Page 49 of Hope and Country

I pivoted to stare at him. “What is it?”

Riley shrugged. “No idea. Let’s find out.” He squeezed my hand. “Wait here. I’ll get the door.”

In the middle of the kitchen, I stood straight, fidgeting with the bracelet that used to belong to my mother—the only piece of jewelry I never took off.

Men’s voices resonated from the entryway. One I recognized. The other I assumed was Taylor’s.

“There’s no danger,” I repeated in a hushed voice. “No one is here to harm ya.”

My pulse went down a notch.

Some of the knots in my upper back slackened.

Riley walked in with a man tall enough to be either a professional football player or the president’s designated bodyguard.

Thanks to the soft smile grazing his lips, he looked more human than sci-fi material.

“Hey,” he said in a careful voice. “You must be Devon.” His soft voice contrasted with his imposing stature.

I returned his smile. “Yes. Nice to meet you, Taylor.”

The man held out his hand, but I pushed it away and hugged him instead.

“Thank you. For everything. I know you’re helping me. And I’m thankful. Really.”

“I’m just doing my job,” Taylor said.

I shook my head. “No. Your job is to keep Carter Hills safe. Not chasing after my stepbrother and his potential victims to help us make a binding case against him.”

Taylor leaned back “Any friends of Riley, I consider them my friends too. And I’m more than happy to help put that jerk behind bars.” He paused to fish something out from his jacket pocket. “Here,” he said, handing me a keychain. “It’s a self-defense tool. When you feel better, I’ll show you how to use it. Every woman should own one of those.”

I flipped the pen-shaped object between my fingers.

“That’s really nice of ya.”

“And if you ever wanna give kickboxing a try, gimme a call. I can teach you.” Taylor switched his gaze toward Riley. “You too, Burns. It’s never too late to learn how to kick asses.”

“We’ll see, man,” Riley added. “We’ll see.”

Taylor chuckled.

“Come on,” Riley said, “let’s go to my office. There’s something I wanna run by you.”

Taylor nodded. “See ya later, Devon.”

I’d bet my last dollar Riley wanted the latest news about Robbie but tried to protect me by keeping me out of the loop.

My heart pounded, pulsing into my ears and deafening me at the simple thought of my stepbrother, and my lungs overworked as if I’d run ten miles.

I bent forward, my hands propped on my knees, regulating my breathing.

With my eyes closed, I ran a hand over my face.

Yeah, I still needed to work on the whole I’m-stronger-than-my-fears thing.

Twenty minutes later, I sat before my borrowed laptop, working on the new project I’d signed up for when Taylor came to say goodbye.

“I hope I’ll see you soon,” he said.