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Chloe nodded. “They look beside themselves.” She approached the bed where his baby sister lay. A flurry of emotions passed over her face. “How old is Ashlyn?”
“Twenty-two.”
A soft curse issued from her mouth. “She’s so young to have to deal with something like this. You will get her counseling once she’s healed, right?”
“I hadn’t thought about it.” Sawyer went around to the other side of the bed, taking the seat where his mother had been. “But it’s a good idea. I’ll look into it once Travis is behind bars.”
“Good.” Chloe’s chin lifted. “She’ll need it.”
Sawyer hesitated, listening to his instincts. “Do you have experience with abuse?”
“Not personally.” Her strong glance swept to Sawyer. “But in high school one of my friends got beaten up pretty bad by her boyfriend. Her parents tried to hush up the whole thing—they were embarrassed, I guess.”
Another thing he liked about Chloe was the strength and confidence she emanated when she spoke. “What happened to the girl?”
“She killed herself.”
Sawyer looked at Ashlyn, resolving that such a thing would not happen to his sister. He’d make sure no one would ever blame the victim. “I would never allow Ash to go down such a dark path.”
“That’s good.” Chloe smiled softly at him. “She’s lucky to have you.”
Something in her smile stole his damn breath. He couldn’t pinpoint why Chloe had gotten to him on such an intense sexual level. Her mere presence—even her scent—was a trigger for him. On a very deep level, he seemed attuned to her.
Chloe’s voice dragged him from his thoughts. “Were Ashlyn and Travis having problems?”
“She never said anything to me.” He folded his arms, leaning back into the chair. “But I’m also her big brother. We’re tight and we talk often, but she doesn’t share things about her love life with me.” He hesitated, shaking his head in frustration. “I’ve never been a big fan of Travis. He’s an MMA fighter, and more than once I’ve seen him show anger, but it’s never been directed at her.”
“So something changed?” Chloe offered.
Sawyer nodded. “He clearly snapped.” He swept his hand over Ashlyn’s beaten face. “Anyone who does this to someone is in a fit of rage they can’t control.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
With that horrific thought hanging in the air, silence settled over them. Sawyer could sense Chloe’s mind working, trying to figure out next steps. He glanced at his sister, who was still asleep. There was nothing he could do for her now. And the chance to learn more about Chloe wasn’t something he would pass up. “So, tell me a bit about you. Were you born in Vegas?”
“Yep, but I didn’t grow up here.” Chloe leaned her hip against the hospital bed, amusement in her eyes. “My parents are what you’d call free spirits.”
Interested by that, he stretched out his legs and laced his fingers behind his head. He noticed her thorough once-over of him, and he liked it. “Free spirits?”
“Just not the norm.” Her soft laugh warmed the room. “I’m an only child and we traveled a lot, so they home-schooled me. They wanted me to explore the world, they told me.” Her eyes twinkled. “They always said that experiencing the world was better than having my nose stuck in a book.”
Sawyer smiled. “Neat way to grow up.”
“It really was, but once I became a teenager I asked to stay in Vegas to go to high school.” She paused, glancing over at Ashlyn, then focused on Sawyer again. “My parents respected my wishes and settled down for a handful of years. Now they’re sailing across the Mediterranean Sea with a group of their friends.”
“Do they work?”
She nodded. “Both my parents have tech jobs, so they can work from anywhere. They aren’t the type to stick around home. And they only work so that they can play—money has never been something they cared about.”
Now Chloe’s reaction to his mother’s hug made sense. Perhaps she missed the warmth and love of her family. Thinking it over, he suspected Chloe wouldn’t dwell on how much she missed them. She seemed far more put together than he had been at twenty-five, and he found that particular trait sexy.
“Sawyer…”
Ashlyn’s murmur jolted him out of his seat. One of her eyes fluttered open, and the whites of her eye were red. His heart banged in his chest as he reached for his sister’s hand. “Yes, Ash, I’m here.”
“Trav…”
“Travis is responsible. Yes, I know.” He fought off emotion as a single tear escaped her open eye. In what kind of fucked-up world could something like this have happened to his sweet, vivacious baby sister? “Shhh…stay quiet. Just rest. He’s going to pay for this, don’t doubt that.”
