Page 63 of Mine to Protect

“I’m sorry.” Jackie curled her fingers around Shelby’s biceps. “I know I put everyone in a bad situation. This is all my fault.”

“No.” Shelby shook her head. “I’m not blaming you for any of this. You were a child when your parents and uncle made the decision to do what they did. We’re all pawns in this.” She pulled Jackie in for a hug. This was the woman that Chris had chosen to be with. This was the love of his life, and the fact that Chris was willing to risk it all said a lot. “I’m glad you’re safe. I’ve been worried sick about the two of you.”

“I wish we didn’t have to do that to you.” Jackie leaned back and lowered her chin. “My uncle one hundred percent believed that the Gorga family would come after you to get to us, and since Chris started working with my uncle and was dating me, they knew they could control all of us.”

“Did they threaten me?” Shelby asked.

“Yes,” Jackie said. “In some of the things they started sending us, along with that fake police report were hints of other things they knew. One was a piece of paper with your address on it.”

“Miles, what are my brother and Rhett going to do? How worried do I need to be?”

“I wouldn’t have left them if I didn’t believe in both of them.” Miles rubbed the back of his neck.

It was something that Rhett did when he was either nervous or didn’t want to answer truthfully but would anyway.

“Rhett’s plan was to follow the bad guys and keep us posted on where they went. But Chris just texted me that they showed up at the campground on foot, no car in sight. As we speak, Rhett’s crossing the street to have a little chat with them.”

“That can’t be good,” Shelby muttered.

Miles stared at his cell, tapping on the screen. “I’m letting Emmerson know what’s going on. The good news is, our brother Nathan just returned from vacation but is still off duty. He’s going to join Rhett and Chris while Emmett and Emmerson are in uniform, doing their thing.”

“Why can’t they just arrest them?” Shelby asked.

“They don’t have cause. And we don’t even have names for who these men are. We don’t know if they’re wanted for anything or not. If we harass them, we’re fucked,” Miles said. “For now, the three of us sit tight in the house unless someone tells us otherwise.”

“I’m going to go fucking crazy.” Shelby folded her arms and focused on the coconut trees. The fruit wasn’t ripe yet, but it would be awesome to snag a few when they were and stick a straw in one to drink the milk.

“This is going to be over today,” Miles said. “At least, our part of it is. My mom’s going to take care of the legal issues plaguing Jackie’s family, and these thugs are going to get what’s coming.”

In part, that’s what concerned Shelby.

* * *

Rhett’s phonebuzzed half a dozen times in his back pocket, but he wasn’t about to pull it out. Not when two of the bad guys were staring him down with frowns on their faces.

“Can I help you?” Rhett said as he approached Chris’s RV.

“I think we should be asking you that,” one of the men said as he folded his arms across his chest. He stood tall in front of the door.

Rhett might as well draw the battle lines. “This is my future brother-in-law’s campsite. So, I’ll ask again. Can I help you with something?”

“Why, yes, you can,” the other man said, inching closer. “My name’s Angelo. That guy over there’s my cousin, Frankie. We’re looking for Chris and Jackie, and Jackie’s uncle Joe. Now. We know they’re here. So, let’s not play games. Just tell us where they are.”

“They aren’t here,” Rhett said. “Why are you looking for them?”

“That’s our business,” Frankie said. “Not yours.”

Rhett shrugged. “Guess I can’t help you.”

Angelo lifted his shirt, showing off his big gun. “That’s not smart,” he said in his Jersey accent.

“You do know you’re in Florida, right?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Angelo narrowed his stare.

“Everyone in this state is packing. And it’s perfectly legal to carry concealed weapons if you have a permit. Now, I’m betting you don’t have one for that since you’re not from Florida. I’m not a cop, but I know a few.”

“We’re not afraid of some local police officers.”

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