3. Kane
The six brothers stood outside the support shelter, waiting to go in.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Kane asked for the fourth time.
Alex and Ethan nodded. “You are after Sarah Connelly. She helped start the company three years ago with an Olivia Graham. According to our search, Olivia’s husband died in a car accident and Olivia used his insurance money to open the shelter. Sarah left her job as a nurse at the local hospital and now helps out here.” Ethan said, reading from his notes on his phone. “Did you want to see a picture of Sarah?”
Ethan handed the phone to Kane. “Is this the same person?”
Ethan frowned and then zoomed in on the picture’s eyes, his breath catching again at the clear blue eyes staring back at him. This time the eyes were crinkled in laughter rather than fear though. He turned the phone sideways to get a larger view of the whole picture and took in her short dark hair, cropped close to her scalp and scrolled down the picture to her curvaceous body.
“See something you like brother?” Luke grumbled out, trying to hide a grin.
Kane’s eyes snapped up to see all of his brothers silently grinning at him. He cleared his throat and handed the phone back. “That’s her.”
Ethan took the phone back and shot the picture into the chat for the other brothers to see.
“She looks like a pixie,” Ryan said, making Kane frown.
“Stop looking at her picture. We need to figure out how to get her to tell the truth.”
“Well, it’s not going to happen out here on the sidewalk. Come on brother. Get in there.” Luke said, shifting from side to side, not used to standing in one place too long.
Kane squared his large shoulders and opened the door, his brothers following him into the large waiting room. They all stopped as they took in the people, all ages waiting for help.
“Fuck.” Alex murmured. “This is fucked up that there are so many people here wanting help.” He looked at the others. “Whatever we were going to give has just tripled.” The others nodded as they tried to make themselves smaller, knowing their large muscular bodies might frighten some women there.
The door opened behind Alex as he moved in further to allow two little girls to enter, their matching pink backpacks too large on their backs, both sets of emerald eyes fixed on him and Ethan as they stood in front of the men.
“Look Grace. They are twins like us.” One girl said, her smile wide, not scared at all to be standing in front of a mountain of man. The girl, Ella, reached out a small finger and traced it down his arm, following the intricate tattoo that swirled down his arm.
“Mum said not to talk to anyone we don’t know.” The other girl said, her stance fierce as she glared at them. “And we don’t know them.”
Ella turned to her sister. “Chill out Grace.”
Grace took a large breath and called out at the top of her lungs “MUM!”
The brothers all took a step back, falling into themselves to get away from the tiny girls, not wanting any more trouble.
“I told you this was a bad idea. You could have just called her,” Ryan said as he tried to get further away from the girls.
An inside door to the waiting room burst open and a woman with long auburn hair flew through. She gathered the two girls into her arms and turned matching emerald eyes onto the men. “What the hell are you doing to my girls?”
Ella wiggled free of her mother’s hold and shrugged. “They were here when we walked in. I like this one’s tattoos though mum. Do you think I can get one for my birthday?”
The brothers watched as the woman closed her eyes and muttered a small prayer. When she opened them, she stood upright and addressed the brothers. “Hello. I’m Olivia, one of the owners of the shelter. Can I help you with something?”
A soft voice came from behind her. “I think they are here to see me.” Sarah stepped out from behind Grace and stood in front of Kane. “Hello again. You’re bigger than I remembered.”
Kane stepped out from the group and stood in front of Sarah. “Can we talk somewhere?”
Sarah gestured for them to follow her as she walked back through the door. Kane walked behind her, watching her sway side to side, her dress swishing around her ankles, hiding her shape, but one Kane could imagine would be delicious.
“Get it together man,” he muttered to himself as he tried to remember why he was here and not watch the goddess walk in front of him.
“Did you say something,” Sarah said, stopping abruptly, Kane putting his hands on her hips to stop him crashing into her. He could feel the warmth of her body through the dress, the ample curve of her hips. He tightened his grip slightly, watching as Sarah’s eyes grew wide, before letting go and stepping back.
“Sorry about that.” He said, casting his eyes downward so she wouldn’t see the lust in them.
Sarah waved to a large conference room. “We can go in here. It should be big enough for us all.”
Kane stood back so Sarah entered first, followed by Olivia, who has settled the girls at a desk outside the room. The brothers then filed in, taking a seat.
Kane spoke first. “I came to apologize for last night. Your fundraiser hit the news for the wrong reason. The incident should not have overshadowed the importance of the work you do here.”
Kane watched as Sarah’s shoulders softened. “It wasn’t your fault. You in fact, helped me out of a predicament, and then I didn’t speak up when I should have. I should be apologizing to you.”
Alex cleared his throat. “This is all lovely and stuff, but we have to fix this. One for our reputation and I’m guessing for yours also.”
Sarah nodded. “I’ve already decided to go to the police and report it.”
“Or you could just let me handle the situation for you?” Luke said, cracking his knuckles and smiling at the thought.
Olivia held up a hand. “As lovely as that offer is, I think we need to do what’s best for Sarah here.”
Kane nodded. “Agree. I would like for you to set the record straight with the reporter. I’m not worried financially, but it might hurt future relationships with others if they think I cannot handle my anger issues properly. After all, that’s what our business is built on.”
“And ours on recognizing triggers and safety for people so they don’t end up in the position I did last night.”
Olivia stepped forward. “So, what do we do? This will hurt our company, especially as we are in the first few years. And your company would suffer a minor setback, but your personal reputation is currently getting shredded online.”
Ethan stood and walked to the front of the room. “I have a plan. But you are both not going to like it, but it will be mutually beneficial for both of our companies.”