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She couldn’t resist needling him. “Because you like her,” she said in a singsong voice.
“Because I love you.”
“Bryant, this isn’t about me.”
“Don’t be stupid, Olivia.”
Twisting out of his arms, she jumped to her feet and glared at him. “I’m not stupid.”
“You are if you don’t see this is about you. If you haven’t figured it out yet you’re the grand fucking prize.” Fury unlike anything she’d seen in him before blazed in his eyes.
“You think I haven’t figured that out?” She didn’t care that she was shouting. “I’m not a fucking moron! You think I don’t know, for whatever reason, I’m the end game? That I’m the reason my best friend is lying in a hospital bed after someone tried to kill her? You really think I don’t know that, you arrogant asshole?”
“Shit.” All of the fight left him and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sweetheart, that’s not what I meant. This isn’t your fault.”
“I want to believe that. Detective Rogers told me it wasn’t. But it’s hard. And I’m so scared.”
Bryant easily plucked her off her feet and cradled her on his lap again. “Your Daddy and I would never let anything happen to you. Understand me? We’re going to keep you safe. I swear it.”
“What if you can’t?”
It was, selfishly, her greatest fear. One she hadn’t even voiced to James.
“We will. You just have to be an obedient little girl, and I swear we won’t let anything happen to you.”
A shadow fell over them and she looked up to see James standing next to them. “Bryant is right, baby. We would never let anyone hurt you.”
Though she still wasn’t convinced, she nodded. “Okay. Can we go see Shannon now?”
“Yes, baby. But then we are going home and you’re going to take a nice hot bath and go to bed. Got it?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
He held out a hand, and she accepted his help back to her feet. Flanked once again by the two men she loved most in the world, she summoned every ounce of her strength and walked back down the hall.
Chapter24
After news about the attack on Shannon spread, everyone at Olivia’s agency suddenly became her personal bodyguards. She no longer went to any showings alone, regardless of who the client was. And now, more than ever, all of her clients seemed more interested in the murders than buying houses.
Then there was James. The man hardly let her out of his sight if he could help it. More often than not, he was the one who accompanied her to her showings. He insisted on driving her to and from work, and if he couldn’t go with her to meet a client, he made her ride along with whoever was shadowing her. She hadn’t driven her own car in nearly a week.
And every evening after work, they met Bryant at the hospital so she could sit with Shannon for a few hours before going home. After five days confined to a bed, Shannon wasn’t in a particularly chipper mood.
“I feel fine. I don’t know why they won’t let me go home.”
“They said you could probably be released tomorrow.” Nudging the tray of untouched food closer to her friend, Olivia tried to keep her voice bright and cheerful. “The guest room is all ready for you.”
“Seriously, Liv. You guys have already done too much.” Shannon pushed the tray away again. “Mama said I can come stay with her for a little while.”
“You’ll be safer at their house,” Bryant insisted from across the room. “And it’s easier for the cops to keep an eye on the two of you if you’re together.” Olivia glared at him, but he just shrugged. “You know I’m right.”
“You don’t have to be such a jerk about it, Bryant.” Olivia’s voice was sharper than she’d intended, but the reminder of the constant police presence just cranked up her nerves, which were already in overdrive.
“Livvy.” James ran a hand over her hair, a gesture that normally soothed her, but at that moment just felt patronizing.
Shrugging off his touch, she focused on Shannon. “If you make us a list, we can stop at the store tomorrow and get you whatever you need. I know you like those weird smoothie things.”
Shannon rolled her eyes. The puffiness around her right eye had gone down considerably, but the discoloration lingered more than Olivia cared for. “I make my own breakfast smoothies, but I can live without those for a few days. Whatever you normally have at the house is fine.”
