stuff.�
�
“How much longer?”
“Hour and a half.” It felt like he was a teen again bargaining for a later curfew.
“Call if anything happens.”
“Yep.”
“Anything.”
“Got it.”
“Wait a minute!”
“What?”
“Brand was sending people over with some papers for her to sign. You can’t leave until after.”
Rita peeked in. “Bawdy says there are people at the gate that Brandon sent over?”
“That must be them,” Brant said, getting up and coming around the desk.
After Cami signed, Brant and Brash witnessed for the notary, who was also the delivery person.
“We’re going to the office. You want us to take these?” Brash asked.
The young man was wearing a suit with no tie, but even without the tie, he looked all business. He handed one of the originals to Brash and said, “Take this one. I’m on the way to the airport with this one.” He held up the one he was keeping. “Got a flight to Boston. Things to do. People to see. News to deliver.”
Brash took the document and nodded.
“Well, ladies, nothing’s keeping us here. Let me grab the guys.”
Brash, Brigid, Cami, and Rock got into Brigid’s BMW that Brash had given her for her birthday. The other two followed behind in a nondescript SUV because guys riding with SSMC colors on their backs tended to get noticed and getting noticed was contrary to the goal.
They pulled into the garage at Brash’s house and put the door down before getting out of the car. Inside, Cami commented on the view.
“It’s beautiful here. I didn’t know Texas could be so… hilly?”
“Yeah,” Brash said. “That’s why it’s called the Hill Country. A lot of people think Texas is desert, tumbleweeds, horse-drawn wagons. They don’t ever seem to see the pictures of pine forests, beaches…”
“Alright. Alright.” Brigid laughed. To Cami she said, “Don’t get him started. Come upstairs and get some clothes.”
A half hour later, Cami left feeling pretty in a red silk shirtwaist dress that stopped three inches above the knee. Brigid’s shoe size was larger so she had to wear her combat boots.
“Oh, well,” she said, looking in the mirror. “It’s a look.”
Brigid chuckled. “Goes with your hair.”
The Biker's Brother (Sons of Sanctuary MC Book 2) Page 14