He didn’t.
“Do you think your uncle will help us without trying to take over?”
I laughed. “I fully expect him to be a royal pain in our asses.”
“Noted. Can I put him in his place?”
“No. Let me handle him.” Then, just for good measure, I added, “All of them. I don’t need you facing off against my cousins.”
“Are your non-cousins fair game?” he grinned.
“No, G, they are not.”
Everyone at SSI was considered family.
And their family tree was a jumbled mess. Doug was engaged to Beth; John and Mary were godparents to her son, Chase. AJ was Jack’s best man, and Mary had unofficially adopted him. Cate married Jay. Nathan married Ashley, who was best friends with Meg and Emily. And Matt had just proposed to Madi.
Everyone at SSI had legit family ties to the Sheppards, and the Sheppards protected their own.
“Fuck with one of them—”
“Fuck with all of them,” G finished for me. “I can respect that.”
Brotherhood was a concept he understood. A concept he lived by and would probably die by.
In the car, I dialed the SSI office line.
“Sheppard and Sons Investigations, how can I help you?” Meg’s cheery voice answered.
“Hi Meg, it’s Austin. Is John available?”
“Hi Austin, give me a second to check.”
Soft country music filled the silence.
“I’ll put you through.”
“Thank you.” I hit the speaker button so G could listen.
After a series of clicks, John answered on the first ring.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” John asked.
“Morning John, Gibson’s with me.”
After they greeted each other, I said, “We found something.”
“What?”
“We’re on our way to Weatherford now, any chance we can meet after we return Nina’s belongings?”
I trusted John to read between the lines, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Should she be here for this?”
G shook his head. I agreed.
“No, not yet.”
