“Are you aware of anyone who would want to scare you or cause you harm?”
“Only my ex-boyfriend,” I said. “His name is Nathan Jeffries, and he lives just outside the city.” I rattled off his address and the investigator jotted it down.
“And why would Mr. Jeffries want to hurt you?”
I pursed my lips and stared at the floor, trying to find the right words. “He was abusive in our relationship. And last night . . . I had a man here for the first time since the breakup.”
Rick gave me an understanding nod, then pressed on, peppering me with rapid-fire questions, asking about Nathan’s state of mind, if he was unbalanced, if he owned a firearm.
“How long ago did you break up?” Rick asked, his pen poised to write.
“A year ago,” I answered.
Rick pursed his lips, no doubt thinking it odd that a whole year had passed and my ex had just now decided to harass me.
And it was odd.
• • •
The questioning seemed to last for hours. When Rick was done, the police came, and I went through it all over again.
The entire time, though, Gavin never left my side while his brothers bustled around my house—checking locks, making coffee, herding people in and out, and making sure I was tended to.
The three of them worked like a pack, my own little wolf pack. A family totally in tune with one another. Not for the first time, I marveled that they had done all of this for me in spite of the fact they hadn’t known me very long, and some of that time had already been rocky.
Still, whenever Cooper swooped in with a fresh cup of tea or a sandwich for me, I felt another stab of guilt. It was the first time I’d seen him after our talk. Although he acted as though it had never happened, I couldn’t help but wonder if that act was wearing on him. If his true heartbreak was just beneath the surface.
I shoved the thought aside and focused on the questions that seemed to never end.
Hours later, when at last the house was empty of everyone except the Kingsley brothers and me, I made my way into the kitchen and found Cooper standing at my stove, brewing yet another pot of tea.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Sure.”
“I just wanted to say I appreciate you being here, considering . . .” I sucked in a breath, wringing my hands.
“Nothing to worry about there, princess. You made your choice, and I respect that.”
“I just feel so bad for misleading you—”
“Well, don’t. Really,” Cooper said, and though he’d cut me off, his words weren’t harsh. “I could see where your heart was right from our first meeting in Gavin’s office. I chose to ignore it because I wanted to believe otherwise. That was my mistake. And I want nothing more than for you and my brother to find happiness.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” I glanced away, my throat tight with emotion, and took a step closer to rest a hand on his shoulder. “Your princess is still out there, you know.”
“Just in another castle far, far away, maybe.” He grinned. “But you’ll always be my princess.”
My stomach twisted at that, leaving me unsure how to feel, when Quinn walked into the kitchen to join us. He glanced at my hand on Cooper’s shoulder, and I pulled it away as he spoke.
“Okay, I secured all the windows upstairs and downstairs, and added another lock to the door.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Anytime.” Quinn nodded. “Now, Coop, I think it’s time we get back to company business.”
Cooper nodded, and the two moved quickly through the living room and back out the front door after saying good-bye to their brother.
When we were alone again, I rejoined Gavin on the couch and nestled close. “How are you doing?”
“Me?” He let out a low exhale. “What about you?”
“I’m better than expected. But I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“You won’t be,” Gavin said.
“Thank you. For everything.”
He gave me a stiff nod but said nothing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
There was a beat of silence and then, “What were you and Cooper talking about?”
“I wanted to thank him. And to apologize for everything.”
Gavin grunted his understanding.
“You can’t be jealous of your brother, you know.”
Gavin raised a brow. “Can’t I?”
“You can’t. You’re the one I . . .” I bit my bottom lip and looked into his eyes. “You’re the one I want. I’ll admit that I did kiss your brother before, but with him it was just . . . nothing. Sweet, but nothing. He doesn’t fill me with passion and need the way you do. When I touch you, I feel a rush of lust.”
“Is that so?” Gavin’s eyes darkened as he pulled me tighter to his chest.
“It is.”
Without another word, I stood and held my hand out to him, ready to take him to my bedroom and spend the rest of my day the way it should have been spent in the first place.
In bed, secure and locked away from all the ugliness that lay in wait just outside my front door.
Chapter Eleven
Gavin
I didn’t leave Emma’s side all weekend. Together, we read, watched a couple of movies, and worked on our laptops. But mostly, we lay in bed for hours, talking and fucking and doing whatever we damn well pleased. A few times, I even forgot about that fucking mess someone had left on her porch, but by the time Monday morning arrived, it was impossible for me to wipe what had happened from my mind.
It killed me that someone had gotten that close to her and I hadn’t been there to stop it. Someone who wanted to do her harm. And now I had to send her back out into the world.
Rage shot through me, and I spent the next ten minutes talking myself down.
I made a pot of coffee and another of tea before Emma joined me downstairs. Her eyes were bleary, but she was dressed in her sexy work clothes, a navy skirt and a peach-colored top that stretched over her cleavage with little silver buttons. Her dark, shiny hair was pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, leaving several dark strands framing her face.
I poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. “I want you to listen to me.”
She sighed but took the cup. She knew already what I was going to say—it was the same thing I’d been saying all weekend, but I couldn’t go to work without giving this one last try.
“Take the week off,” she said in unison with me, and I gave her my best exasperated expression.
“I told you,” she said, “I can’t do that. I run the library; I don’t own it. It doesn’t work that way. There’s no one to take my place on such short notice, and that makes it impossible for things to run smoothly.”
“If this was Nathan, he knows where you work,” I reminded her, unable to contain the growl in my voice.
“And he knows it’s directly beside the police station. He’d have to be an idiot to try something in a public place that way. Trust me, I’ll be fine.”
“I’m still going to stay here,” I added flatly.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied, taking a sip of her tea as I poured myself a mug of coffee.
I’d tried to talk her into staying at my place instead, but Emma was adamant that she wasn’t going to run away in fear. This was her home—it had been in her family for generations.
“I still don’t like it,” I said.
“You don’t have to.”
Together, we finished our drinks. When the clock turned to seven thirty, we headed through the front door and shared a quick, hard kiss before I tucked her into the new car waiting for her—complete with the driver I’d hired.
In truth, it was still later than I preferred to leave for the office, but I knew my brothers would understand, given the circumstances. I climbed into the backseat of my own car, closing my eyes as Ben navigated the city streets.
In spite of everything that had happened, I couldn’t remember a weekend where I’d felt more in tune with someone. Then again, Emma made that easy. She didn’t expect things of me; she just let me be myself. And when it came to the bedroom . . . well, she was a natural.