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I check the kitchen and the den first, but they are empty. Liam said he was going back to bed, and I expect Conor and Mikey will still be sleeping too, so I walk along to Shane’s office to see if he’s awake, because he’s likely to be in there. The door to his office is open and I pop my head inside, surprised to see all four Ryan brothers in there with serious looks on their faces. Mikey and Conor are only wearing shorts and look like they’ve just got out of bed and I can’t help but wonder why they appear to be having a family meeting without me.
“Jessie,” Shane says as he looks up and sees me and the other three turn their heads and look at me too.
“What’s going on?” I stammer as I step inside the room, with the distinct impression that I am missing something.
Conor holds out a hand to me. “Come on in, Angel.”
I take his hand and he pulls me to sit on the sofa between him and Liam.
“I was just telling them about the bird,” Liam says. “In the pool.”
I blink at him, and then I look at their concerned faces. “But you said it was just a bird. Nothing to worry about.”
“Of course it was,” Liam replies, taking my hand and squeezing it gently.
“Yeah. We’ve found at least half a dozen dead birds on that roof,” Conor adds.
“So why are you all sitting here talking about me? Like I’m crazy or something?” I hear my voice going up a few octaves, but I can’t stop the panic and hysteria from setting in again. Liam convinced me it was nothing, and now they’re all looking at me like it’s something.
“Liam just wanted us to know what happened, is all.” Conor reaches for my hand, but I snatch it away, pulling my other hand from Liam’s at the same time.
“Did you all have a good laugh at how crazy I am freaking out about a dead bird?” I say, spiraling into some sort of panic attack meltdown that I can’t seem to stop.
“No, Jessie,” Liam shakes his head.
“Really? You expect me to believe that?” I push myself up and start to walk out of the room.
“Jessie Ryan!” Shane shouts at me in a tone that makes me freeze in my tracks, and I turn to look at him. “Sit your ass back down.”
I glance back at Liam and Conor who avert their eyes while Mikey clears his throat nervously.
“Now!” Shane barks, and I hesitate for a few seconds before I walk back to the sofa and take my seat again.
“Look at me,” Shane growls and I lift my head to see him glaring at me. “You want to think about what you just said?”
I swallow as I glare back at him. “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t do that.”
He runs a tongue along his lip and then sits back in his chair, seemingly satisfied with my response. “Yes, we were talking about you, but of course we weren’t laughing at you. Because if there is any possibility that you are in danger, Jessie, then we will talk about it. Conor was about to come and get you so we could discuss it with you too before you walked in here.”
“Oh?” I swallow. “I’m sorry. But the Wolf, he…” I shake my head. “He gets under my skin. I feel like I go crazy whenever I think about him.”
Conor takes my hand again and I curl my fingers around his just as Liam reaches for my other hand and I lean back in my seat, feeling comfort from the warmth of their bodies.
“Well, that’s understandable given everything you went through, baby,” Liam says quietly.
“Yeah, Red,” Mikey agrees.
“Do you think it was him then?” I ask.
“No,” they all say in unison.
“Just a dead bird, Angel,” Conor adds softly. “Me and Mikey scooped it out of the pool and there was nothing suspicious.”
I nod, chewing on my lip absent-mindedly. “I’m sorry I said those things,” I say again.
“You already apologized twice,” Shane says with a soft sigh.
“I know,” I say with a shake of my head. “But I feel bad for accusing you all like that.”
