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“It’s not a threat.”
“Oh?” Jax laughs. “Is it a promise?”
“You bet your ass it is. This isn’t a joke, you know. This man didbad things. I can’t—won’t even talk about it. But he’s mind-fuckery in the worst way. He can’t be allowed to get his claws back in her.”
“Look, Xander and I aren’t the only ones that are going to keep her safe. Those guys at the garage you’re living above? They’re good people. They’re invested in her too. Your sister is good people, and good people get to live without threat. That’s our motto.”
“Whatever. Just know that if she gets hurt, you’ll besingingsoprano for the rest of your life.”
Suddenly, Jax is singing, and he’s able to reach a very interesting note.
“Okay, wow. That was — wow. Unexpected. Well,Idon’t know enough about music to say anything with certainty, but whatever the highest note is—the one that breaks glass—that’s the note you’ll be singing.”
Dani should not need to be threatening oversized biker dudes on my behalf, but I’m warmed by her attempts anyway.
“Right, right. I hear you. She’ll be safe and sound, and I’ll keep my balls. Now, Dani, what do you say tohavin’dinner tonight?”
I leave them to it. I’ve got some blood circulating again, so my mission has been accomplished. I don’t need to overhear mysister'sdating life. If she wants me to know, she’ll tell me in her own time.
But I’m not ready to sit back down again. I can’t be on my own for too long, or else the fear will return. I have to take a break, since lunch is coming and I know that I get less productive the longer I work without a break. On the back of the garage, facing a tall brick wall, there’s a little alcove. It’s used for the dumpster, but there’s also a deck chair for any customers who smoke. I could use a little fresh air and shut eye away from prying eyes and caring words. I settle down in the chair, close my eyes and lean my head back against the brick.
Don’t think about anything.Just relax.
13
Lunch comes and Bri is missing.
After the tumultuous morning we’ve had, my first thoughts are the worst ones. In hindsight, I may have been acting a little wild, but at the time, I thought she’d been taken. In fact, I was certain of it. Absolutely convinced that she was going to turn up dead somewhere with finger marks bruised onto her neck.
“What do you mean, you don’t know? She was just there! She was doing her work!”
At least in contrast to Dani’s hysterics, I look calm.
“Don’t panic. No one has seen her for fifteen minutes, but that doesn’t mean anything. And the ex hasn’t been around, either.” Jax being the voice of reason is never not going to be weird.
Reluctantly, I admit that he’s right. She could be anywhere but that doesn’t mean she’s anywhere unsafe.
Between us, we start to search the entire garage, from the shop floor to the bathrooms. It’s not until we start to feel the feel worry seep through the cracks of our forced calm that anyone thinks to start looking outside, and just as Dani is gearing up to call in a search party, I stumble into the smoking area and find her lounging on a deck chair, her head tipped back and her eyes closed.
“Found her!” I shout back into the garage.
She jolts in the chair, eyes flashing open.
“What’s going on?”
I feel awful. She’s up and out of the chair in seconds, searching around for danger.
“You’reokay. Actually, it’s entirely on us. We couldn’t find you, and immediately freaked out. That’s… I’m sorry. That wasn’t cool.”
Ididn’trealize that her breathing had picked up until it starts to slow down again. She takes a deep breath in, then lets it out again, eyes never wavering from me though her hands tremble at her sides.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But, well, with, you know, everything…” I taper off, not sure what to say.
“I get it. I just wanted to step outside for a minute. Breathe. You know, get away from everything that’s going on. I didn’t even think—god, I’m so fucking stupid. I’m so sorry you got scared. Of course you did, after that reaction early. I can’t believe I was so—”
I grab her wrist before she has the chance to smack her forehead in frustration and hold it in my own hands. Her dainty little hands are tiny birds inside the nest of my giant hands. It’s a scary moment, realizing the vulnerability of a person, especially when that person has already been so badly hurt.
“I’m sorry we got so scared. Don’t be angry at yourself,okay? No one has done anything wrong excepthim.”
