Page 18 of Theirs

Sarah’s eyes moved from him to Susie and rested on Blake. “Are you okay with this? Isn’t she your fiancée? Yet she is right there making out with your brother.”

Blake’s massive shoulders lifted as he shrugged. “It depends on whether she will come over and give me a taste of her sunshine too. I do hate missing out on my sweetheart’s love.”

Brian chuffed out a cough to cover his laugh as their real estate agent glared at Susie like she couldn’t understand what Susie had that she didn’t. Susie was rigid against his body.

“I don’t get it. When I was with you, Blake, you weren’t the sharing type.” Sarah gave a hollow chuckle and threw up her hands. “What do I know? I wasn’t the only woman you were sleeping with, so I suppose you do share, but I didn’t think you liked your women to share.”

Brian focused on his brother, hoping he would consider his answer carefully, especially as he heard Susie grinding her teeth, and she turned her head away from Blake. He exhaled slowly as Blake said, “Susie’s special. It also helps I love her.”

Susie stumbled against him, and a choked gasp escaped her. Brian watched as her eyes met his, and she gripped his arms. Brian wiped the tears sliding down her cheeks. Sarah gawked at Susie. “You are one lucky woman. I know women who would kill to be in your position, and I’m one of them. If it was me, I wouldn’t be hiding it like you have today. Enjoy it. All those haters are just jealous. I certainly am.”

Brian mouthed,Thank youto Sarah, who smiled at them. Blake slowly came away from the wall and made his way over to them. He tugged Susie from Brian’s hold and plastered her to his body. Blake nodded at him and he grinned at Sarah. “We’ll take it.”

Sarah’s eyes grew wide and she stuttered, “I-I b-beg your pardon?”

Clearing his throat and in a louder voice, Brian said, “The house. We will take it. How soon can you settle? I will have our lawyers set everything up to start this afternoon.” Nodding her head, Sarah rushed off, putting the phone to her ear.

Moving to join Blake and Susie where they quietly whispered to each other, he patted his brother on the back. “So, we’re house mates again, bro.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “I knew there was a down side to all this.” And he punched his brother in the arm.

****

They arrived back at Susie’s townhouse just as the phone rang. She ignored it. Turning to Blake, Brian raised his eyebrow. His brother shrugged. They had no idea why she didn’t answer the call. Curious now, he strolled to the phone and answered, “Hello, Susie’s phone.”

“Hello, I’m Dr. James Domino from Newcastle metro hospital, and I’m looking for SusanEllen Sanden.”

Brian heard the bathroom taps go and he waited for Susie to come out, wanting more information he answered the doctor. “She is in the bathroom at the moment. May I ask what this is regarding?”

“It’s in regard to a Samantha Gardener.”

Brian remembered Susie’s friend. She’d been terrified of them and came nowhere near them, even when he dropped the girls home the other night. She hadn’t wanted to be alone with him and almost begged to be taken home first, even though it would put him out of the way for the others. Samantha wouldn’t even let him walk her to the door to make sure she got in her house okay. Something had been off. “We will be there in ten minutes. How bad is she?”

There was a sigh on the other end as Dr. Domino continued, “She fell down the stairs again, only this time though the stairs kicked her a couple of times before he brought her in. She won’t press charges. She’s too scared. I don’t think she’ll live if he does this again. Legally, I can’t do anything.”

Brian growled, “Ten minutes. We’ll be there.” Hanging up the phone, he noticed Susie next to him with a worried look on her face, and Blake stood behind her with his arms around her, his eyes flashing bear, and his jaw clenched. He knew Blake heard the conversation thanks to their shifter hearing. He focused on Susie. “Honey, could you hear that?”

She shook her head. “No, but I got the gist of it. I thought she’d left him. I helped her last time.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “We need to go now. I will warn you, he is a big guy, and I’m sure he’s on something.”

Brian nodded to her. “Why hasn’t she called the police, gotten a restraining order?”

She grabbed her bag and they walked to the door as Blake got on the phone to his cousins. “We have, but he is a cop, and they seem to cover for their own.”

He watched as Blake paused with the phone to his ear. Their cousin Slate answered. “What’s up, cuz?”

“Meet me out front of Newcastle metro hospital in ten.” He hung up without waiting for an answer, and called their brother Brock, who was a police detective. “Hey, bro, where are you?”

There was a pause before he heard his brother tell Blake where he was, and then Blake growled, “Good, meet me at the metro hospital as soon as you can.” He shoved the phone in his pocket and snarled, “Let’s go.” Brian wrapped his arms around Susie as they walked out of the house and got into the car.

Chapter Ten

Susie was numb as she got out of the car at the hospital. How did she not know Greg was back in Sammy’s life? Sammy was supposed to be one of her best friends. Brian wrapped his arm around her and whispered, “Honey, you couldn’t have known.”

She leaned into him. “I should have known, but she came out on Friday… so I thought everything fine. He never let her go out.”

He rubbed her back as they walked to the entry were two massive men stood to the side talking. They had the same build as Blake and Brian. One was even just a little bit taller. The two guys turned when they spotted them and instantly Susie could see they were related to her men. The taller one looked like an older version of Blake, only he had Brian’s blue eyes. The other, she’d seen early today at lunch. He was about the same size as Brian, but he had lighter hair, almost a dirty blond, and his eyes where green.

Blake whacked both guys on the back and explained the situation, and that the doctor had called, which they all knew he wasn’t supposed to. The one who looked like Blake growled, and seemed to grow as his eyes flashed. She shrunk back whispering, “You can’t go in there like that. Not only will they not let you, but you would also terrify Sammy more.”

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