17. Reath
17
REATH
I ate some gumbo and watched my family subtly interrogate Frankie.
A part of me wanted to tell them to back off, but she was holding her own. Hell, she seemed to be having a good time.
Beside me, she smiled at Daisy.
“What’s your favorite subject in school, Daisy?”
My niece pursed her lips. “Lunch time. I get to play with my friends.”
Frankie grinned, and across the table, Colt rolled his eyes.
“I seem to recall you preferred lunchtime too, Colt,” I said.
My brother grunted. “You liked math. Nerd.”
“Not as much as Kav did.”
Kavner sipped his wine. “I especially like my numbers with dollar signs in front of them.”
Beside him, London snorted.
“I always liked science,” Frankie said. “I love having a problem to investigate, and having experiments to conduct.”
Daisy looked intrigued. “And now you’re a scientist?”
“I am. A microbiologist. I get to wear a lab coat and have a cool lab.”
Daisy looked even more intrigued.
“You finished your lunch, Dai?” Colt asked.
The little girl nodded and pushed her plate away.
“You can go and color now.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Daisy raced off to where her coloring book and metallic-colored gel pens lay in front of the television.
Colt leaned back in his chair. “Reath said someone attacked you in your lab.”
Frankie fidgeted, and under the table, I pressed my hand to her thigh.
“Yes. My project has military funding…”
Beau raised his eyebrows. “Military?”
“DARPA,” I told them.
Dante whistled.
“It’s an important project?” Mila asked.
Frankie nodded.
“An implant that can create medicine to react to any situation,” I said. “Like contaminated food or water, jet lag, injuries.”
“That’s impressive,” Kav said.
No doubt my brother was already calculating how much money a project like that could make.
“It has the potential to help a lot of people.” As Frankie spoke, she lit up. She leaned forward, giving them more details, and I couldn’t look away from her face.
“I know the military gets first dibs. And that’s important.” She glanced at me. “Soldiers need help to make it easier for them in the field. But then I want to branch out. Cancer patients can get their medication without ports, or being hooked up to machines. Diabetics can get their insulin without daily injections. It has endless possibilities for people with chronic illness.”
I smiled at her and barely stopped myself from playing with her hair.
Then I looked up and saw Dante and Beau watching me. They both grinned. I forced my focus back to my food.
“Reath, you going to find who’s after Frankie’s work?” Dante asked.
“Yep.” I’d already put out feelers, and I was waiting on Donlon to get back to me.
I would find these assholes, then I’d make them regret their choices.
“Frankie, come and see my picture,” Daisy called out.
Frankie rose, and Macy joined her. Soon there was giggling from the rug in front of the television.
“So,” Dante said quietly. “She’s staying with you.”
“I need to keep her safe.”
“The last time anyone around here moved a woman in with them, they never left,” Beau said.
“It’s not like that.”
“Really?” Dante didn’t hide his skepticism.
I took a sip of my drink. “She’s Jack’s sister.”
My brothers all traded glances.
“So what?” Beau said. “She’s an adult. An attractive one.”
I glared at Beau. I didn’t want him noticing that Frankie was attractive. “I promised Jack I’d take care of her. He’s my best friend and I owe him.”
“Have you got any leads?” Colt asked.
I nodded, then glanced over at Frankie. I lowered my voice. “An informant told me that a foreign team is in town. They say they have a top-secret project to sell. The men who attacked Frankie had accents. I’m waiting for more intel, but I believe this team is after her work.”
“Shit,” Dante muttered.
“If you need any help, just shout,” Colt said.
Beau nodded. “Anything. She’s sweet and smart. She doesn’t deserve this.”
“She’s too smart for Reath,” Kav said.
He was poking at me, so I shot him the finger.
London leaned forward. “Should you involve the authorities?”
“We informed DARPA and the local PD about the attack at the lab. As for this foreign team, I don’t have enough information yet.”
She eyed me, her sharp intelligence shining through her dark gaze. “And you Fury brothers prefer taking care of things yourself.”
“Be careful,” Beau said. “From what Frankie said, this project has big potential. The people after it won’t play nice.”
“You know I always watch my back.” It was a lesson I’d learned from before I could walk.
Frankie returned to the table, with Daisy attached to her leg. The pair of them were laughing.
God, that laugh. I felt it in my gut.
I couldn’t let her get any deeper under my skin. I needed to keep things strictly business.
Like you did on your couch last night?
My cellphone rang. I rose and stepped away from the table. “Fury.”
“I have someone who knows something. He wants to meet.”
It was Donlon.
“Who?”
“Rabbit.”
I resisted the urge to curse. Rabbit was a bottom feeder. He liked to play informant, but rarely had anything useful.
“He’s seen your guys,” Donlon said.
I looked at Frankie. Hell, it was worth checking out.
“Where?”
“Pines Village. The usual spot.”
One of the worst parts of town. “Tell him twenty minutes.” I hung up.
“You need to go?” Frankie asked. “I wanted to get back to the lab for a bit.”
“I’ll have one of my PSS men take you. You stay with him at all times.”
She nodded, but I saw the frustration on her face.
We called out our goodbyes to the others. Daisy, Macy, London, and Mila all hugged Frankie. I pressed a hand to Frankie’s back and led her downstairs.
We stepped out into the sunshine. Today was warm and sunny. I pressed the fob for my garage door and as we waited for it to open, I cupped her jaw.
“Having to be cautious won’t last forever, Frankie. I’ll find these guys.”
“I know. It’s just frustrating to need a bodyguard.” She huffed out a breath. “I’ll get used to it. Who are you meeting?”
“An informant. He might have intel on the people after your project.”
“Okay, but you need to be careful, too, Reath.”
“No, I need to do my job. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Her chin jutted out. “Well, I’m going to, so get used to it.”