“Thanks. It’s a gated community. You’ll need a code to get in,” Rawlins said and provided him with all the information that would be needed.
“Anything else?” Kenneally asked.
“Not that I can think of,” Rawlins said. “My assignment has been smooth sailing so far other than her parents wanting her to return to Baltimore before the trial. We’re trying to keep that from happening.”
“It does sound like you have it easier than Rafferty at this point,” Kenneally agreed. “I hope it stays that way for you. Let me know if you need anything else. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks,” Rawlins said, and ended the call.
He was headed to his room when Chaney came out of hers, rubbing her forehead.
“Got a headache?”
“It’s starting, I’m going to go take something,” she said. “Do you think Justus will be okay? I know she’s with your brother, but I can’t help worrying about her now that I know what happened.”
“Of course, she will be,” Rawlins said. “Rafferty is not going to let anything happen to her. He’d put his life on the line for her, just like I’d do for you.”
“You would?”
“Yes.”
“But we just met.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’re Rangers and Brotherhood Protectors. It’s in our blood.”
CHAPTER 5
Chaney didn’t sleep well.She went to bed with a headache and woke with one. She took Tylenol for it and had a soda with her toast instead of milk, but that didn’t seem to help either. She was rinsing out her glass to put in the dishwasher when she noticed outside the window that a shiny blue car was parked in the driveway.
“Rawlins, I think someone is here.”
“Why?” he asked, finishing up his breakfast.
“There’s a car outside, in my driveway.”
He grinned and got up from the table, going outside. Confused, she followed him.
A piece of paper with writing on it stuck out from under one of the wipers on the brand-new Kia K5 and he snatched it, read the message, and chuckled.
“What?” she asked.
“This is my new wheels. Do you like?” he said, opening the driver’s door.
She came forward and breathed in that wonderful new car smell. She looked inside at the supple black leather seats and ran her hand over one amazed at its softness. “How?”
“Kenneally. I called him last night and he said he’d have it delivered today,” Rawlins explained. “We don’t want to have to have Broderick taking us everywhere, especially because he’s going to report back to your parents. Having our own wheels–I want to be able to go where I want, when I want. Don’t you?”
She nodded, catching his use of the words ‘our own wheels’ and then hugged him, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “Yes. I just didn’t know I wanted that until you said it.”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. “It’s okay. I wanted to be able to get you to and from The Village if you were going to be going there regularly, you know.”
“I understand.” She pulled away, dabbing at her damp eyes with her fingers. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“It was for both of us.” Rawlins reached over the visor and grabbed the key fob and closed the door. “Let’s go back inside.”
Chaney followed him feeling deflated by his abrupt response, but she shook it off. Again, she shouldn’t be reading too much into this. Obviously, they’d not just shared a special moment like she thought. He was her protector. That was all. No matter how well they seemed to get along.
Leland Warshafsky lookedat his minions with disgust. His new head man, Drake Minchin, wore a suit while his underlings Alfie Jennings and Grant Evans dressed in khaki pants and polo shirts. “How can men like you screw up a simple objective like this so badly?”
