Page 36 of Mine to Protect

“Honestly, it’s hard not to be pissed as hell at him,” she admitted. She leaned into Rhett’s strong frame, wrapping her arms around his waist. “The more I think about how he disappeared, how he came here, and how he seems to be orchestrating all of this, I want to strangle him.”

“I can understand that, but until we have answers, you’re only going to make yourself crazy thinking about all the unknowns. We need to wait this—”

“But for how long?” She grabbed Rhett’s cell from his back pocket, where he always carried it. She stared at a screen that told her she’d failed facial recognition and needed a passcode. “I’m going nuts here. I need to do something, and the fact that you’re doing jack shit is pissing me off.”

He quickly snatched his phone from her fingers and turned his back. He pressed it to his ear and completely ignored her.

How rude.

She planted her hands on her hips and tapped her toe.

“Hey. It’s me,” he said. “Can you give me an update?”

Her heart beat so fast she could feel it in her muscles. They twitched and pulsed. It hurt, and she just wanted all of this to end. Now. She resented her brother for putting her through this, and she mentally chided herself for allowing it to be all-consuming.

About a minute ticked by, and she wished she could hear the other side of the conversation.

“Well, Chris hasn’t shown. Miles has been lurking, but there’s been no action. Nothing. I will text my buddy who is checking out the two hotels around where I pinged Chris’s cell and do a complete sweep here, but he should have been here twenty minutes ago. I checked traffic. There wasn’t any. Of course, he could have taken the scenic route, but I doubt it. He wants what’s in that box.”

Rhett took a step toward the kitchen and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah. I thought of that. Do you want me to come?” Rhett turned and caught her gaze. “That’s true.”

She narrowed her stare. A million questions with no answers swirled in her brain.

“All right. Thanks.” Rhett tapped the screen. “Okay. Emmerson and Emmett are at the bank. They are keeping an eye out for your brother and Jackie.”

She let out a gasp. “It makes sense they would go there.”

“It does,” Rhett admitted. “Come on. We need to go for a ride around the block and then head to the police station.”

“What? Why?”

“Because whatever is in that safety deposit box has to be logged into evidence. I’m sorry. But that’s the way it’s got to be.” He raised his hand. “My brothers and mom have promised that it will be kept confidential unless it’s mind-blowing and completely criminal. But we need to get your brother to come in. So, can I please have your phone.” He phrased it as a command, not a question.

She knew she had to give her cell to Rhett. This was real life-and-death shit. She pointed toward the coffee table.

He leaned over and picked it up.

“You know the passcode,” she said. Her eyes burned, but there were no tears.

“Hey.” He pulled her into his arms and crushed her against his chest. “I know you’re scared and want your brother to be here and safe. I do, too. I really do. I’m going to call him and see what’s going on.” He brushed his warm lips across the side of her cheek. They inched closer to her mouth, kissing tenderly.

It was impossible to resist the comfort he offered, and the hardest part was that she knew it was real. Nothing about the emotions that swirled between the two of them was fake, and she wanted to explore them. Only she couldn’t.

He cupped her face, breaking off the kiss. “Let me call your brother.”

“Okay.”

While he was busy with her cell, she decided to put the board game away. Doing something tactile made her feel useful. Keeping her mind and body occupied was better than sitting idle and feeling as though she had no control over anything.

Her entire life had been like that, and she was tired of it. She wanted that to change. She wanted to take charge but had never really known how.

Five years ago, when she spent those three glorious weeks with Rhett in Key West, she’d had a taste of what that could feel like, and she wanted more. But her brain was wired to make sure her brother and father were taken care of before she met her needs.

“Right to voicemail,” Rhett said with a huge dose of frustration. “I’ll text him and try again, but I don’t like that, and I can’t ping the location with my tracker.” Rhett stared at her cell. “Shit. The text isn’t being delivered.”

“What does that mean?”

“Either the phone is off, or it’s dead.”

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