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“Girl, give it four weeks and you’ll rue those words,” Derek retorted, and we laughed.
???
As I approached the speakeasy, I caught a glimpse of a car pulling up alongside. A quick flash was all I got before Dane and Daithi firmly placed themselves between me and it. I lifted an eyebrow as two hulking men swamped me, and I disappeared behind them. Slightly irate but highly amused, I jabbed my brothers in the back and received twin grunts.
“Who the fuck are you?” Daithi demanded in his typical growl.
“Detective Emilio Hawthorne. I’d like to speak to Miss Roderick, please. And at the same time, you can tell me who you are,” I heard the guy reply.
“That’s the detective,” I said, jabbing them both again.
“Inside, not in the streets,” Dane ordered.
“Add a please to that. I ain’t a minion you can order,” Lio replied testily.
Opps, let’s not start off on the wrong foot, I silently pleaded. Derek’s words from earlier rattled my brain, and I was starting to see what he meant. Yup, my brothers were overly protective.
We walked past the bouncers on the door and headed towards my office. As soon as I entered, I pointed Daithi and Dane to sit on the sofa and invited Lio to take a chair opposite me. Lio sent the two a stern glare but showed his balls as he sat with his back to them. It had to be uncomfortable knowing dangerous men were at your back, but Lio didn’t flinch.
“There was a parcel this afternoon. We were called while you were at home,” Lio said without any preamble.
“Another one?” I gasped and paled. “A heart?”
“No, this was a teddy bear. It had chocolate hearts with it. Totally at odds with the first.”
“Why would the cops be phoned for that?” Dane demanded.
Lio didn’t turn around.
“Because the letter that came with it fell out of the box and a member of staff read it and called us. Madisen, is it possible you could have two stalkers? The first box with the heart contained a threat. This second one was complete obsession,” Lio questioned.
Two stalkers?
“I’m not sure,” I stammered.
“You think that’s possible?” Daithi asked, leaning forward in concern.
“We’ve either got a stalker with duo personalities or two stalkers, in my opinion,” Lio replied. “Are you going to tell me who you are?” He finally looked at the men.
“Daithi and Dane McKenzie. Friends of the family,” Dane answered, pointing at himself and Daithi.
Lio’s eyes widened, and he faced me.
“Are they here with your permission?” he quizzed boldly.
“The alternative being we are forcing ourselves on Madisen?” Dane exclaimed dryly.
“Yup,” Lio confirmed and turned his body to hide them from my line of sight. “Truth, Madisen.”
“They’re here by invitation. We are old friends,” I said somewhat honestly.
“Okay. So, back to the problem. Do you think it’s possible you have two stalkers?”
“I left my father’s life behind. I’ve no doubt you know who I am if you recognise Dane and Daithi’s names. There is nothing tying me to him or Jere now. I was never a part of their world, just a commodity. Same with my cousins. The only thing I can think of is my father’s arranged marriages for all four of us. The three Brandy, Tami, and I were scheduled to marry took our breaking it off okay.”
Dane snorted, and I shot him a look.
“They didn’t take it fine, but they had no choice. It was clear you were leaving the life, and a few words in stubborn ears went a long way,” Daithi added innocently.
