Page 27 of Corrupt Idol

“My step-brother came to help.”

Abel, ever courteous, turned in his seat to shake Jesse’s hand. “I’m Abel.”

“Jesse.”

“I’m glad you’re driving back to Texas with Vi. We were a little worried.”

“I’m not driving to Alaska,” she grumbled as she belted herself in.

“Still. You can get into trouble at a kid’s birthday party,” Abel said as he pulled into traffic. “It’ll give us all peace of mind if you have someone to back you up.”

“What does that mean?” Jesse asked from the back seat.

She shot him a quelling look that he returned with a stoic one.

“You’re her brother. You must know,” Abel said with a grin. “She attracts the wrong kind of attention and always gets herself into trouble.”

“Abel,” she said in a suppressive tone.

He laughed and pat her hand. “It’s not your fault, Vi.”

“No,” she said with great restraint. “It isn’t.”

“Men won’t leave her alone,” Abel shared as he pulled onto the interstate. “And she tends to put them down hard. Men don’t take kindly to that.”

Nothing from the back seat.

“By the way, Mason stopped by,” Abel said with a sidelong glance.

“What for?”

“To get you back, I suppose. Reese told him you’re moving. He wants you to call him.”

“If I wanted to talk to him, I would have returned his calls.” But that was a difficult feat since she blocked him. “He didn’t cause any trouble, did he?”

“Nah.” His voice changed. “I’m sorry about your Mom.”

She gripped the door handle and tried to stop the immediate surge of emotion. During the whole flight, her mind replayed past memories that made her heart weep. Just the thought of losing Lynne made her feel as if she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t bear to talk about it. “Thanks. I need to leave as soon as possible.”

“We figured that. We’re gonna help as much as we can.” Abel’s attention went to the rearview mirror. “I didn’t know Vi had a brother. Do you live in Texas?”

“I’m in the Air Force,” Jesse said.

Abel brightened. “My brother’s in the Army.”

She tuned them out as they made their way to her home for the past four years. Even though she knew moving to Texas was the right thing to do right now, she felt a pull in her gut. Salt Lake City had given her a fresh slate. She made friends here and created a new life. This city helped her grow and heal… or so she thought.

Did running away work?

A wave of heat washed over her. She didn’t run, she moved on with her life. Did he think she would wait around so when he came home on leave, she would be at his disposal? Selfish motherfucker. She had a life to live and wasn’t going to waste any more of it wallowing on the past or him.

Listening to him and Abel put her on edge. She didn’t like Jesse encroaching on her life. This was hers. Here, he was nobody, and she wanted to keep it that way. Unfortunately, he and Abel seemed to be getting along swell. She strangled her seat belt as she listened to him extract information from Abel she wouldn’t have provided—that she had originally dated Abel before she realized they didn’t suit and introduced him to Reese. Abel filled him in on her short college experience, some of her jobs, and was starting on her extensive dating when she cut him off.

“That’s enough,” she snapped.

Abel grinned. “Don’t want him to report back to your parents?”

No, she didn’t wanthimto know. “You should be careful. You were at all of those wild freshmen parties with me. I have a lot of ammunition for the speech I’m going to give at your wedding.”

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