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“On my way. Lock all doors and windows and check the cop’s ID should they arrive before me,” I muttered out loud, reading the message. “No, you don’t need to come,” I spoke as I typed. Something I only did when scared.
“Family,” I whispered Derek’s reply. Shit. I better warn the girls. I dashed to the kitchen where they were. All three looked up, concerned.
“Derek McKenzie is coming. I’m his sister,” I blurted, and three sets of raised eyebrows flew into hairlines.
“Say what?” Cami asked.
“His dad raped my mom, which makes us half-siblings. Derek knew because he forced his father to confess a lot of shit on his deathbed, I guess. He only told me tonight,” I babbled.
Tami sat heavily on a chair.
She gasped. “You’re a McKenzie, not a Roderick?”
“According to Derek, yes. I want DNA testing done, obviously, but Derek is pretty much convinced. And he’s in town. And coming here. I texted him,” I continued.
“Okay, fall apart later,” Brandy ordered. She grabbed a mug and shoved it into my hand. “Coffee.”
“That means we’re not really cousins,” Cami announced slowly as she worked it out.
“We will always be family. Always be cousins; nobody can take that from us,” I said fiercely, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. Cami held my eyes and nodded.
“Family,” she murmured.
“We swore an oath to each other. That hasn’t changed. We survived and thrived. Got to remember that Cami, Tami, together we came through it. That makes us more family than some random blood cells,” I growled out.
“Not just some random blood cells if you’re a McKenzie. And Derek is so hot!” Tami grinned, fanning herself.
I rolled my eyes at her.
“No, seriously, tell me a woman who wouldn’t bed him? A straight woman, Brandy, before you open your mouth!”
“Hell, I can honestly say if I flipped that way, I’d do Derek in a heartbeat. He’s a heck of a good-looking man,” Brandy admitted with a shrug.
A slightly hysterical giggle left my lips. This was not happening. My cousins were not discussing if they’d fuck my new half-brother! However, they clearly were. They bickered over my head for a few minutes as my thoughts raced. Was this Millar’s reply after I warned him off? It was an old-fashioned method I was very familiar with. Only it usually involved human digits or heads. A heart was accompanied by some form of identification. The girls argued around me as my mind tried making connections and kept failing. I’d only crossed Millar mildly, and surely he wasn’t stupid enough to try this?
But I had also upset Hellfire MC. They’d wanted my building for their own bar. Despite Levi seeming decent, was his club behind this? Had they sent Levi in to find a weakness? Fuck, my upbringing had made me more suspicious than a normal person.
A loud, imperative knock caused me to jump. Tami moved to answer, and Brandy waved her back, pulling her gun. Brandy checked the spy hole, and a confused look crossed her face.
“What the fuck?” she muttered and opened the door.
A bulky male stepped inside, moving Brandy aside, and a sharp, keen gaze took the four of us in. His shoulders relaxed as Tami, Cami, and Brandy all stared at him in something akin to disbelief.
“Good, you’re all safe. Now stay in one place while I check the house out,” Riley ordered and disappeared.
“Tell me I’m not hallucinating,” Brandy whispered.
“No, seems Derek put Riley on our protection but didn’t inform us,” I replied.
Three pairs of eyebrows shot into hairlines once again.
“Derek did what?” Cami demanded.
“I only found out tonight,” I snapped. I ran a hand through my hair as I watched Tami carefully. Nobody but me had ever guessed, but Tami had been crazily in love with Riley. Strengthened by the risks he took to help us get free. But Riley had kept Tami at arm’s length. Why, I didn’t know or pry.
As Riley walked out of the kitchen, he stepped past Tami, and I saw the glance he sent her. Fuck, in that instance, I knew Riley wasn’t immune to my cousin.
Minutes later, Riley came downstairs and motioned us into the living room.
