Page 14 of Rescuing Brinley

“I don’t think you do. I just met you, and I have no doubt that you’re twice the person your sister is. If I had to choose, I’d go out with you a hundred times out of a hundred, rather than someone like her.”

Brinley said nothing. She looked too stunned to speak.

“There’s nothing wrong with the way you look. Has no one ever told you that you’re the quintessential girl next door?”

She shook her head, her big eyes looking even larger as she stared at him as if she were seeing a ghost.

“Real men would much prefer someone like you…soft, kind, curvy…a woman they aren’t afraid to muss if they kissed or touched.”

Where the words were coming from, Shadow had no idea. All he knew was that he wanted—no, needed this woman to understand that the insults her sister had thrown her way weren’t even close to the truth. And he hadn’t missed the comment she’d made about her own mother thinking she was ugly. People like that pissed him off. All little girls were supposed to feel like princesses. Pretty. Her mother should’ve defended her, not made her feel as if she was weird-looking or unattractive.

His voice lowered, so Brinley was the only one who could hear his next words.

“Your sister is the ugly one. She proved that by opening her mouth and spewing that garbage about you loud enough for everyone to hear. That’s all she wanted. Attention. As far as I’m concerned, out of the two of you, you’re the real beauty here.”

“Shadow,” Echo said from behind him.

Turning, Shadow saw his teammate looking toward the stage, and he nodded his head toward whoever was up there.

Ayla was taking her turn at practicing her performance…dancing, which was most of the women’s chosen talent.

“I don’t think I need to tell you this, but do your best to stay away from your sister. She purposely made a scene, and I’m guessing she’s gotten really good at making sure she’s the center of attention at all times.”

“I will, and you’re right.”

Shadow didn’t know what it was about this woman that made him want to stay there and keep talking with her. She hadn’t even said much, and yet he felt drawn to her. He wanted to know everything about her. She was obviously at the pageant to work. She mentioned doing something with the outfits some of the contestants were wearing. Suddenly, he wanted to know all about it.

He was usually the standoffish one. The one who didn’t care about small talk. Who was always completely focused on whatever job he was doing. But he found it extremely difficult to walk away from her and turn his attention to the surrounding area. To look for threats against the VP’s daughter, who was on the stage and could be a potential target for anyone who wanted to make some kind of political statement.

Shadow managed to keep his gaze from returning to Brinley for a few moments, before giving in to the inevitable. She was now standing over by the other side of the stage, talking to a tall dark-skinned woman he’d seen earlier, wearing a sash that stated she was from Nigeria. Brinley was on her knees in front of her, fiddling with the hem of the woman’s skirt. Her brow was furrowed and she was biting her lip as she concentrated on whatever she was doing to the material.

“That was interesting,” Echo drawled, making Shadow jerk his gaze from Brinley to his teammate.

“What was?”

“The spat, you, the bitch, the seamstress…all of it.”

“Whatever.”

“Seriously. I’ve never seen you lose focus in the middle of a mission before. Even that one time when you were grazed by that bullet, you didn’t slow down. Simply continued on as if blood wasn’t dripping down the side of your head like someone had opened a faucet and left it running full blast.”

“I haven’t lost focus,” Shadow protested.

“Uh-huh. How many men just entered the back of the room then?”

Turning, Shadow saw that, indeed, he’d completely missed the trio of men who’d entered. He recognized them as being members of the pageant staff, so they weren’t any kind of threat to Ayla, who was still dancing onstage, but he frowned in aggravation anyway. He shouldn’t’ve missed them. His lapse in concentration could’ve gotten someone killed.

“Relax, Shadow. I’ve got your back. And I don’t blame you. She’s cute.”

His friend was smirking now, and all Shadow could do was shake his head. “That’s not why we’re here.”

“Of course not, but I haven’t seen you look twice at a chick in a hell of a long time. And the fact that you did so now, in the middle of an op, tells me that she’s different.”

“Drop it, Echo.”

“All right, all right. But if the opportunity arises, maybe you can get to know her a little better.”

“I mean it—shut the hell up.”