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“Ryan,” Harper warned softly.
“He’s fine, luv.” That explained Nitro’s study. It wasn’t one of curiosity, more challenging. “That’d be an accurate description of events, Ryan, but I’d add it was made worse with Harper being dragged into the mess.” Seth pinned his gaze on Nitro. “I’m guessing that pissed you off.”
“It did.” The barista rested the end of his shovel near his work boot as he stared at Seth.
“Good. I’m glad she has people around her who care. As do I.” Seth wrapped an arm around Harper’s shoulders and pulled her close, feeling her stiffen in surprise and, after a few seconds, relax enough that her body brushed against his. All of which Seth could tell from Nitro’s eye movements didn’t escape the man’s attention. “What you need to know is I’m going to catch the fucker responsible and make him regret the moment he drew his first breath.”
He felt Harper’s gaze on him. And no wonder. His tone of voice was uncompromising. It was time those around her understood that when Seth said Harper was under his protection it wasn’t because he wanted to get laid.
Nitro’s gaze glinted with the keen insight of a hunter. “If we can help, let us know.”
“Damn straight,” Ryan added.
“Appreciated.” Seth nodded. “If you’d keep an eye out for anyone lurking around, especially at odd times, that’d be great. But don’t be a hero. I’ll give you mine and my brother’s numbers. He’s a cop.”
“Yeah, we, uh, read that somewhere.” Ryan looked a little sheepish at his own joke.
Seth chuckled. “Okay, I asked for that one. But joking aside, while it’s unlikely whoever took the photo of the café Wednesday night will turn up again, if he does, I don’t want you approaching him.”
Harper turned slightly under Seth’s arm to face him. “Did Heath manage to get a look at the CCTV?”
Seth sighed. “Yeah, but the guy was wearing a hoodie and baseball cap. Dressed all in black and hunching his shoulders, likely trying to disguise his height.” Fuck, he hated seeing the bright happiness wash out of her face, replaced by a frown. He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re in a secure building, and you have neighbors who are aware of what’s happening.”
He didn’t share that Heath and Adam were planning additional safeguards, like installing micro cameras, especially in the foyer and hallway areas. With Adam’s skills, he could crack her door’s security code, so Harper would be none the wiser. And if the hacker could retrieve sensitive data like Adam’s black ops history, he could gain access to her building with ease.
But his brother’s plans were information to be shared later; like say after Adam had the deed completed.
“Come on, woman, you said you needed these veggies planted, but all you’ve done so far is gasbag while I’ve done all the hard yakka.” At everyone’s blank stare, Seth explained. “Yakka’s Aussie for work.”
Harper snorted. “Oh, please. That’s why you’re here. That and because I’m considering learning a new language, and thought I’d try Australian.” At his mock scowl, she laughed, the light joyful sound matched by the smile reflected in her eyes. “Guys, I told him he needed to bring a list of everyday word translations, but he welched.”
Nitro chuckled as he grabbed the rake and started evening out the soil in one of the two beds. “We’ll be like explorers discovering a new land. When we don’t understand something, we’ll start pointing to everyday things to see if he nods.”
“Bloody yanks,” Seth grumbled.
“Aren’t you one, too?” Harper asked as she studied a tray of seedlings. “You were adopted by an American and moved here.”
Seth followed after Nitro and used one of the sticks of bamboo to make a line in the soil for the zucchinis. “I got dual citizenship. We all did.” As much as he had wanted to start a new life, keeping his roots had been important. His history reminded him of where he started and how much he wanted to achieve.
Ryan followed Harper’s lead by planting some of the tiny green shoots. “How old were you when you moved here?”
“Sixteen.” Adam had been close to eighteen. Zach was a couple of months younger, and Heath had just turned seventeen. “By the time we got to know Aurora and Dillon and for all the paperwork to be settled, it was close to a year before our adoption was finalized.” It would have been longer without the strings that were pulled courtesy of the political influence wielded by Aurora’s family.
Nitro finished raking the second bed. “What was it like, coming to a new country as a teenager?”
Strange. Terrifying. “Like arriving on a new planet where everyone spoke a version of English, but everything else was foreign. Nobody played the sports we knew, people spoke with different accents, even drove on the other side of the road. Light switches that flipped up meant ‘on’ when back in Oz that was ‘off’.” He shrugged. “It was the little things I noticed the most.”
And the only ones who understood were Adam, Zach and Heath. Dillon had tried to put himself in their shoes, but he was an American who had grown up with a loving mum. There was no comparison. And then there was his power struggle with Adam.
“Ryan and I checked you out online,” Nitro said as he grabbed some bamboo stakes and assembled them into tripods on top of the soil. “Cool story how you all got here, saving a life and getting a new chance.”
“We were fortunate.” Seth picked up the tray of bean seedlings, his finger tracing the vine-like shoots. So fragile, yet they’d grow strong in the soil. Amazing what care and the right environment yielded. “Aurora was an amazing lady. The best mum I could have had.”
And he’d told her as much—once he’d gathered up the courage. A life filled with rejection meant that kind of declaration was like skydiving without a parachute, especially for a teenager. His first jump was the day before they were due to fly to America. He’d been sitting on his hotel bed. Everything he owned had fit in a small suitcase Aurora had bought for him, including new clothes. She’d sat beside him, showing him some recent photos of his soon-to-be home in Seattle. He’d kept his gaze glued to the pictures.
“When we get there, can I call you Mum?”His voice had sounded strangled, as if fighting against his body to be heard. He couldn’t risk a glance at Aurora. If she said no…
A gentle hand turned his face toward hers. The love shining in her soft blue eyes robbed him of breath. “I’d be honored, Seth.”
