Page 4 of In His Veins

My suggestion lingers in the air. The brothers are silent as I continue looking through the sprawling lists. I glance up and their gazes are all unfocused.

I clear my throat. “Is there something else, or are you all prepping to audition for a soap opera?” Chase cracks a smile and sighs.

“It’s our sister. She just moved out for the first time, and we’re worried about her.”

I raise my eyebrows, not expecting a personal dilemma. “It’s Ava, right? How old is she now?”

Lucas gets up to refill his glass and takes a sip before responding. “Twenty-five, but she’s a young twenty-five. She’s been sheltered and maybe part of that is on us. She got this idea in her head to move out and she’s working two jobs to make enough money to live in a shitty apartment in a bad part of town. She’s so fucking stubborn. We’ve tried convincing her to live at home a little longer, but she won’t listen.”

Chase chimes in. “We’ve been trying to keep an eye on her, but she knows we’re watching her now. And her friend Paige is no help because she’s the one getting Ava into trouble in the first place.” He crosses his arms over his chest and looks away from me.

I set down the list of suspects on the coffee table to my right, then lean back in my chair, studying the men in front of me. I’ve known them for years. I’ve known Chase for nearly half my life. I’ve put my life on the line for these people and they’ve done the same for me. It would seem my commitment to these idiots extends to their family.

“Is this your roundabout way of asking me to keep tabs on your sister?” I watch Chase’s shoulders visibly relax at the idea.

“She has no clue what you look like. You could keep an eye on her, and she’d never suspect anything was amiss. Besides, you’re the only other person we would trust with her safety.”

I wave my hand. “Consider it done. Anything I should know about her?”

Lucas laughs, short and low. “She’s stubborn as an ox, for one. You tell her to do one thing, she’ll want to do the exact opposite.”

I press my lips together to contain my laughter, rubbing the back of my neck. “I could have guessed that much. She shares DNA with you jackasses after all. I need logistics. Address, make and model of her car, general work schedule, close relations, etc.”

Chase nods and pulls out his laptop from the bag at his feet. “I’ll type up a quick report and email it to you. Her schedule is pretty inconsistent, but I’ll tell you what I know. She doesn’t keep many close relationships, so that should be pretty straightforward for you to keep up with.”

I nod again and lean forward, bracing my forearms on my thighs. I hadn’t planned on playing babysitter, and I’m starting to realize how big this job will be. I grab the report of suspects and start flipping through it again.

“How do you want to start knocking through this?” I ask, gesturing toward the pages in my hands. I recognize some of the names listed, and make a note of a few that I don’t.

Jax cracks his knuckles before opening his own packet. “All of these people have been spotted in the general area within the last few months. I think we should just divide up the pages like you said, and do our best to narrow down suspects from there.” I flip to the last page and see there are far fewer names there.

“Fine, but I call dibs on the last page since I’ve been hired to babysit too.” Nobody disagrees with me, and I look closer at my page. There are a couple that I dismiss right away, but there are a few that I know all too well. I toss my packet on the coffee table and lean back in my chair.

“I’ll have to consult some of my contacts before I get started, but why don’t we arrange to meet up again in a week or so, after we’ve had time to do some digging?” The brothers agree and get ready to leave. Chase shuts his laptop and stores it in his bag again.

“I just emailed you a brief report on Ava. Thanks for agreeing to do this, man. I-” he stops for a moment and seems a little choked. “We love her a lot. I feel like we missed out on so much of her childhood and we just want her to be safe.”

I nod. Even though I don’t have siblings, I know what it’s like to love someone like that. “I’ll keep an eye on her. She’ll be fine.”

Chase claps me on the back and shoulders his bag. Then, I lock the door behind the Giovanni brothers before heading back to my room to shower.

I stop as I walk by my bed and take in the rumpled sheets. Sighing, I strip them from the bed and take them to the laundry. Just the thought of going to bed and smelling that woman fills me with annoyance. I start the washer, and then go back to my room for that shower.

Washing the rest of her from my skin, I think of what the brothers asked of me. I’ve heard a lot about Ava over the years. The boys are all crazy about her and wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who hurt her. I think the only thing they regretted about working in the military was that it took them away from their sister.

I scrub conditioner into my shaggy, dark hair and make a note to get it cut this week. After toweling off, I throw on a pair of sweats and go upstairs to my office where I turn on my computer. My mailbox shows a new message from Chase, and I open it.

Ava Renee Channing. Twenty-five years old. Works at The Sable House and Brianne’s, a popular department store in the mall. Lives near the university and down the road from a few frats.

I put her address in my maps and realize I’ve done a few jobs in that area. Lucas was right; a bad side of town, indeed. The report says she’s best friends with Paige Hawthorne, a sex worker at The Restriction. I read that section again and wonder how a girl like Ava would become friends with someone like Paige.

After skimming the remainder of the report, I see Chase attached another file to the email. I open it and an image of a beautiful woman fills the screen. She’s petite with long, chestnut brown hair. The photographer captured her mid-laugh, and her smile is so fucking infectious, my lips curve up in response. Her eyes are squinted, but I can tell they're a dark shade of amber. I make my way downstairs, grabbing a black hoodie from the closet before packing a bag.

It’s time to pay Ava’s apartment a visit.

3

AVA

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