Page 23 of Sheltered By Love

After a few moments of thinking maybe I shouldn’t have disobeyed, Garrett answers, sounding so harried I instantly regret calling him.

“Ms. Michaels, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, um, I feel rather, I don’t want to be a nuisance…”

“Hmmm. Is this about my brother?”

I wince. “I understand this is his, your family home, but I’m not sure I understand why he’s so, um…involved?”

“You mean why is he so determined to be a giant pain in the ass?”

“Well, er, yes.”

He sighs. “You’re the first person who’s lived in the house since Mom and Dad died. You’re also the first person living in it that hasn’t been family.”

A hard lump forms in my throat. I wish I’d known all this before I fell in love with the house and picked up everything to move here.

“I had no idea.”

“Don’t worry about Zane. You must have made a good impression or he wouldn’t have picked you to be our first official tenant.”

Tears spring to my eyes as I think about the appalling day a stony Zane Reid damn near interrogated me before accepting my security deposit.

I was so nervous I barely remember what I said. Only that I had the distinct impression he didn’t want to be there.

Now I know why.

“Unless there was something other than my brother being a pain in the ass, I need to get some sleep.”

“Um, yes, sorry, I won’t call again unless it’s urgent.”

“No problem. With any luck, this will all be over soon. I’ve enlisted a couple guys I can trust so they can come around and discuss ongoing surveillance with Zane.”

I’m sure I misheard. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Don’t worry, anyone coming into your home will be people Zane and I trust.”

That doesn’t make me feel any better. What if I don’t trust them?

“Are they all from the police?”

“Not exactly. One is our younger brother and the other is our cousin.”

“This really is a family affair,” I mumble.

“Blueskin Bay is a small town. When push comes to shove, we look after each other. That includes you, Felicity.”

The lump only seems to solidify. “And what am I supposed to be doing?”

“Just carry on with your normal routine as much as possible.”

My brow puckers for too many reasons to count. “That might be a little hard with a grumpy Marine around,” I mumble.

Zane

Sometime around mid-morning, I managed to get enough sleep to be somewhat coherent when an intruder alert sounded on my phone.

I groan as I take a look, already guessing it’s going to be Levi and Jax here to talk strategy.

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