Page 22 of Hendrix

Carina let out a squeak.

“You do you,” I drawled. “No skin off my nose.”

“You can’t just throw her out. She’s done nothing wrong,” Carina protested, her gaze darting between us both.

“I’m VP. I can do what I damned well want,” he growled, leaning down and getting into Carina’s face. “And the next time one of those girls throws their bullshit your way, you come to me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you being such a grumpy bear? It’s not my fault you were so blinded by Sara’s obvious charms that you couldn’t see what a bitch she is.”

I almost laughed out loud at the pure shock that crossed my brother’s face. Just for a second, I thought he was about to lose his shit.

His chest compressed with the huge breath he released. He scraped a hand across his face and muttered, “Sorry.”

Carina waved a hand between her and Giselle. “I know you feel responsible for us because of Benny, but I already have one controlling father. I don’t need another.”

The air in the room crackled with tension, and for a split second, my VP looked as if he were about to explode.

I turned my lips inward to stop myself from busting out a laugh at the expression on his face. He was pissed that Carina saw him in that way, but that was exactly how he’d made it. The stupid fuck should’ve made his move years ago, so it was his own fault that Carina saw him as a friend and protector rather than a potential ol’ man.

Jesus, even the smartest of my men could be dumb fucks sometimes, and I could say that with my full chest, seeing as I’d made people suffer with my own dumb-fuckery over the years, especially Anna.

My heart dropped as it all came rushing back to me.

Anna.

“As entertaining as this is, I have to go make some calls,” I announced. “Carina, can you go to the cottage tomorrow after Gopher’s cleared it and make a list of any refurbishment it needs? Take a measuring tape and your laptop and price up some decent flooring and blinds. Use your company credit card and buy everything you’ll need to make the place comfortable. Fender lost his wife a few years ago, so make it homely for them.”

A dark expression fell over her face, and she whispered, “Poor guy.” Her understanding tone hit me somewhere deep. She knew what Fender was going through because she’d gone through the same thing herself.

“They’ll need cable and internet too,” she pointed out. “I’ll also call the local schools and start the ball rolling with the kids’ enrolment. How old are they?”

I winced. “Can’t remember exactly. The youngest is about five, the oldest is about thirteen, and there’s one in between. I’ll call Wyoming and get the details over to you.”

She smiled. “We’ll get them settled in, make them feel welcome. They’re coming to the best place to heal. I mean, look at everything you guys did for me and Gigi.”

I ducked my chin. “Works both ways, Carrie. Me and the boys would’ve starved or drank ourselves to death without you lookin’ after us. Imagine how fat we’d be from all the DoorDash we’d have had to order.”

Carina laughed softly. “Well, it worked out well for everyone then.” She leaned up, grabbed my nape, and pulled me in for a fleeting hug before turning back toward the table and taking the seat next to Gigi.

An uneasy feeling pinged through me at the unexpected show of emotion, and I headed for the door, suddenly lost for words.

I wouldn’t say I was embarrassed, but I definitely felt uncomfortable. Talking about my emotions and showing my vulnerabilities wasn’t the norm for me, which was weird, seeing as my dad had no issues with broadcasting exactly where he was at, not only in his head but also in his feels.

As I let myself into my office, my beeping cell pulled me away from my thoughts.

I moved to my desk, dumped my laptop, and lowered myself into my chair, feeling like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. Then, I fished my phone from my pocket and read the group message.

VP: Church. One hour.

The corner of my mouth quirked up.

It was eight A.M., and I had no doubt that most of my officers hadn’t gotten to bed until the early hours of the morning. Blade really was a sadistic bastard, but on this occasion, I had no problem with it because we needed to formulate a plan to get Anna safe and do it stat.

In the meantime, I only had an hour to get what I needed.

I picked up my phone and clicked on my contacts before tapping on one of the names. The line rang, and I put the phone onto speaker, waiting for the call to connect.

Within seconds, it clicked in, and a humor-filled voice drawled, “Well, look at what the cat dragged in.”

---