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Without waiting for me to agree, he walks past me and out of the family room.
“We'll be fine in here, Curt,” Phoebe says as she pats the seat next to her. “Come sit down, Demi, and we’ll gossip about them. I’m sure they’re going to the other room to do the same with us.”
Demi smiles as she lets go of my hand and walks away from me. I decide that this is probably the safest place for her at the moment, so I hurry to follow my brother and get this over with.
When I get to his office, he’s pacing, and as I close the door behind me, he stops and looks up.
“What the hell are you thinking? How old is that girl?” His eyes widen, and he puts his hands in front of him. “You know what, maybe it’s better I don’t know.”
I shake my head as I tuck my hands into my pockets, trying to go for relaxed instead of adding to his stress.
“She’s eighteen tomorrow.” He turns to me again, and his eyes narrow. “Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t touched her.”
“You were supposed to take care of her.”
“I did.”
“Not like that,” he snaps. “This is not what I need right now. I’m trying my best to keep from coming apart because I almost lost my wife. And now you come over with someone that’s tied to all that bullshit.”
“That’s enough,” I say firmly, and Boone blinks at me. It’s not often I’m serious with him, but I’m not about to have him drag Demi. “She was in the crossfire of that whole shitstorm, and now I’m just as worried about something happening to her.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Now there’s concern in his eyes, and I know my brother. He might be a hard man, but he would never allow a woman to be in danger.
I take my time explaining to him my conversation with Tim this morning and how she’s tied up with the Shapovals. I’m irritated all over again thinking about it, and the need to keep her safe is bearing down on me.
“Do you think they’ll come after her?” Boone asks like he’s reading my mind.
“I don’t think they’d let something as precious as her go. Especially if they used a few dollars’ worth of food as an excuse to whore her out.”
My jaw clenches just thinking about it, and I have to remind myself that she’s here and she’s okay. I got to her in time, and now I’m going to make sure she’s protected.
“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone.” He comes over to me and squeezes my arm. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you the same.” Reaching out, I give my brother a hug, and he stiffens at first before he relaxes and hugs me back. “I’m glad Phoebe is okay.”
When we release, he nods and lets out a deep breath. “I’m okay now. I’ll just feel better when she doesn’t have that mark on her face. Every time I look at her it reminds me of almost losing her.”
“Give it some time and I’m sure it will be better. In the meantime, I need your help.”
“With what?”
“Can I get your contact at the Feds? I need to point them in the direction of the Shapovals so I can keep Demi safe.”
“Absolutely. I’m sure they’d be thrilled for a chance to take them down.”
“My only hope is that they don’t expect me to use Demi for bait,” I say, and the look Boone gives me tells me he’s on my side about this one.
“Let’s make some calls.”
He walks over to his desk, and I take a seat as we get to work on keeping Demi out of harm's way.
Chapter Seven
DEMI
“Tomorrow’s your birthday!” Phoebe claps her hands together.
She’s been peppering me with questions since the guys left and has been extra kind even with everything that’s gone on. Especially with what went down with her father and me. Not that anything happened, but still. I’m sure it could be strange to her. Hell, it’s strange to me.
From the excitement in her eyes, you’d think it was her birthday and not mine. She’s really chipper for a girl that was attacked only yesterday. I suppose having someone in love with you the way her husband seems to be with her could put anyone on cloud nine. I know I would be.
I couldn’t help but be a bit jealous of the two of them together. He was so worked up over his wife, and I was even a bit jealous of how Curt was worried over his brother too. They all care for each other, and I long to have something like that one day. No one has ever worried about me like that.
“Yeah, but it’s no big deal.” I try to brush it off. I know birthdays are big for a lot of people, but they never have been for me. I don’t want to get myself excited over nothing. Expectations only ever bring disappointment. I learned that very early in life, and now I expect nothing. It’s probably why I’m surprised when someone is kind to me.
