Chapter Four
A knock sounded on the door and Isaac stiffened. He’d fallen asleep with Sabrina in his lap. She was cuddled up in the crook of his arm, a fuzzy blanket that looked brand new snuggled up against her cheek. There was a pang in his heart. The kid was too damn cute. He’d been fascinated watching how she used the tablet to communicate. Over and over pressing the button for “watch television” until he finally conceded. Gus’s footsteps pounded across the hall toward the front entrance.
“We expecting company?” he asked Kinley when she rounded the corner into the living room.
“Yes. A task force has been formed to look into Vesey’s disappearance.” She paused in front of him. “Let me take Sabrina upstairs.” Kinley put her arms under the girl and lifted her up as though she weighed nothing at all.
Hushed voices and the sound of a deadbolt engaging echoed down the hall. Gus walked into the room followed by three people. He recognized two of them—the young man and woman. They were friends and co-workers of his brother Easton and had helped locate Kinley when she was abducted by the same man who’d taken her as a child—a notorious serial killer. It wasn’t lost on him the amount of trouble his loved ones had been in recently. The blonde woman with pale blue eyes was Agent Lena Nilsson and the man was Agent Tyler Dawson. The third man was older, mid-fifties, with tired eyes and a soft middle beneath his black suit. Tyler leaned in and gave him a firm handshake and an affable smile. One that hid the myriad of deadly skills the man possessed. Nilsson simply nodded, quiet and reserved.
“I’m Dale Mancuso, director of the task force we’ve put together to locate our agent and protect your sister and Mr. Vesey’s daughter. I think you all know Agent Dawson and Agent Nilsson. They’ve been working around the clock to find out everything possible about the man who attacked your sister and the one who got away.”
Lena cleared her throat and stepped forward. “We’re here to take Julie and Sabrina to answer some questions at the field office. However, we need to be smart about logistics.” Lena’s eyes cast a cold gaze at her boss before continuing. The woman had never been particularly friendly or warm the past two times he’d met her, but the ice in her gaze spoke to some sort of disagreement. “The United Brotherhood is a crime organization that is fifteen thousand strong. They’re responsible for the largest percentage of illegal drugs in North America and have been known to deal in extortion and contract killings.”
“And what was Vesey’s role?” Easton moved behind Kinley and started massaging her shoulders.
“We have reason to believe the organization was branching out—human trafficking.” Dawson’s voice was grim. “Vesey was integrating himself as a buyer.”
“Fuck.” Isaac slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair. “I want Jules nowhere near this shitstorm.”
“Your sister had an intimate relationship with our Agent. She might know more than she thinks.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.” Julie said she wasn’t personally involved with her employer and that was enough for him. He trusted her implicitly, even if she hated him right now. Fuck, he’d been a bastard.
“After the interview, we’ll set her up in witness protection. We’ve been listening to chatter from various sources and informants. The United Brotherhood believes your sister and the girl saw too much and want to tie up loose ends. Agent Vesey must’ve felt as though something was off when he changed his will. It makes it easier for us to place both Sabrina and Julie together in a new home, new identities.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Julie’s voice shook with defiance. His girl was sweet, but she was no pushover. When she felt the need to state she wasn’t a doormat, the comment sliced through to his core. There was no scenario where Jules would ever let someone walk over her. She was strong as hell. Sweet perfection. “This is my home. Where my family is.” Julie hobbled into the room. Her hair was pulled up into some kind of bun on the top of her head, eyes puffy and red. Fuck. Were the tears for him or because of the impossible situation she was faced with? Wasn’t sure which was worse. He got to his feet and stalked toward her.
“You shouldn’t be up.” He leaned in, touched the small of her back and knew he’d made a colossal error. Goosebumps broke out over his arms, and he braced himself against her flowery scent. All her soft skin had been willingly wrapped against him mere hours ago, and she’d cut him loose. Good for her. He was a selfish prick who would never be good enough. Selfish, because his insides were still churning into knots, replaying the words she had said to him. Get out of my bed, Isaac. Close the door on your way out. The finality of her tone hollowed him out. Poured alcohol on flesh scraped raw.
“You don’t need to pick me up.” Her nose scrunched when he moved closer, and damn if it wasn’t cute as hell. With one arm wrapped around her back and the other behind her knees he picked her up and gently deposited her on the couch. He covered her with a blanket, and sat on the other end. Jules simply glared at him. Those big, hazel eyes radiating with hurt and frustration. He’d put that look of devastation on her pretty face, and it fucking killed him.
“Julie, I understand this must be hard to hear, but the bureau is optimistic that if the main players are taken care of, you’ll no longer be a threat to the organization.” Agent Dawson’s face softened for Julie. “Intelligence has suggested that the two cousins fighting for control of The United Brotherhood have differing opinions about the future of their business. Mario Greco wants to explore endeavors like kidnapping and trafficking. Victor Greco finds both risky and distasteful. If we can nail Mario with intel provided by our agents, Victor will head The United Brotherhood and any supporters of Mario will slither into hiding.”
“You’re talking about helping the mafia?” Gus raised a brow and leveled his gaze at the two agents.
“Helping? That’s a stretch. More like dealing with the devil you know.” Nilsson leaned back in the chair. “We have several patrol cars outside. Julie, you and Sabrina will ride with Agent Dawson. I’ll be one car behind you.”
“I’m going, too.” No way they were snatching up Jules and Sabrina for questioning without one of them there as backup.
“I’m sorry, but they have to come with us. Alone.” Mancuso snapped. Agent Dawson gave him a pitied look and got to his feet.
“Like hell—” He surged up to full height, but to the director’s credit he didn’t flinch back.
“Isaac.” Julie’s voice snapped. “We’ll be fine with Tyler and Lena. You don’t need to come along for the ride.” Her eyes left his and then slid to the man in question. He didn’t like the way the agent offered her a gentle smile. In fact, he wanted to knock it right off of his Hollywood-esque face. Tyler and Lena had joined them for Thanksgiving a month earlier. He was being irrational, but he didn’t like the level of familiarity Tyler had with Julie. God, he was being a total prick. He knew it, he just couldn’t rein it in at the moment.
The next fifteen minutes were a flurry of activity. Sasha brought a still sleeping Sabrina down from Julie’s room and they bundled her into the waiting car. He still couldn’t believe how huge he’d fucked up with Julie. It was for the best. She needed to move on and find someone far better than the likes of him to settle down with. The mere thought of her with another man made his jaw clench and his heart pound. On impulse, he grabbed Julie’s hand as she was about to step out the door. She glanced down at their interlocked fingers. Something flared in her gaze before she promptly extinguished it and pulled away.
“We can’t leave things like this.” God, she couldn’t walk out this door without knowing. She had to know in her heart how he felt. “There’s so much more I have to say.”
“I disagree.” Her long, straight hair flowed behind her as she turned. A thick waterfall of caramel and burnt gold that he desperately wanted to fist in his hands. “There is absolutely nothing left to talk about.”
Agent Dawson’s hand hovered over her shoulder as he led her to the waiting car. When the door closed and he turned around, two pairs of eyes were narrowed in his direction.
“What the hell did that mean?” Gus’s posture was stiff, his hands balled into fists at his side. “What can’t you leave alone? What do you have to say to my sister?”
“Our sister.” Easton’s voice had gone quiet, but no less hard.
“Okay, before the testosterone boils over, how about everyone takes a nice deep breath.” Kinley stood between him and his brothers with her hands on her hips. Sasha’s arms were folded over her chest, scowling at the three men.
“If she told you something about her relationship with Vesey, the time for secrets is over,” Gus barked. “If they were having some kind of affair, you need to tell us. She could be in more danger than we thought.”
Isaac turned his back on them and drew in a breath, fighting for control. He wanted to follow the agents and make sure Jules got to the field office all right, but instead his brothers were blocking his path, both so sure he was keeping something from them. Well, he was, but it wasn’t what they guessed.
“Did she love him?” Easton’s innocent question made frustration bubble in his gut.
“She didn’t love him.” His voice was too quiet, too menacing not to tip his brothers off. They were entering dangerous territory. He turned, meeting their hostile stares.
“Did she tell you that?” Gus folded his arms over his chest, mirroring Sasha’s stance.
Easton stepped closer. “How do you know?”
“Because she loves me,” he roared, and could’ve sworn the ground shook beneath him. Easton and Gus were momentarily stunned. The only thing louder than his declaration was the silence that ensued. Deafening.
Gus prowled toward him, past Kinley, until he was inches from his face. Isaac just stood still. He deserved whatever beating he had coming to him. “Did you sleep with Jules?” Betrayal clung to every word. “Is that why she looked so broken tonight? Not because of Vesey, but something you did—”
“I’ve never touched her. Why the hell do you think I spend half my life across seas? Because I can’t fucking bear to be near her knowing how she feels about me. Knowing how I feel about her. Don’t you think I know how fucked up that is?”
Gus stopped, staring at him with a hard glint in his eyes. He ran his hand over the stubble peppering his jaw.
“You know what my mother did to me. To us,” he spat out, gesturing to Easton. “She used that maternal trust to lure us into unspeakable situations. Used it to profit off of us for her next fix. That ugliness is inside of me. No way in hell am I letting that filth get anywhere near Julie. I’m her brother. She trusts me. If I took advantage of that, I’d be just like my—”
“Do not finish that sentence.” Easton stepped forward. “You are nothing like that woman. She was no mother. And if that filth and ugliness is inside you, don’t you think it’s in me too? You’d no sooner hurt Julie than you would any of us. And don’t compare something good and wholesome like Julie loving you and you loving her right back to what that fucking monster did to us.” Kinley went to Easton’s side and wrapped her arms around his middle offering silent support, while Sasha had sidled up to Gus, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“I echo Easton on that. I hate that you see yourself as less. More than that, though, I hate that you’ve hidden this shit for so long. Hate that you felt like you couldn’t come to your own brothers with this. Our bond is stronger than that.”
“I don’t want to hurt her.” His voice was too raw, too exposed. He was supposed to be tough, a SEAL, but if he messed up with Jules, he’d not only be hurting her and their relationship. He’d be hurting his family, too.
Sasha’s eyes narrowed and she took a few steps across the foyer floor toward him. “Don’t handle her like she’ll break when for years she’s been the glue holding you all together.” His sister-in-law looked downright pissed at him. “The hope you all needed to move forward. You hurt her tonight, so make sure you know what you want before going after her, because you’re going to get one shot to make this right. Julie knows her worth. She might love you, but she’s not going to hang onto a one-sided love forever. How would you feel if she met someone else? If she married them? Carried another man’s babies?”
Sasha’s words alone had jealousy spearing through him. She’d find less baggage and more stability with another man. He’d be stupid to think no one would ever love her as much as he did, because Julie was so damn easy to love with her huge heart and endless affection for those she cared about. He loved her with everything he was, but that didn’t make it right.
“Please, Sash, I’m just beginning to wrap my head around this,” Gus rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I don’t want to think about our baby sister having babies.”
“Maybe that’s part of the problem,” Kinley said. “You all treat her like she’s a little girl when she’s a grown ass woman. Let her make her own choices.”
“Agreed.” Sasha and Kinley exchanged a look that he couldn’t decipher.
“Jesus. What a cluster,” Gus muttered, then shook his head. “You poor bastard.” His brother’s hand came down with a hard smack on Isaac’s shoulder.
“What?” The confusion was audible in his voice.
“Jules is admittedly lazy—right up until she puts her mind to something she wants. Then she sinks her teeth in and doesn’t stop until she has it. She can run circles around everyone else and never tires so long as she has her eyes on the prize. You never stood a damn chance.”
And just like that, the hallway cleared, leaving him wondering what the hell had just happened.