by Anna Brooks
“Don’t question me about her.”
He rests his hands on his hips. “Someone has to have her back and look out for her best interests.”
“She has me to do that.”
“Yeah. But you’re fighting what’s best for her and what’s best for you.”
“Are we gonna have a problem, bud?”
I await his answer, ready to throw down in whatever the hell way he wants to throw down because I won’t put up with his or anyone else’s shit about Brinley. He watches me a moment, then shakes his head. “Nah, no problems, man. Did you have Q run a background on her yet?”
Luna pushes the ball at me with her nose, and I stand to throw it far this time. “No. I’m tempted as hell, but no. I want her to tell me on her own so she can trust me. If she doesn’t do that, then I will, but I wanna give her time to do it.” I have a feeling if I found out what she’s been through and who hurt her, I’d just end up in jail, and then I’d be no good to help her get back on her feet. “It’s only been a day, brother.”
“Does it feel like it’s been only a day?”
“Fuck no.” It feels like forever.
He chuckles. “Probably a good call about the background. I had some information about Polly’s history, and when she found out I knew, she was a mess. Thought I’d look at her differently.” He shakes his head. “Nothing could change how I look at that woman. She’s the best damn thing that ever happened to me.”
For the first time in my life, I can say I understand how he feels because I know whatever Brinley is hiding won’t change how I feel about her.
He clears his throat. “Listen, I know you want Brinley to be the one to tell you, but just a heads-up, Paisley was in a home with her. They were both around fourteen, I think.”
I catch his eyes. “I know that. I knew her before she went to that foster with Paisley.”
“What went down… it wasn’t good.”
“I know that without knowing it, Erik.”
Luna jumps on his leg to get his attention, and he tosses the ball for her. “I’ll send out Q and Harlan for your system.”
“Appreciate it.”
I grab the dog while Erik gets in his Jeep. He’s removed the top and doors, leaving him with just the frame. “When she is ready, you know she’s got some women who want to see her.”
“Yeah. I’ll be sure to let her know. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m thinking it might be a while before she’s ready to chat over tea and cookies.”
After a quick chin lift, he drives away, and I stay on the porch, watching the sky darken. Ever since I can remember, I actually don’t look forward to it being dark. Once the moon comes up, I rise and go inside, not surprised to find Brinley asleep. Luna jumps up on the bed, and I leave the door open a crack, and then settle for the night on the couch.
* * *
Brinley drags herself into the kitchen and plops down on the chair across from me. She looks cute in a pair of short pajama shorts and a pink T-shirt with doughnuts on it. It’s only been a couple of days since I’ve been back in her life, but already, she’s more comfortable with me today than yesterday, which means I’m doing something right. To see her so detached was not cool at all, so I’m glad she’s coming more into herself.
She was always spunky with a bit of an attitude.
At least the her that I used to know. I saw a little of the sass earlier, and I hope it comes back, but I’ll just have to wait until she feels comfortable enough to let her true colors shine. “Morning.”
“Hey.”
“Tired?” I know she is because I heard her tossing and turning all night. It must have gotten bad because Luna even left the bed and came up by me on the couch. But after the emotional shit she dealt with yesterday, it’s understandable.
“Yeah.”
“You had a rough day yesterday.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not it. I’m not used to getting that much sleep. I kept waking up. It’s just habit, I guess.”
“Why is not getting sleep a habit?”
Her teeth sink into her lip, and I can practically see the wheels spinning in her head. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“What’s obvious to you might be something completely different than what I’m thinking, so why don’t you just tell me.” The things I know about Brinley are that when I knew her, she wasn’t even a teenager yet and had been in and out of foster care her whole life. I knew she was born addicted and that her mother died giving birth and never found out who her father was. The home she was in down the street from me wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t bad at all.
But then I left. So what happened to her and what she went through after that, I have no clue. I want to hope it’s not as bad as I know it can be, but I have a feeling I’d be wrong.
“I lived on the street, Noble.”
“Lived? Past tense?”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “I mean live. Anyway, I had to constantly be vigil, including at night. The freaks do come out in the dark, and since I was alone, I had to look out for myself. I’m not used to being in a safe place.”
Another fucked-up reality of the fucked-up life she’s led that makes me even madder at the entire situation. “You’d better get used to it.”
She pulls her thighs to her chest and wraps her arms around her bent legs. “I used to want to sleep because it passed the time, but I never actually slept good, ya know? I had to watch my back. It’s… I don’t think I’ll ever be able not to.”
I take a breath through my nose to calm the rage brewing as I think about her sleeping in a car. Alone. With guys bothering her and harassing her. The hell she’s been through with just that visual is more than enough, but I have a feeling there’s a lot more she’s not saying. “I’m watching your back now, so you can be rest assured nobody’s gonna hurt you. Ever. I promise you that, Rinny. You can sleep. You can dream. You can do whatever you want to do that you weren’t able to before.”
Her chin rests on the top of her knees as she listens intently with her eyes closed before she answers and looks at me. “I appreciate that, but I can’t let myself get used to it. I’ve really never known what that feels like, so I’m always in the position to protect myself.”
I lean forward in my chair and grab the back of her head. My face is only inches from hers, and she stops breathing. Up close, I can count the freckles and see the specks of gold in her eyes along with the fear. I want her to see the promise in mine. “You’ll never be in that position again, you hear me? Never again.” She might be in denial, but I stare into her emerald eyes until I’m satisfied she gets it. Her breath comes out in a soft swoosh when understanding hits her.
My fingers glide through her soft hair, and after I sit down, she drops her legs and then walks to the counter. “As much as I appreciate that and I get what you’re saying, I don’t think I can just flip a switch and pretend everything will be okay and life’s good. And before you try to growl at me again, I need to know that things will be all right. There needs to be proof, Noble. With the way my life has gone, I can’t let my guard down, not around you, not around anyone… not yet.”
“What’s it gonna take?”
She shrugs and grabs a box of Pop-Tarts from the cabinet, and I avert my eyes when her shirt rides up, flashing her flat stomach, her smooth, creamy skin taunting me. Sitting the same way she did yesterday with one knee bent, she opens the wrapper and starts eating. “I don’t know what it’s going to take for me to let my guard down because I’ve never been in a position not to have a shield. I don’t know what will make me feel safe. I don’t know what it’ll take for me to sleep through the night soundly.”
“What do you know?”
“What?”
It occurs to me that everything she thinks is probably complete bullshit because she’s never been shown any different. “There’s all this stuff you don’t know. But what do you know? Tell me what you know to be true.”
She sets her food down. “About what?”
>
“Anything. Everything.”
“Escape, betrayal, and survival. Not necessarily in that order. That’s the truth, and that’s what I know. I also know that when given the choice, people protect themselves ahead of anybody el—” I start to interrupt her, but she holds her hand up. “People say they’re going to help, but unless it benefits them, they never do. That’s true. At least, that’s what I thought up until recently. And now, I don’t know what to think except the thought of what could or couldn’t happen makes me want to run because that’s what I do. I’m starting to think maybe it’s a lie, everything I know is all a lie, and I don’t know what to do with it all.”
She gets up from the chair, but I don’t let her get far. I grab her arm and pull her to me. Her back crashes into my chest, and I lock my arms around her. “You know what I know? I know that I found you. I never should have lost you, but I did, and that’s on me. All of it,” I say to the back of her head. Rationally, I know I had no obligation to her when I left, but as a man, the kind of man I am, I should have at least checked on her. I lost my family, but she lost her best and closest friend. I fucked up. So no matter what happens, I can at least make sure from here on out that she knows she’s safe and that I’m not going anywhere this time. “The truth, Rinny, is that I’m here now and escape, betrayal, and survival won’t even be in your vocabulary anymore. What will be, though, is protection, loyalty, and security. That’s the truth, and I don’t give a shit what it takes for you to realize that, but I’m gonna do absolutely everything I can to make sure you know that. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I know that.”
“Okay, Noble,” she replies immediately, still breathless. And damn… I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold off the fight that I’m trying to deny that my daughter’s best friend is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. It’s been two days, and I’m already losing the battle against her that I didn’t even know I was participating in.
“I’m going to go take a shower while you finish eating.”
I take a quick rinse in cold water to tame my dick and then head outside to get some yardwork done while she watches a movie on the TV. I really don’t think she’d run away again, but from where I am, I can see the front of the house. Something’s been tapping away at that part of my brain, telling me things are not right. And when that happens, I’m never wrong. She’s definitely hiding something.
So the system isn’t just about keeping her in, it’s also about keeping others out. When it was just me, I didn’t really care, but now that she’s under my roof, I have to do everything I can to make sure I keep my word and keep her safe.
Q pulls into my driveway, and I wipe my forehead with the back of my arm. “Hey.”
“How’s it goin’?” Q and I shake hands, and Harlan and I do the same right after.
“Good.”
“Erik wasn’t very forthcoming when he told us to get you hooked up with a system.” Harlan crosses his arms. “You gonna tell us about the girl?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’ll introduce you to her, and you’ll do what you gotta do, then get outta here and keep your mouth shut about it.”
“Fair enough.” Q grabs a bag from the trunk of his Aston Martin and follows me inside.
Brinley is sitting on the couch when I walk in, toned legs propped up on the coffee table and hair up in a knot on the top of her head. She turns when I call her name. “Hey.” She stands and comes next to me, where I claim her with an arm around her waist. Q’s lips twitch as he looks down, and Harlan actually takes a step back.
“This is Harlan.” I motion to him, and he gives her a chin jerk, which, under any other circumstance, isn’t cool to do to a woman, but he gets me.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” She gives a cute little wave and then looks at Q.
“That’s Q.”
“Hi.” Another wave.
Q smiles at her. “Hi.”
“They’re gonna get started, but I’ve gotta go finish up some stuff outside.” I don’t have trepidation about leaving her alone in a house with Harlan because I trust the integrity of every man at Royal, and I know he gets where I’m coming from with her. Harlan preps for the installation, and even though I trust him, I don’t like him being alone with Brinley in there, so I have to hurry. I head back outside with Q where he gets to work right away.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Q asks me. He’s feeding some wire through the wall to the living room.
“Do I know what I’m doing about a security system?” I question.
“No, about Brinley.”
I laugh with no humor. “Pretty sure I’ve got no fuckin’ clue what I’m doin’, but I’m gonna try.”
He splices a line and tucks the tool back in his belt. “Lot of talk swirling around, man. The way you came in and how she responded to you, didn’t see it but rumor has it nobody’d ever seen you give a shit about anyone until she collapsed in your arms. I know it’s not my business. It’s not really anyone’s, but—”
“You think I give a shit what anyone’s saying?”
“Not really.”
“Then shut the fuck up about it.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “Whatever. Just giving you a heads-up.”
“Well thanks, but I don’t need it. What happens with her is my business, not yours and not theirs. You want to give a message from me, tell them all to quit yappin’ like a bunch of lonely housewives and do their fucking jobs like the men I thought they were.”
I don’t wait to get a response from him. Instead, I storm back inside where I find the object of our conversation sitting on the couch.
After our episode at breakfast this morning, I gave her space purposely, but I hated the distance. I hate it now. I don’t like not being close enough to touch her. It gives me an empty feeling in my gut, and until I get eyes on her, it stays hollow. Then I see her again, and she fills me up in ways I didn’t even know I needed and frankly don’t want. Not just because she’s my daughter’s best friend, but because I don’t want to care about someone again. “Hey.”
Luna jumps off the couch, and Brinley whines playfully. “Traitor.”
I lean down and pet my dog, then walk around the couch and sit at Brinley’s feet. It’s crazy how I can be so pissed one second, and then the next, she has me laughing. Crouching down to do something with a wire, Harlan not so successfully hides a smirk when he stands. “I’m gonna go grab the rest of my stuff. It’ll be loud in here for a while, so maybe you wanna put on a suit and go lay out or something since it’s a beautiful day.”
Brinley smiles at him, oblivious to the way he’s egging me on, and I crack my neck as he tilts his head, listening to her. “That sounds like a good idea, actually.” She gets up, and Harlan doesn’t hide the fact that he’s looking at her legs. I shouldn’t have let her get those stupid ass shorts. “Is that okay?”
I glare at him but turn my head when she calls my name. “Is it okay if I go to the beach?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Okay, I’ll go change.” She rushes down the hallway, and as soon as she’s outta earshot, I get in Harlan’s face.
The smirk falls right off his lips. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Just fucking don’t.”
The wrinkles around his eyes vanish, and it’s like it just dawned on him. Whatever he thought he was implying, he really wasn’t. “Ohhh. Dude. You’re goin’ there?”
“I ain’t doin’ shit, and neither are you, so don’t. Fucking. Start.”
He rocks back on his heels. “You’re so goin’ there. I don’t blame you. She’s hot. All that fire. Those le—”
I have my hand around his throat, and his bulky frame pushed against the hearth instantly. “Shut the fuck up.”
He holds his hands up and breathes through his depleted airway as best as he can. “If you don’t, someone will. Just giving you fair warning.”
The men I work with are honorable, and I never have questioned their loyalty. But right now, they’re a pain in my ass. I let up and drop my arm. “Nobody’s gonna touch her.” Nobody’s gonna take her away from me.
“She’s one of us now, you know that. We got a building full of guys who risk their lives to protect people. You think for a second word gets out that she’s fair game, there wouldn’t be a line at your door of men who want to be the one who swoops in and saves the girl who had every one of us fooled?”
As much as I hate to admit it, Harlan’s right. That’s what we do, we also love a challenge. There’s a common theme with the men at Royal with their women, and it all stems from the need to protect.
But I’ve gotta set him straight about her. “Brinley ain’t a fuckin’ game. She’s not a puzzle for some motherfucker to put together.”
“You know what I mean.”
I hear the squeak of the floorboards and step away from him. He smiles at Brinley as she walks past him to the back door. Thank Christ she’s wearing a tank top and a pair of loose-fitting cotton shorts. If she walked out here in just a suit, I’d have to murder Harlan, and I don’t want to kill anyone today.
Chapter 7
Brinley
“Hey.”
I’m walking out of the back door and get a foot on the grass when I hear the greeting. I jump at the deep voice and put my hand to my heart. “Holy crap. You scared me.”
“Sorry.” Q studies me as I do the same to him. He’s not as tall as Noble, and he’s got a little more bulk to him, but he’s very handsome. It’s not in your face because he almost has a shy quality about him that I haven’t seen with any of the other guys who work at Royal.
And while I was staying at Polly and Erik’s, I met many of them. Everyone was really nice, and it surprised me how, even though I was sort of a bitch to them for purely self-preservation purposes, they were all really kind to me.
To break the weird tension, I ask the first think that comes to mind. “Why are you helping with the alarm?”