Page 13 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

“Maybe, rope boy.” Lennon laughed at the scowl Reed sent him. “She wanted to know if you were into boats. She couldn’t think of another reason you’d be into ropes.”

I watched Reed swallow and look away with a sinking feeling in my stomach. “She’s our friends’ little sister.”

Reed glared at me. “I fucking know.”

“I’m just saying.” I watched his hands ball into fists at his side and sighed. “I get it. She pushes all of your buttons. Even if she wasn’t their little sister, do you really think she could handle you? There have been women who’ve been around the block a few times who couldn’t, Reed.”

Lennon gripped my shoulder. “He gets it, D. We all get it. We’re babysitters. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I’m going to bed.” Reed’s face fell before he turned around and left us standing there.

I groaned when I was sure he was out of hearing range. “I didn’t mean to make him feel bad.”

“Well, you did.” Lennon blew out a rough breath, his face oddly serious for a change. “He already feels like he’s the reason nothing ever works out for us and you don’t help. He has better control over himself than either of us, D, and you know that.”

I rubbed my face and leaned against the counter. “I’ll talk to him.”

“He almost didn’t come with us. Remember that.” Grabbing his laptop, he shut it forcefully and didn’t even turn back as he spoke. “I’ll keep an eye on her. If she wakes up, I’ll handle it.”

And just like that, I was alone in the kitchen, feeling like an asshole. I poured myself a whiskey on ice and settled in the living room with my phone. I checked the cameras before calling Mills. He answered with a grunt and I sighed. “She’s still sleeping.”

“And you still sound that stressed? She did a number on you, huh?” Mills sounded impressed. “I remember the great Dean Cunningham being unshakable. Don’t tell me my little sister managed to shake you.”

“If there was ever a form of torture that could break me, it would be your little sister. The FBI played that song about boots to try to break Waco. They should’ve played a tape of your sister talking about absolutely nothing, just to be a pain.” I shook my head and fought a smile that tugged at my lips. “Waco would’ve ended a lot faster.”

“I know I should be offended but I’ve been on the receiving end of Veratryingto piss me off enough times to understand exactly what you just said. If I wasn’t sure she’d somehow cause the downfall of the USA, I’d suggest the Navy use her as a weapon of mass destruction. She’d be a lot safer than a nuclear bomb.”

“I don’t know if I’d say a lot safer…”

“If we could get her to harness that power and put it into something good, she’d rule the world.” It was clear, despite his teasing, he was in awe of Vera. “She took that man down last night like it was nothing. I’m pretty sure she did it out of spite, to prove to me how wrong I was, too.”

“Whatever the energy she harnessed for it, I’m glad she did. Last night could’ve ended a lot differently.” Not that I needed to tell him that. I’d seen the look on his face when Vera had called.

“I have two jobs on this ranch and in life, D. I keep the ranch running and I keep my family safe. One of those jobs is a lot easier than the other, especially with Vera, but that’s no excuse for me nearly letting her get killed. I don’t know what I would’ve done—”

“You don’t have to think about that. She’s safe. She’ll stay safe until all of this is over. She won’t like being trapped here but she won’t be able to get out. We had this house built like a bunker. Not even Vera’s powers could conquer it.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I saw Reed’s knuckles. Were you able to turn the guy over to the sheriff?”

“Sheriff Morgan is a local boy. He understood our friend had an unfortunate fall.”

“Good. Did he mention his next action plan?” My leg bounced as I waited for a sign that the sheriff was going to do a good enough job.

“He’s going to book the guy as John Doe since he won’t identify himself. They’ll send him to court on Monday and the judge will hold him in contempt if he continues to refuse to identify himself. He’ll continue to be held until he does. If he does identify himself, he’ll still be held without bail most likely since his crime was a violent one. And if we get his name, we can dig into it.” Mills sounded as tired as I felt. “I suggested he put together a photo lineup of all the sheriffs within a hundred miles or so. He seemed to think it was a good idea, even though he said he knows most of the sheriffs around here and none of them match the description Vera gave. He suggested Vera might’ve gotten the uniform mixed up.”

“I had the same idea about the lineup. So, if Vera did get the uniform mixed up and the guy wasn’t a sheriff…?”

“Then…nothing. Morgan said sending out a request for all local law enforcement officers’ headshots would be akin to him announcing Devil’s Den was not to be trusted.”

I growled. “And he’s not willing to upset the rest of the local police forces for this. Great.”

“Yeah, I pretty much told him to go fuck himself and if he wouldn’t search for the right cop, we would.” He sighed. “He said to give him a chance to do his job. He’s always been a good cop but I don’t know. It feels strange to not start my own investigation when it’smysister who could’ve been hurt.”

“We still have all of our resources. I know a few FBI agents in Dallas. I could lie and say Vera heard them talking about moving the drugs across state lines. They’d be willing to get involved then.”

“Do it.” The sound of something breaking in the background made him swear. “I’ve gotta go. West just put his fist through the front door.”

I hung up, understanding West’s frustration. I was retired, but I wasn’t dead. I could guard Vera and do some work behind the scenes at the same time. I pulled up a contact I thought I was finally done with.

“What do you want, Dean Cunningham? You retired and left me to starve to death. I shouldn’t even answer your calls.” Ruth Gervinsky wasn’t an easy woman but she was a dramatic one.

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