by Sheila Kell
“Why do I need one of those?” Her voice held a quiver.
Matt shrugged. In his mind, the assigned team wasn’t enough to effectively protect Caitlyn from the threat. He’d love enough expert shooters to cover every blind spot near her organization. It would already be a bitch for Neftali to see it all without being on top of the barn. “Better safe than sorry.”
Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she said, “You’ve got me a little scared. Good grief, all of you are needed to protect my dad and me. It’s… surreal.”
Matt reached over, took her hand, and inwardly did a fist pump when she didn’t yank it back. “All I ask is that you listen to us. We’ll keep you both safe.”
He turned to her and caught her staring at him. “I trust you,” she admitted.
As far as he was concerned, that was enough for them to start toward a future.
WHEN THEY ARRIVED at her dad’s house, Caitlyn wanted to bolt from the car and rush in to see him. Matt wouldn’t allow it. Safety, he’d told her. That gave her the chills. So she sat in the vehicle while Brad met with him at the car. They spoke where she couldn’t hear their conversation and imagined it had to do with security. That still chapped her ass that they had to go through this because of another Ripley. She wanted to run out there and scream, “I’m not scared of you,” but the truth was that she was petrified, no matter what she told herself or anyone else.
Matt finally opened her door. “Remember to do exactly as I or any of the men say. No hesitation. No questions.”
Once she’d nodded her agreement, he moved aside and she stepped from the vehicle. The men must’ve felt her urgency, because they moved at a fast pace to the front door where a rather large man with tattoos streaming down his arms, wearing a shoulder holster with a gun on each of his sides, opened the door, looked around, and then moved to allow them entrance.
“Caitlyn, this is Ken Patrick,” Matt said, then turned to the man. “Ken, this is Caitlyn Robinson.”
He thrust out his hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
A smile flitted on her lips. Matt had tagged that one right. “Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Matt. “I want to see my dad now,” she requested.
Ken spoke up. “He’s resting in his room. He’ll be glad to see you, but expect an earful about you actually coming.” He shook his head and led the way. A route she knew by heart.
Her dad must think highly of these men, at least Ken, to tell him something like that. When she grew up with just her and her dad—she’d lost her mother to a car accident when she was three years old—she’d learned he liked to keep family business in the family. It kept them even closer.
Ken stopped outside her dad’s door, and she almost bumped into him. He turned to her. “He’s not as bad as he looks.” With that, he stepped aside and allowed her to enter the room.
Mentally preparing herself, she vowed she’d keep whatever emotion grabbed her off her face so she wouldn’t worry her dad. She should’ve learned by now that was impossible. When she walked into the room, she almost collapsed and, by the look on her father’s face, her expression showed her shock and fear.
With her hand to her mouth, she stood there, shaking, while he smiled through a swollen jaw, split lip, and two black eyes. She noticed he had a splint on his hand and his coloring was a bit gray. Good God, what had that bastard done to her dad?
She took a step forward and tried to appear unaffected. “Hi, Daddy.”
“My Catie,” he said weakly.
She asked the question that gnawed at her most. “Should you be out of the hospital?” Really, would they allow a man so gravely ill—that’s how he looked—out of the hospital early?
“It was a splint and a couple of stitches.”
“But Matt said you were shot.”
“Turns out the bullet went through. I was one lucky bastard and only needed the holes sewed up. That’s it, sugar.” He shifted on the bed and grimaced. “Now, didn’t Matt tell you that you shouldn’t’ve come?”
Knowing she had to be strong, she straightened, took a fortifying breath, and moved beside him. After kissing him lightly on the cheek, careful of where she placed her lips, she responded, “Of course I should’ve.” She fussed with his covers until he told her he was fine.
“I’m glad to see you, but I wish you weren’t here. Only because it’s not safe.”
Caitlyn forced a smile. “Of course it’s safe. There are several armed men keeping watch, so both of us are protected.”
“Thank God for Matt,” he murmured. “Give me some water, please.”
Taking a cup from the bedside table, she checked to make sure it had water and handed it to him. As he drank thirstily, she scanned his body again and noticed his arm that had been stitched. Heck, the closer she looked, she saw it wasn’t the only one.
Damn that fucking bastard’s soul to hell.
Her dad handed the cup back to her, and she returned it to where she’d collected it. Patiently, she waited for him to answer her.
“I bet you’re wondering why I sent Matt.”
“The thought had crossed my mind, but I understand he was here to help you.” She didn’t want to throw out that he surely had to remember she’d never wanted to see Matt again in her life. But, now that he had shown back up—when she’d probably needed him the most—she wasn’t as upset as she thought she’d be if that happened. Odd.
He held up his good hand to forestall her speaking more. “Yes, and because I wanted you to have protection when you came home. I didn’t want you to come home—not because I don’t love you, but because I worried Luke Ripley would be hiding in wait for you.”
“Well—”
“Now Matt,” he continued as if she hadn’t tried to speak, “and his brothers protect people for a living. They do more than that—lots more—but I knew they would protect you if you got stubborn and came home.” He looked at her and smiled. “Like you did.”
“But, Daddy, I could’ve hired someone near where I live.”
He continued and considering his words, he didn’t believe her statement. “And, if you couldn’t have found someone? You’d have come alone, and what would’ve happened if you came to the house and that asshole was in the front bushes just waiting? What would you have done? I don’t care what kind of self-defense you’ve taken. It’s not a risk I wanted to take.”
Her heart expanded at the protectiveness of her dad. “But why Matt of all people? There are plenty of people who provide protection.”
“Because he was here—” Adam coughed, breaking off his words, spiking her concern about what else could be wrong with him. Once finished, he continued his response, “And because I trust him with your life.”
She plopped down in the chair that was beside his bed. That pretty much put her in her place. No way could she argue with that statement since if she hired an unknown firm to protect her, she’d never feel that safe. The thing was, she did too, even though she hadn’t wanted to admit the truth until now. She truly did feel safe with him around. She did with the others also, even without meeting them all.
“I take it that Matt told you everything. He grilled me at the hospital.”
Caitlyn shook her head. “No. He did say he’d promised you he wouldn’t tell me everything, but he did admit to telling me stuff you didn’t want me to know but he never promised to hold back. For example, he didn’t tell me the extent of the damage.”
Adam sighed. “It’s not too bad. I’ll be good as new in a day or two.”
She winced at his bold-faced lie. That explained where she got the inability to lie well. “What happened?”
He grimaced. “I came home and he was in the house. I don’t know how he got in, but he did.”
She wished she’d have convinced her dad to buy a security system. He lived in a safe neighborhood where a resident could probably still leave his or her door unlocked, although the homeowners would rather not test that theory. But, no one in the little cul-de-sac had a s
ecurity system—at least as far as she knew. Her dad had talked about getting one when she’d first returned home from the hospital, but she’d left so soon after that there hadn’t been a desire.
“I worried he’d found a letter from you. I keep them all in my office.” He shifted in the bed. “Anyhow, he had a gun, so I was pretty much stuck. I couldn’t see a way to run from a bullet. Only, he didn’t use it at first.” He paused. “Look, I don’t want to tell you about this. Suffice to say, I have a couple of broken fingers, some stitches, bruises, and two new scars from the bullet holes. I was very lucky. He didn’t shoot to kill.”
He said everything so casually that it took her brain a moment to catch up. Lucky? Lucky? she wanted to screech at the top of her lungs. Even in her mind, her volume rose with each word.
Before she could find the right response, her dad interrupted her thoughts. “Help me out of this bed. I’ve rested enough today.”
Knowing it would be dark soon and time to go back to bed, she didn’t argue. At first. “Okay.” She stood and watched him struggle to move to the side of the bed. Color had leached out of his face, and he panted his breaths. “No, Daddy. I think you should still be in bed.”
“Ken,” he belted out.
The burly man lumbered in the room and moved to Adam’s side. “The chair or the living room?” he asked her dad. Apparently they’d done this before.
“The living room.”
With an arm supporting him, Ken helped her dad shuffle to the living room. She followed behind with tears in her eyes at the pallor of her father’s skin and the small grunts he tried to hide from her.
Through bleary eyes, she watched in bewilderment as her dad, in his blue plaid pajama pants and white T-shirt, settled in his recliner, and the big, bad warrior leaned it back and then draped the afghan her mother had made on her dad’s lap. “Did you want anything?” Ken asked quietly.
Her dad shook his head. Exactly how long had these guys been here? The incident just happened, but you’d think they’d been doing this for a while now. And wasn’t that Ken guy supposed to be protecting her dad, not playing nursemaid? Thank goodness Aunt Liz was coming. She wanted Ken out there keeping her dad safe from that asshole who thought to ruin her life. Again.
With a smile, she dropped onto the couch. “Ken seems to be a big help.”
Adam nodded. “He has been. So has Brad.”
From what Matt had said about Brad, that statement surprised her. Maybe he was still a big softie after all. “Aunt Liz will be here tomorrow, won’t she?”
“Yeah. I think my sister is happy to have someone to care for. She’s lonely, but she won’t admit it.”
Her aunt never had children, and since her only niece—Caitlyn—hadn’t had children yet for her to spoil, she had no one but her brother and Caitlyn. She kept in touch with her aunt regularly and had a soft spot in her heart for her, even though Aunt Liz had moved away with her husband, who’d died a few years ago. From what Caitlyn had gathered, her dad had tried to get his sister to move back to Water Valley, but Aunt Liz had refused.
“I spoke with her last week. She started going to Bingo.” Caitlyn laughed. “Can you see her with all the blue-haired ladies who usually go? I mean, she and I went a time or two when I was in high school, but we were always the youngest women there, and they asked us to leave because we were giggling so much.”
“She needs something to keep her busy. Being retired at her young age isn’t working for her, but she knows trying to get hired at her age won’t be easy. She’s at a crossroads.”
“Maybe you can convince her to move back here now.”
“We.”
“What do you mean we?” she asked.
“You should still be here when she arrives, so you can help me talk her into it. She listens to you.”
Caitlyn laughed at that absurdity. “Listens to me? I’m still a kid to her. You’re her brother.” She knew all this talk was to keep her off the main topic of Luke Ripley and what had happened, but she couldn’t allow it to go on indefinitely. Her dad was already tiring out. “Dad, I’m not sure how long I should stay.” She rushed to add, “I mean, I want to stay as long as you need me, but Matt….”
Matt hadn’t said how long they would remain in Water Valley, but she got the impression it was a quick trip. She would love to see her aunt again. Some of her most enjoyable memories while growing up involved aunt-niece days. Like when she’d check her out of school and they’d go to the movies where they had the theater all to themselves. Daddy didn’t really appreciate her aunt checking her out of school, so those stopped once he’d found out. But there was more that didn’t involve her being checked out. Instead, Aunt Liz would agree to pick her up from school. Her heart would always race when she saw her aunt’s car in the school pickup lane, because she knew they’d have some type of adventure.
They’d go to the fair or go paint pottery or go to the candy store or to the arcade, but they always got something sweet that usually ruined her dinner. It was a sad day for her when her aunt moved away with her husband. Although they always did something when she returned for a visit. Always building great memories.
“Ken,” her dad said.
The man appeared. Christ, where did he hide that large frame, and how did he move so quickly and quietly? That’s right, he was a former Army Ranger.
“Yes?”
“Would you get Matt, please? We need to talk.”
Ken nodded and turned from the room. The next thing she knew, the door opened and Matt and Brad entered. Brad smiled, opened his arms, and said, “It’s good to see you, Caitlyn.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she jumped from the couch and rushed into Brad’s arms. She missed the camaraderie she’d had with Matt’s twin. Of course, she was also glad he’d left off his typical endearment for her. He used to call her “Brat,” and she hated it.
“It’s so good to see you, Brad,” she said on his shoulder. Before she settled into the comfort too much, she pulled back and broke free. She hadn’t cringed at his touch. Obviously it hadn’t been sensual, but still, she couldn’t handle hugs from everyone. Maybe it was because she knew Brad meant her no harm. Curious.
“You look good, brat.”
She groaned as he winked at her. He then checked on her dad before she could form a scathing response. She wanted to stamp her foot like a child and tell him to quit.
“Everything okay?” Matt asked her quietly.
Was it? She didn’t know. Her mind was still in a jumble. The foundation? Her rapist’s brother? Her ex-fiancé? Her father? No. Nothing was okay, but she’d get through it. She’d been tough—fearful but tough—all these years; she could do it again. This time, she had Matt and HIS by her side. This chapter in her life would come to an end, and she would finally win.
“Sit down and let’s talk,” Adam directed.
Matt and Brad sat on each side of her on the couch, not giving her room to move. Ken positioned himself in the doorway. Were they that worried about Luke getting into the house? Good Lord, she hoped not.
“I have something to say,” she started before anyone else could speak and decide her future without her input. “I can’t let the thought of Travis Ripley ruin my life any longer. Even though he’s in jail, I remained hidden and living in fear. I won’t give him or his brother that power.” She turned to Matt. “What do we need to do to catch Luke and make him pay for what he did to my dad?”
Matt exploded. “We’re catching him. You’re”—he pointed a finger at her—“not catching him. We’re keeping you safe until he’s captured.”
“And how long do you think that will take?” she asked.
“As long as it does.” Matt’s tone seemed more controlled than it had just been.
With a huff at that absurdity of the answer, she narrowed her eyes a fraction. She appreciated what they were doing—would continue to do—for her, but she wanted to help capture the threat so her father and she would be safe again. “Not good eno
ugh.”
Matt’s face moved to mere inches from hers, and he ground out, “It’ll have to be.”
Breath hitching, she couldn’t help but wonder why at that moment she hoped he’d kiss her.
“HOW COULD SHE even think that she could help us catch that fucker?” Matt railed to Brad as he settled on the floor in the living room while Brad, who had won the coin toss for the couch, settled into his comfy bed for the night lying on his side, facing Matt.
The home had three bedrooms, but Adam had turned the third one into an office, so they could either sleep on the furniture or floor, or travel to a hotel. The last was unacceptable to him. He needed to be where Caitlyn was, or he didn’t think his heart could take it. She was in danger, and letting her out of his sight was damn difficult. Hell, he’d have crawled into bed with her if she’d have let him. Although, he doubted sleep would’ve been on his mind. She was still too hot of a package for his dick not to respond. Thank God he didn’t allow that head to make the decisions.
“She’s always been tough,” Brad remarked. “She had to have been to survive what she did and come out so strong”
“Still.”
“I can’t get over the changes in her.”
Matt’s back stiffened and his ire went on red-hot alert. There was no telling what the hell would come out of Brad’s mouth, but he had to know what his brother meant. “What do you mean?” he questioned slowly.
“You know. She’s filled out more.” He could hear the laughter in his twin’s voice, and he wanted to deck him right in his smartass mouth.
“Fuck you.”
Brad rolled onto his back and put his hands underneath his head, gazing at the ceiling. “You still love her, don’t you?”
Sputtering, Matt didn’t know what to say, but finally got out, “What do you mean?” There was nothing like sounding defensive to avoid answering a question.
With a sigh, Brad turned back to him. “You heard me.”
He couldn’t lie to his twin, and he didn’t see a reason to even consider it. It would be the first time he’d admitted it out loud in eight years though. “I never stopped.”