Liv accepted it and pulled out a couple of the cards. One had a $500 credit on it. Another $1000. And the bag was full of them in different denominations. “This is too much.”
Rayne waved a hand. “Nonsense. If you need assistance in picking things out, I’d be glad to help.”
“I... uh...”
“I could’ve sent them electronically, but I wasn’t sure if you had your new laptop set up or even had access to your email yet. Not that I had your email address, either.”
“That reminds me, maybe she should change her email. At least temporarily,” Gryff suggested.
“Will that screw up your login for your courses, Olivia?”
She didn’t know why she didn’t correct Eli when he called her Olivia. She automatically did it to everyone else. But hearing her full name on his lips affected her similarly to when he spoke French. It sounded lyrical, especially with his barely-there accent.
“I... I don’t know. I doubt it,” she murmured, dragging her gaze from the insane amount of money in that little bag to Eli. “I should be able to do that. Why? Is that necessary?”
“I know it’s not convenient, but we can’t be too careful,” Gryff said.
“Where’s Trey?” she asked.
“He’s out shooting an energy drink commercial.”
“Does he need to do that?” Liv couldn’t imagine her brother needed the money.
Rayne laughed. “No, but he enjoys the attention.”
“Can you tell him to stop over here? I’d love to spend some time with him.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Gryff said.
“No, he needs to stay away,” Eli agreed.
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Why?”
“We don’t know if Dean has anyone tailing him, so they can find you,” Eli explained.
“And we don’t need him finding out what’s going on under this roof. At least not right now.”
“Wait. What’s going on under this roof?” Rayne asked Gryff, her eyebrows raised, too.
“Like you didn’t plan this,” Gryff answered her.
“Plan what?”
Gryff planted his hands on his hips. “The nightgown?”
“The nightgown?” Rayne repeated, clearly confused. Then her mouth formed an O and her eyebrows furrowed in anger. “You think I bought her the nightgown so she could seduce them? Are you serious?”
Gryff’s face became a dark, blank mask. “This is Trey’s sister, Rayne.”
“I’m well aware of that, Boss. And?”
“And we’re supposed to be looking out for her.”
“As opposed to throwing her to the wolves? Which is what you’re indicating in your tone. Like Eli and Grant can’t control themselves around a beautiful woman, be it Trey’s sister or not?”
“Well, apparently, they couldn’t.”
Rayne’s brows popped up. “Oh?” Her gaze bounced from Grant, to Eli and finally landed on Liv. “Did something happen?”
“We’re three consenting adults, Gryff,” Eli said in a low tone.
“Did something happen?” Rayne asked again, her voice now higher and a little more excited. It looked like she was biting back a smile.
“See? I knew you were scheming!” Gryff barked. “If Trey finds out...”
“What are you talking about? Of course, he’s going to find out. Why—”
“Rayne,” Gryff said in a low warning. “We,” he waved a finger back and forth between him and her, “are not going to tell him.”
“But, Boss, if he finds out we knew and didn’t tell him...”
“He’ll get over it,” Gryff said firmly.
“No, it’ll break his trust of us. We can’t not tell him. He trusts us to be completely honest and open with him.” Rayne shook her head. “I can’t do it. Maybe you don’t mind when he doesn’t talk to you for a week when he’s angry, but I do. It kills me. And it makes for a difficult time at work.”
“Rayne.”
“If you do keep this from him and he finds out, I’m going to join him in the spare bedroom. You can sleep by yourself for as long as he’s pissed.”
“Rayne,” he warned again.
“Boss, be smart about this.”
“I am, that’s why I’m making this decision.”
She threw her hands up and made a noise. “What the fuck, Gryff?” She shook her head. “Maybe I should move into the spare bedroom and when Trey joins me there and asks why we’ve both moved out of the master bedroom, I’ll tell him to ask you why.”
“Not even funny.”
“I don’t hear anyone laughing. Do you, Liv?”
When Rayne’s snapping green eyes landed on her, Liv pressed a hand to her throat. “Uh... no.”
“How about we girls go into the kitchen and talk? I can tell you both the good points and the bad points of a triad. One good point is if you’re mad at one, you still have one more you can cuddle up with. It’s nice having a spare.” With that she stomped toward the kitchen.
She glanced at both Eli and Grant who both stood frozen in place, almost appearing as if afraid to move, while Gryff stood still also, his body completely solid, a thunderous look on his face.
With a grimace, Liv followed Rayne.
When she entered the kitchen, the other woman was leaning against the counter, her long strawberry blonde hair gathered up in her hands and held on top of her head.
“Are you okay?” Liv asked.
“Yep. Perfectly fine.”
“I didn’t mean to cause such a mess.”
“You didn’t. It’s not you. But is what Gryff said true? Are you sleeping with them?”
Liv felt the heat rush up from her throat to her face. “I—”
Rayne raised a palm. “You don’t even have to answer; your face says it all. Honestly, that wasn’t my intent by buying that nightgown. So those pigheaded men are wrong. I just thought you deserved something sexy and pretty other than wearing a man’s T-shirt to bed.”
“I love it.”
Rayne gave her a broad smile. “I’m sure it looks really hot on you. You have the body for it.” She tilted her head to the gift bag that Liv still held in her hand. “Now you can buy one in every color available. Or buy some sexy teddies. Who cares? As long as it’s something you want, Liv. Like being with Grant and Eli. Great, great guys and, truthfully, I couldn’t be happier. But I also love Trey to death and he’s family so that means you are, too. And I don’t want anything to hurt you. Even pigheaded men.”
“They’ve been nothing but good and kind.”
“And by good, I hope you mean good in bed.”
“Very generous in all aspects of hospitality,” Liv quickly said.
“You can have anything you put your mind to, Liv,” Rayne said softly.
Liv thought that her words had a much deeper meaning than what was at the surface. “Are you talking about Eli and Grant?”
“Only partially. Look how far your brother has come. He’s a great example.”
That was true, but still... “Rayne, I’m thirty-two. I don’t need a pep talk like I’m a teenager.”
Rayne laughed and shook her head. “I know. Sorry. I’m just so very proud of him.”
“I am, too. Believe it or not, I’ve followed him and his career. I’ve kept up with everything he’s done. That’s how I knew where to find him.”
“Why didn’t you come back to him sooner?”
Liv took a deep breath. She had an answer but not a great one. Not one somebody on the outside might consider an acceptable one. “Trey and I were always treated as a burden to our mother. She dragged us to bars just so she could get drunk and she didn’t have money to pay a sitter. Hell, if she had, we probably never would have seen her... which may have been for the best. But my whole youth, I felt as if I was a problem that had to be dealt with. When I left... when I escaped, I vowed to never feel that way again. I was determined to make it on my own. I didn’t want to ask anybody for anything. I had some very bad days.” She
shook her head. “No, bad weeks, months, years. Sometimes there were long stretches of just trying to make it. But you know what? I did it. I survived, and I believe it made me a stronger person.”
“So you thought coming back to Trey when he had so much and you had so little would be like being a burden on him?”
“Yes. Is that stupid? Maybe. But not to me. I figured when... one day... when I was successful, we could become close again on equal footing. I never wanted to ask Trey for anything and I knew if he saw how I was struggling, how I was living, he’d step in. And you know what? That’s exactly what’s happening now.” She swept her arm around the kitchen. “With all this. I’m being taken care of. I don’t want that, Rayne. I don’t.” She held the gift bag out to Rayne. “I can’t accept this. I don’t want it.”
“Liv...”
Liv shook her head. “I don’t. Again, I know it probably doesn’t make sense to you, but—”
“You have a sense of pride,” Rayne stated.
“Yes.”
“You can have pride and still accept help when you need it.”
“Maybe so. But I’m not used to such generosity.”
“Why not accept it and be happy you have people in your life now that can do that for you? Who want to do that for you.”
“I’ve been on my own for so long...” Liv whispered.
Rayne moved closer and threw an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. “I know. But you’re not now and we won’t let you pull away, either.” She laughed. “You’re stuck with all of us now, I’m sorry to say. So, please... you’ll make us extremely happy if you take what we’re willing to give.”
“Baby,” came a deep voice from the kitchen entranceway.
Both women looked up to see Gryff there, a worried look on his face.
“We need to go. Eli’s going to follow us back to the house.”
“Why?”
“Trey just called. He got home and found the house broken into. The police are on their way due to the alarm system activation, but still, we need to be there. We don’t know if this is related to the Dean thing or not.”
Eli pushed past Gryff and came to Liv, gathering her in his arms. He pressed his lips to her temple and murmured, “I’m going to check it out. Grant’s staying here with you. He’s going to arm the alarm when we leave. Just stay inside and do what he says, please.”
Liv nodded woodenly. It felt as though all the blood had drained from her face. “I’m sorry if this is because of me,” she whispered to Gryff and Rayne.
Gryff looked surprised and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Rayne was there, taking his arm and dragging him out of the kitchen. “We’ll speak again soon, Liv,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“I have to go. This is not your fault, so don’t even think that. I’m just glad you weren’t staying with them. I had a feeling they’d look for you there.”
He pressed another kiss to her temple and then Grant was there, taking her from his arms and holding her close. The two men shared a kiss goodbye, then Eli was gone.
Chapter 14
Eli’s chest was tight as he surveyed the damage to the rear French doors to Gryff’s house. The glass was shattered on one side, and the house had been gone through in a rush. Nothing was missing, not much even broken, the major issue only the door itself. Whoever had broken in had been looking for something specific... or more like someone specific.
Olivia.
As soon as the three of them had arrived at the house, Trey met them on the front steps, a worried expression on his face. “They were looking for Liv,” he announced as Eli climbed out of his Land Rover.
That’s what Eli had suspected, that Dean would send some goons over looking for her.
Now they stood on the back deck in the shade, trying to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun, as the police walked through the interior of the house, writing up a report. Before law enforcement had arrived, the four of them discussed not mentioning Olivia at all and what was happening with her situation.
They still didn’t know who to trust. Any of the cops who arrived on scene could be corrupt, so it wasn’t worth the risk. He just knew, come Monday, he and Grant needed to start putting feelers out quickly to try to find someone to leak the evidence to.
Or a few people. Maybe if they picked a few, at least one of them would step up and do the right thing.
Though that was no guarantee, either, but he had to do something.
“Do you think you’re being followed?” Eli asked in a quiet voice, keeping an eye out for the police.
Trey shot him a surprised look. “I don’t know. If I am, it’s not obvious.”
“Well, someone has eyes on the house obviously, even if Trey isn’t being followed,” Gryff said, keeping his voice down, as well. “They knew we were all gone. If they thought we were hiding Liv, they just found out they were wrong.”
Eli ran a hand over his chin, his fingers brushing against the morning growth of beard. “I can’t imagine they’ll pull whoever’s sitting watch on the house, though. So we need to keep her where she is.”
“Agreed,” Gryff said.
“I want to see her,” Trey insisted.
Eli shook his head. “It’s not smart. You shouldn’t come to the house in case you’re being followed. Likewise, they might have eyes on the firm, so I don’t want to bring her there.”
“Fuck,” Trey barked, shoving a hand through his dark blond hair. “My sister’s finally back in my life but she’s really not.”
Rayne leaned into him and Trey snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She rested her head on his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of his shirt to hang on to. “As soon as this is over, you can spend lots of time with her,” she said.
Trey frowned but said nothing.
Rayne continued, “How about you just video conference with her? You guys can talk and get caught up in the meantime.”
Trey’s head twisted toward Eli. “Do you think she knows how to Skype?”
“If she doesn’t, I’ll show her.”
Trey nodded. “Tonight. Tell her we’ll video chat.”
“Not too late, though, mon ami, yes?”
Trey’s frown deepened. “Why? Does she go to bed early? It’s Saturday.”
All eyes turned to him and Eli swallowed uncomfortably. “You two probably have a lot to say to each other and you really haven’t had the chance. So, I can imagine your conversation will take a while.”
“Okay, and?”
Rayne patted his stomach. “Trey, you can video chat right after dinner. Eli, tell her around seven.”
Eli nodded and sent a look of thanks in Rayne’s direction.
Gryff only scowled and shook his head as he stared at a spot on the deck boards.
Finally, the two police officers exited through the unbroken side of the French doors, notepads in hand.
“Find anything?” Gryff asked.
“Nothing. Just looks like a typical burglary. And you said you didn’t notice anything missing, so there’s nothing much we can do about it besides file a report for your insurance company.”
“You’re not going to check for fingerprints?” Eli asked.
One of the cops shook his head. “Sorry, we’re not calling our forensic unit for this amount of damage. It’s minimal and they’re in the middle of a major murder investigation. The damage will probably be less than a thousand dollars.”
Right. Eli didn’t believe anything coming out of the man’s mouth. Maybe there wasn’t anything to go on, but it would’ve been nice if they’d at least checked for prints.
Eli studied the two cops carefully as they handed Gryff their cards and told him to call if they discovered anything further.
So that was that.
Their house gets broken into by who knows who and “Here’s my card. Sorry for your problem, but we couldn’t care less.”
Once the cops left, Rayne asked, “Do you think the major murder investigation was L
iv’s friend?”
“No. The cops finding a dead former hooker in her apartment wouldn’t be considered anything major,” Eli murmured. “I’m heading home if you don’t need me here.”
Gryff whacked him on the back. “Thanks for coming out and thanks for keeping an eye on Trey’s sister.”
Eli ignored Gryff’s sarcastic tone as Trey shook his hand, who luckily hadn’t picked up on that tone. “Yes, thanks. I appreciate you keeping her safe. Tell her I’ll call later and to have her computer set up.”
“Will do.”
“Talk to the DA on Monday. Drop some nuggets and see if she jumps on them.” Eli told Grant.
The district attorney might be a great starting point, though Grant had only dealt with her a couple of times since she’d been elected into that position. He usually dealt with the assistant DA’s when it came to the criminal defense cases he handled. “Since the new DA’s a woman, she might not be the biggest fan of Randall Dean.”
“A powerful, independent woman at that, too,” Eli added.
“She could be our way in to get him investigated for the murder.”
Eli sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Doesn’t mean there won’t be a cover up.”
“I don’t know, I heard she’s like a pit bull.”
“Still...” Eli began.
“We slip her that bone and she might not let it go.”
“That would be too easy.”
“Tell me about.”
Eli grabbed Grant’s arm and pulled him into his arms. “How was she after I left earlier?”
“Fine. Though, I shouldn’t be surprised. She wears an armored shell, Eli. I don’t know if I’d be so calm if I knew someone was out to get me for something I witnessed.”
“She was nervous that first day,” his husband reminded him.
“Well, that’s understandable. Not only was she on the run with nowhere to go but she knew she would be dealing with her brother who might not be so happy to see her. And—and this is a big and—she was coming to him to ask for help. Something she’s not used to doing.”
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