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“You can sit yourself down,” he ordered me in his cop voice, which royally ticked me off.
“Newsflash, Officer Carr. You’re not the boss of me.”
He gawked at me as if I’d tasered him. “What the hell’s gotten into you?”
I had the answer on the tip of my tongue, and I almost said it, inappropriate and tacky as it might be. Marco has. But I didn’t. There were some boundaries I remained unwilling to cross. “What do you want, David?”
Only then did I spot the fact that he’d carried in a briefcase. “I want to apologize,” he said as if it cost him a great effort to do so as he sat down and set the briefcase on the kitchen table. “I was upset when last we spoke, and I… ” He shoved a hand through his short light brown hair. “I’m sorry, all right?”
I felt myself soften towards him. My brother and I had been known to disagree sometimes, but we’d never had an argument like our last one. I sat across from him. “Apology accepted.”
“Good. I need to talk to you, Kelly. I know you’ve been spending a bunch of time with… Well, away from home, and I need to know that you’re okay.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I told him, putting some of my exasperation on display. “Better than fine, I’m happy. I wish you’d believe that.”
His features told me he didn’t. He wore one of his sorrowful expressions, one that he reserved for teenagers he encountered who were going down the wrong track, his forehead wrinkled upwards. “I have a favor to ask, and it’s a biggie, but I need you to hear me out here.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Spit it out then.”
He pinned me with his gaze again, seeming torn between a smile and a frown. “Using my own methods against me?”
“Maybe.”
“Here’s the deal. I get that you’re not going to believe me about… your new boss. You like him, I get it. But there’s a way I can prove what I’m saying is true if you’ll let me.”
I huffed out. I was so sick of hearing this from him. He was like a dog with a bone, but then, maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me. He’d always been hard-headed. “David…”
“Please, Kelly. I need to do this for you. I need for you to comprehend the position he’s put you in, the danger he’s put you in. I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for the sake of your safety.”
“I’m not in any danger,” I protested, but he interrupted me.
“You are and you don’t even recognize it.” He’d raised his voice a little, but now he lowered it and took a long breath. “Listen, I know he gave you this great promotion and he’s being nice to you, but he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Don’t let the fact that you enjoy his company pull the wool over your eyes.”
“There’s no wool to pull.”
He reached out and touched my arm. “Yes, there is, and I’m losing sleep at night knowing he’s taking advantage of you.” My brother spoke softly, as if to keep from startling me, but I wasn’t startled, I was angry. I used to not let my annoyance or fury ever surface, thinking it would be somehow detrimental to me, that it’d turn me into my ever-bickering parents.
But now I saw how misguided that was. I saw how my anger made me feel capable and strong. “Marco is not taking advantage of me. He basically worships the ground I walk on.”
David stood up, pacing like a caged tiger. “It may seem that way, but it’s all just smoke and mirrors. He—”
Now it was my turn to interrupt. “He loves me. He loves me, and I love him.”
My brother brought his pacing to an abrupt halt. “And you believe he loves you because…”
“Because he told me,” I finished for him, incensed.
“He’s lying to you. He’s lying about everything.”
“No, he’s not!” I yelled, straining my voice enough that it made my throat hurt. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so enraged. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever felt this way in my life.
“Kelly?” My mom’s voice came from down the hall. Our argument must’ve woken her. “Are you all right?”
Glaring at my sibling I hurried halfway down the hall and called, “I’m fine, Mom. Just having a discussion with David. We’ll try to keep it down.”
I stormed back into the kitchen and began pacing like my brother was, making sure to keep the table between us. If that barrier hadn’t been there, I wasn’t sure what I might’ve done. He just wouldn’t let this go.
“I can prove it,” my brother promised me again, his expression intent. “Do this favor for me, and it’ll provide the evidence I’m after.”
