Chapter 11 #3
The bickering back and forth between brother and sister was pretty humorous.
And the longer Kinley was around them, the more envious she became.
She would’ve given anything to have a brother or a sister.
Especially a brother like Grover. He was overprotective, and his concern for Devyn was obviously coming from a place of love.
She’d had plenty of foster brothers and sisters over the years, but no one had cared for her like Grover obviously cared about Devyn.
Gillian had shown up to help as well, and Gage had ordered both women to stay inside and assist in the placement of boxes.
Kinley was perfectly okay with that, as it would keep her out of sight of anyone who might want to do her harm.
There were large chunks of time that she was able to forget that someone was probably out there trying to find her—and kill her—because of what she’d seen, but being outside the safety of Gage’s apartment made her wary, and she was hyper-alert for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.
She was currently sitting on a chair in the corner of the small living area, staying out of the way and watching as Devyn ordered the guys about, telling them where to put her things.
If she hadn’t been looking at the other woman at the exact moment she reached up to grab a box off a stack that Grover had carried in, she would’ve missed it.
But there was no mistaking the large bruise on Devyn’s side.
It was yellow and obviously almost healed, but Kinley knew that whatever caused it had to have hurt like a son of a bitch.
She inhaled sharply. Devyn and Grover didn’t hear her as they disappeared into a room, still bickering.
But Lucky did. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“What happened to Devyn?”
Lucky’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Kinley hesitated at the tone of his voice. “Um…it’s not my business, really. I was just surprised by the size of the bruise on her side. It’s huge.”
Kinley couldn’t miss the hardness that crept over Lucky’s face. “Which side?”
“Her right one. It looks mostly healed now, but it’s pretty big.”
“I’ll ask her about it and make sure she’s okay,” Lucky said.
Kinley wasn’t sure that was the best idea, as it truly wasn’t his business either, but she appreciated that he seemed worried about her. “I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to talk to her today, but I like her.”
Lucky looked distracted now, but he said, “I’m sure she likes you too,” before he stalked away.
“Hey, Kinley, wanna help me in here?” Gillian asked. “I swear Devyn has eight thousand cups and like two plates.”
Kinley nodded and stood, still worried about the bruise she saw on Devyn’s side.
She’d been kicked once in one of her foster homes, and it had hurt like hell, even weeks later.
The other woman wasn’t moving as if she was in pain, but she had a feeling there was a lot more to Devyn than the breezy person she was pretending to be.
She’d already heard from Gage about how she’d suffered leukemia as a child, and that would make a lasting impression on anyone.
Two hours later, Kinley was sitting on the couch with both Devyn and Gillian, all the guys elsewhere.
Brain, Oz, and Doc had called it a day, heading home.
Grover and Gage were taking the broken down boxes to the recycling center, Trigger was picking up some food, and Lucky was sitting in his car out in the parking lot, keeping an eye on the building, just in case.
Gage hadn’t wanted to leave her without protection, so Lucky had volunteered to stay and keep watch over the apartment.
When he’d planted himself in a chair in the corner of the living room, Devyn had glared at him and pointed to the door.
Amazingly, Lucky hadn’t protested—but he’d shot a look at Devyn that Kinley couldn’t interpret before leaving without complaint.
Kinley had been nervous to meet Devyn, but the other woman turned out to be very down to earth.
She was indeed gorgeous, but she didn’t act like any of the popular girls she’d known back in high school.
At five-eleven, Devyn was tall, and definitely pretty enough, to be a model, but she didn’t seem bothered that she’d worked up a sweat and her hair was up in a messy bun.
Kinley felt guilty that she’d judged Devyn before knowing her. She’d been nothing but welcoming and friendly since they’d been introduced.
“Want to tell us what’s up between you and Lucky?” Gillian asked, settling back on the couch cushions.
“No,” Devyn said grumpily.
“I know we just met, but I’ve known Lucky for a while now, and he’s normally the happiest of all the guys. It’s hard to rattle him. But he definitely seems rattled.”
“He cornered me and asked me some uncomfortable questions,” Devyn reluctantly admitted.
Gillian sat up in alarm. “He was harassing you?” she asked.
Devyn sighed and shook her head. “No, not like that.”
“I’m sorry,” Kinley blurted, figuring she knew what Devyn was talking about. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I told him about the bruise on your side.”
Devyn turned to her, and Kinley did her best not to shrink back. “You told him? How’d you even know?”
“I saw it when you reached for a box. I mean, it’s none of my business.
I just remembered that when I was around fifteen, one of the kids in the foster home I was in didn’t like me.
He got his friends to hold me down and he kicked me, really hard.
He would’ve hurt me more, but my foster dad arrived home and he had to let me go.
I didn’t say anything about it because that would’ve made my life even worse, but I had a bruise just like that, and it hurt like hell for a really long time.
” Kinley knew she was babbling, but the last thing she wanted was for this woman to dislike her.
“I was worried about you. You’ve been lifting boxes and stuff all day. I didn’t tell Grover because he’s your brother, and he probably wouldn’t’ve been happy at all. I didn’t think Lucky would react like he obviously did. I’m really sorry.”
She held her breath as Devyn stared at her for a long moment. “What happened to your foster brother?”
Kinley wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he and his friends assaulted you. What happened to them?”
“Nothing. I didn’t tell anyone, but I talked to my case manager and begged her to move me to a different home.
Of course there were no other homes, because not a lot of people want to foster teenagers.
I told her I’d rather be in a group home than go back to the one with that kid who hated me. She agreed, and I moved out that week.”
Kinley heard Gillian say under her breath, “Damn,” but she kept her eyes on Devyn.
“I’m all right,” Devyn said quietly. “Thank you for not telling Fred. He would’ve freaked.”
Kinley was confused for a second, then realized Fred must be her brother. “And Lucky didn’t?”
Devyn chuckled. “He did. But in a more subdued way than my brother would’ve.”
“What happened?” Gillian asked.
When Devyn didn’t say anything, Gillian tried again. “I know you don’t know us, but nothing you say will make us freak. Hell, I was held hostage and almost shot, and Kinley’s on the run after witnessing a serial killer’s last moment with his latest victim.”
Devyn’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Now spill before the guys get back with the food.”
Devyn sighed, then said, “It’s not a big deal.
My boss back in Missouri decided he liked me.
And when I turned down his numerous offers to take me out, he got pissed.
Was a dick at work. Then one day, when I didn’t move fast enough for him, he pushed me.
I hit an exam table and fell. Then he kicked a little stool with wheels on it, which hit me in the same place the table did.
I’m fine though. I quit right then and there, and now I’m here. ”
Kinley winced in sympathy.
“What an asshole,” Gillian muttered.
“Yeah,” Devyn agreed.
Kinley had a hundred questions she wanted to ask.
Starting with, why had Devyn come to Texas?
Sure, her brother was here, but she was twenty-nine, old enough to not hide behind a big brother.
She also had another older brother who lived in the same town in Missouri where she had.
And why didn’t she press charges against her boss?
From everything Grover had said today, Devyn was a damn good vet assistant, so she could’ve gotten a job anywhere, including another in Missouri.
But instead of asking the questions swirling around in her head, she kept quiet. She and Gillian were strangers to Devyn, it was unlikely she’d open up to them. It was amazing enough she’d told them how she got the bruise.
“Well, I’m sorry. But I think you’ll really like this area.
I’ve found people in Texas are generally nicer than in other parts of the country.
Of course, we have our assholes and problems, but more often than not, you’ll find people want to help rather than hurt.
And it goes without saying that me and Kinley are here if you want to talk or just hang out. ”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Devyn said.
Just then, they heard the front door opening. Kinley tensed until she heard Gage’s voice call out, “We’re back!”
As much as she liked Gillian, and now Devyn, it was somewhat worrisome spending time with them because Kinley knew she was putting them in danger.
Whoever had tried to kill her was still out there.
And the more time went by, and the longer she stayed in one place, the easier it would be for him to find her… if he hadn’t already done so.
The absolute last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt because of what she’d seen. The sooner she talked to the FBI friend of Gage’s, the better. She just wanted this to be over, but she knew in her gut it would be a long time before she would have her nice boring life back.