Page 64 of Last Chance

Temper lit a fire in Janie’s blood. How dare he put this on her? He was the one who had frozen her out unless he was trying to wear her down and sway her to his way of thinking.

Brody returned carrying a tray with four drinks. He handed the first one to Janie. “Tea for the lady.” Then he handed Sawyer and David cups of coffee before taking the last one for himself. He set two bowls filled with creamer and sweetener in the center of the table.

Brody and Sawyer ignored the bowls. David doctored up his drink with a lot of creamer and sugar.

“You need to come back to Chile with me,” her brother said after a long sip of his coffee. “Maria is worried sick about you, and I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t bring you back home.”

She heard what he didn’t say. David wasn’t worried about her. “I’ll call her tonight.”

“That’s not good enough. I’m not letting you upset my wife. She’s pregnant. Maria can’t have shocks to her system. It’s not good for her or the baby.”

“Really, Moran?” Sawyer watched him much as a cat did a mouse. “Not above using blackmail to get your way, are you?”

“Shut up. This is none of your business. It’s between me and my sister, so butt out.”

“Not happening,” he said, voice soft. “The danger to your sister still exists. She’s not safe, especially anywhere in South or Central America.”

David stared. “What are you talking about? Of course, she’s safe.” He rounded on Janie. “What is this clown filling your head with, sis? This is ridiculous. The hijackers aren’t in the US. No one is after you now.”

“You’re wrong.”

He snorted. “Prove it. You can’t, can you? Your boyfriend just doesn’t want you out of his sight and out of his influence.” David stabbed a finger in her direction. “I told you this guy was after our money.”

“That’s enough, David.” She’d had enough. The accusations were uncalled for. “I’m not going back to Chile. I have a business to run.”

“You have employees. They can take care of your little store for a few days.”

“They’ve already been carrying the load for over two weeks. I’m not asking them to do it again this soon. It’s not fair to them.”

“You have that little control over your own workers?” He shook his head. “Fine. I’ll take care of it for you.” He stood and wrapped his hand around her wrist and tugged. “Let’s get it over with, then we’ll swing by your house to pack a few things before we go to the airport.”

She gasped at the sharp pain in her wrist.

In less than a beat, Sawyer gripped David’s wrist. Her brother hissed and released her, shaking his hand.

“What are you doing? I should sue you for bodily harm.”

“First, Janie said she wasn’t going to Chile. You weren’t listening. Second, you don’t put your hands on her without her permission. Period. Third, no one hurts Janie and gets by with it. Fourth, she doesn’t have her passport. She can’t travel internationally without that passport.”

“Oh, yeah? How did she get back into the country?” he demanded.

“Private arrangements.”

“This is ridiculous,” David snapped. “I want to take her home.”

“Forget it.”

“I can’t go, bro,” Janie said. “Even if I wanted to leave, I won’t bring danger to your wife and baby.”

“That makes little sense. You’re safe now.”

“She’s not,” Brody said.

“What do you mean?”

“Since Janie’s been back in the US, she’s been a target.”

“All the more reason to get her out of here.” He swung his gaze back to Janie. “Come on, sis. You shouldn’t be hanging out with losers. I can protect you.”

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