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I was aware of everyone’s gaze on me as I rose to meet him. “C’mon.” I led him to the conference room where we conducted trainings. At this hour, it was empty. Perfect for a private conversation. “Thanks for coming.”
Rios adopted a faux casual stance, resting one hip on the table. “What’s up?”
“I’m worried about your dad. More specifically, the possibility that he’ll target Caroline or Gabi when one of us isn’t around. I figured you were the person to discuss things with to figure out what to do about it.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Well, in all honesty, even though I know your sister would happily skin me for the saying so, I’d like to put them both under some kind of protective detail.”
Rios folded his arms and studied me. “What exactly are your intentions toward my sister?”
There were a lot of things I could’ve said, but I didn’t have a good read on Rios and how he’d respond to any of them. As a rule, I preferred honesty wherever possible. “I intend to protect her. I care about her, and I don’t want to see anything happen to her. Or to Gabi or you, for that matter.”
The other man’s brows drew together in skepticism. “Why do you give a shit about our family?”
“Look, I think you’ve all had a shit time of it. You, especially. Caroline matters to me, and I want to see her safe when I can’t be there to make sure of it. I know it’s not practical to expect anybody to be with her twenty-four-seven—not that she’d be okay with that if it was. But I think you can agree that your father represents a threat. Did she tell you about him confronting her at work the other night?”
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “No. But that doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
I filled him in.
Rios loosed a string of curses in Spanish. “Jury’s still out on you, McNamara, but I agree with you on this. Sawyer and I have already been trading off as much as we can with our jobs, but I can lean on Jace and Ford a bit more. They haven’t picked up jobs yet this summer. And I’ll be having a conversation with both my sisters about keeping me informed if the asshole shows up.”
“That’ll be a start.”
Someone outside shouted a split second before the alarm blared.
I opened the door to see Blaze racing toward a hose.
“Your fucking truck is on fire!”
“What?” I bolted outside, sprinting for the employee lot out back.
Sure enough, my pickup had flames shooting up from beneath the hood and inside the cab.
All around me, my crew leapt into action, quickly dousing the fire before it could spread. But my truck was toast.
“No way was that accidental,” Jamal muttered.
Apparently, the chief had come in while I’d been talking to Rios. He arched his brows. “Who all have you pissed off lately?”
I thought about all the confrontations I’d had on Caroline’s behalf in the past few weeks. “Quite a few people, as it happens.”
14
Caroline
What a difference a day made.
This time yesterday, I’d been on top of the world. Or as close to it as I dared to reach. I’d been cuddled up in this chair with a thoughtful, sexy man who miraculously wanted me, and I’d thought that maybe, finally, something in life was going my way. That I’d finally earned something good.
That was over now. Or would be as soon as Hoyt got home.
I thought of the text he’d sent midmorning, an hour or two after the news of his truck being torched had spread across the island like—well—wildfire.
Hoyt: I want to see you when I get off shift.
If I’d needed any confirmation that this whole mess was my fault, that was it.
