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That was the moment I was supposed to not so politely remind him that he couldn’t tell me what to do. But it felt so good having someone stand up for me, I didn’t want to.
If I’d told my brothers what was going on, they would have been right there for me every step of the way. But I couldn’t burden them—damn it. My brothers.
What would father do to them?
“I have to. He’s threatened Pepper and Lexie if I don’t fall in line.” My eyes stung. “And your family.”
“Have you talked to Lincoln and Teague about this?” he asked gruffly. He didn’t seem to feel any of the fear I did.
“No. They’ve both waited so long to be happy. And they’ve always protected me. It’s my turn to do that for them.”
What was it about Cal that made me unleash everything I’d been holding in?
He made a noncommittal noise. “I get that. I do the same thing with my family. But if your father is as formidable an opponent as you say he is, we need everybody working together.”
He was right. But I didn’t want to hear it.
“What if something happens to Lexie or Pepper? What if, by telling your brothers, it could be prevented? Is it better to keep your mouth shut?”
I scowled. “You really have a way of putting things in perspective.”
“I’d want you to tell me the same thing.” He squeezed my fingers. “Call your brothers. My pop used to call these things a get-together.”
“What am I going to do? Invite them to dinner?”
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “If that black car following us is who I think it is, we don’t have until dinner.”
I twisted around. Bile rose up my throat.
He’d found us.
Or maybe he was just following Cal. Either option was unacceptable.
My hand shook as I dialed.
“Where are you?”
“Well, good morning to you too.” Something about the normalcy with Lincoln eased my tension a fraction.
“Dad just called me, incredibly unhappy that I was unaware of your whereabouts.” Underneath that terseness was worry.
“I’m sorry I put that on you,” I said softly. “I need to see you. Teague too. Somewhere safe. We can’t keep living like this.”
“Let me secure a location. I’ll call you back in five minutes.”
He was gone before I could agree.
I looked behind us. The car was still there. “How are we going to lose them?”
“Leave that to me. You just call Teague.”
He was the more easygoing brother, but in some ways, he was even more protective than Lincoln. And I was more nervous about talking to him.
But he was my brother.
My friend.
“Hey.” It wasn’t Teague’s voice that answered his phone. “He’s in the shower.”
