To her complete astonishment, the man in the middle, the one she thought looked so similar to Ethan, took a step forward, pulled her into his arms and hugged her so tightly that she worried she’d suffer broken ribs.
He lifted her off her feet, squeezed a little harder and then kissed her right on the forehead.
“I’d be pissed if he didn’t expect us to help. I’m Garrett, by the way. Nathan’s older brother. This is Sam on my right and Joe to the left. We’ve heard a lot about you, Shea. But you’ll understand if we’re more interested in hearing about you straight from the source.”
“Put her down, moron,” Sam said in a dry tone. “We need to be on our way. We can save the pleasantries for later.”
Garrett put Shea down but then he faced Nathan, staring at his younger brother, his expression giving nothing away. Then, as he’d done with Shea, Garrett pulled Nathan into a tight hug and pounded him on the back.
“You’ve got a hell of a lot of explaining to do, little man.”
Nathan punched Garrett in the gut. “Watch who you call little man.”
Garrett grinned and rubbed his abdomen. “Nice to see you haven’t wussed out on me in the last months. Was afraid you’d turn into a girl or something.”
Shea frowned, sure that there’d been an insult in there somewhere.
Joe still hadn’t said anything. He stared at Nathan like he was waiting. Sam glanced back at the twins and then tucked an arm around Shea’s shoulders. “Come on. We should get you into the SUV. Beavis and Butthead there will come along after they’ve had their come-to-Jesus moment.”
Shea looked back in concern, but Garrett nudged her away. “They’ve got a lot to work out between them. Joe needs to vent his spleen. This has been brewing between them for months now. The sooner they get it out in the open, the sooner things will get back to normal. As normal as things ever get in this family.”
Still she hesitated. She didn’t know these men. Didn’t know the group of men still standing in the background. She didn’t want to intrude on Nathan’s conversation with Joe, but neither was she going to get into a vehicle full of strangers without him.
“I’ll wait for Nathan here,” she said firmly, stopping several feet away from the line of SUVs.
Garrett looked surprised, and then grudging respect flashed in his eyes. He glanced over at the men standing to the side and motioned them over.
“Shea, I’d like you to meet the other members of KGI. I don’t know how much Nathan has told you about us, but we’re a private organization that does jobs no one else can or wants to do.”
“Could you be a little more vague?” she muttered.
He grinned but didn’t respond.
He pointed to a darker-skinned man with longish, unruly black hair and dark eyes. “This is Rio, one of our team leaders.”
Rio flashed her a smile. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Behind him, his team lurked, silent and tense as if ready for anything. Garrett didn’t single them out, which was just as well. She’d never remember all their names and her head was already spinning. Did it matter if she knew who they were? It sounded bitchy and ungrateful, but she was only concerned with Nathan.
Garrett then pointed to a tall man with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Cold eyes that made her shiver as he stared at her.
“That’s Steele, our other team leader, and that’s his team just behind him.”
Steele didn’t offer a greeting. He just nodded and then took a step back. Which was fine with her, because he unnerved her.
Swanny stepped in next to her. Relieved, she took his hand and clung to it. All these people made her nervous, and she was grateful for Swanny’s comforting presence. Which she supposed didn’t make a whole lot of sense given that she’d only just met him too, but they had a bond through Nathan and she felt at ease around him.
He glanced down in surprise and she thought she had offended him or unnerved him with her gesture, but when she started to pull away, his grip tightened around her hand, and to her further amazement, he offered a smile. A genuine smile. It was the first time she’d seen any emotion, good or bad, on his solemn features.
“They’re a little hard to take all at once,” he whispered down to her.
She smiled and nodded because that was exactly what she’d been thinking.
“But Garrett is right. You should be in the SUV and not in the open. I’ll go with you until Nathan makes it over.”
It was then she realized Garrett hadn’t called his men over for a meet and greet. They’d positioned themselves strategically around her. A protective shield, since she’d balked about getting into the SUV without Nathan.
Feeling like a moron, she nodded and allowed Swanny to guide her toward one of the waiting vehicles. He climbed into the back with her and shut the door. Garrett got into the front passenger seat while some of the others separated to go to the other vehicles. Donovan, Ethan and Sam remained outside at a discreet distance from where Nathan and Joe stood, and Shea realized they were looking out for their brothers.
“Did I cause this?” she asked softly in Garrett’s direction. “This problem between them?”
Garrett turned so he could look at her. His gaze softened and he didn’t look as formidable as he had before.
“No, you didn’t. This is something that has to be worked out between them. They’re very close. They’ve always worked and served together. A lot has changed for both of them, and when Nathan came home to us, Joe just wanted things to be the way they were before. They’ll be fine. You have plenty enough to worry about without being concerned that you’re the cause of a brotherly rift. In this family someone’s always pissed off at someone else, but we get over it real quick,” he added with a grin.
Shea nodded but her gaze remained fixed on the two brothers facing each other a short distance away. It was all she could do not to slip into Nathan’s mind. To offer him support. To know what was being said, but she wouldn’t intrude on his privacy.
She knew all too well how much he loved his family. They’d been all he’d focused on when he was in captivity. Whatever it was keeping the two brothers apart would be resolved. It had to be.
NATHAN stared at his twin in silence. This was a new situation for him, being so unsure of where he stood with the sibling he was closest to. Joe was tense and a little unsure himself. He seemed poised to say many things, but he held back. Maybe he was afraid of making Nathan angry.
Finally Joe broke the silence. “Why, man?”