Chapter 15
Claudia was still a bit angry at that moron Jacob Neilson.
He’d obviously been drunk—and cruising for a fight.
Kameron had seen through him, though. Claudia had thought Kameron was going to clean the guy’s clock right there.
For Quinn’s honor. Fastest way to trigger Kameron Neilson was to say something negative about Quinn Clary.
Quinn and Kiya had been watching the confrontation too.
Quinn was incredibly shy; having people watching what had happened had definitely upset her.
But Kiya had been there—she was always good at settling down her twin.
And Kameron was fierce over Quinn. It was obvious to people who knew him that he had more than boss-type feelings for that girl there.
Kameron had been the star of the high school, athletics, academics, he’d ruled it all. Him and Cal. Quinn was the opposite; if she’d been able to blend into the woodwork back then, she would have. Now, they were together all the time. And so beautiful and sweet together.
Claudia’s romantic heart thought about that for a moment. Kameron was so cute in his crush. She was going to have to ask Kiya if Quinn even realized when she got a chance.
Her brother’s super-hot, blue-eyed bestie was an amazing man.
Claudia,—and Cloe, and probably Clancy, though she’d never admit it—had had crushes on Kameron Neilson at one time or another.
He was hot, sexy, intelligent, loyal and kind.
He’d stood by Cal after what had happened with their father, too.
Even when two of Cal’s business partners had abandoned him the month after their father’s arrest. Kameron had been there. Claudia would always love him for that.
Kameron was the polar opposite of Jacob. She hoped there really was something there with Quinn. Quinn and Kameron together would be amazing.
Claudia’s phone vibrated, just as she passed Marin and those damned Weatherby brothers. Marin was arguing with Rex. He irritated Marin just as much as Ransom got under Claudia’s skin.
Even if he did look good dressed up for tonight. Drool worthy. Damn him. He knew it too. The Weatherby brothers—all four of them—were beyond hot to look at. Just the ones she knew were buttheads. Especially Ransom.
She was half-tempted to drag him outside by that damned tie of his and interrogate him. What was he doing, digging into her cases in Cheyenne? What was he up to? She was going to contact a friend or two and see what she could find out. First thing in the morning.
Then…she was going to deal with him once and for all. Her phone buzzed again.
She grabbed her phone. Checked the message. From Em.
“What is it?” Marin asked, right by her ear. She and her sister Meyra were in the largest booth with the Weatherbys. All four Weatherby brothers. All of the Weatherby demons in one place.
She snarled at them. Well…she just couldn’t help herself. Ransom smirked right back. Her eyes narrowed on him. He was definitely plotting something against her.
Brandt Barratt was right there with them. That was all that was keeping her from going over there and telling that Weatherby butthead off. If he had questions about her cases, he should be asking her. Period. Claudia had nothing to hide.
But there was Brandt Barratt. She didn’t want to even think about him and what he represented tonight. It hurt to see him sometimes.
The man Claudia’s father had shot multiple times, who had almost died.
Talk about awkward every time her path crossed his.
Still, Claudia was good at playing it cool.
He was engaged to Meyra, now. He wasn’t going anywhere.
He was going to be around Masterson forever. He was part of Marin’s family now.
Besides, it wasn’t like she and Marin spent a lot of time together, anyway. Marin’s choice. Not that Claudia didn’t understand—but she wouldn’t ever forget the hurt.
Marin had been her sister of the soul. Her closest friend on the planet.
The one person she had shared every secret with.
Since they were little girls. They’d lost that completely.
It hurt, it would always hurt. But she had friends who stood by her, no matter what. And one of them was texting her now.
She turned toward Marin and took a deep breath—ignoring the brown-eyed asshole watching her now, his trio of brother clones next to him.
Maybe that was one reason she adored Kameron even more now—he’d not abandoned Cal when her brother needed him most? Kameron had been clear across the country when it had happened—but he’d hopped three flights until he could get there to Cal’s side. She had never forgotten that.
“Have you seen…October, Avril, and Jules? They seem to have wandered away.” She heard a massive amount of scurrying from the booth directly behind Marin the instant she said the girls’ names.
A suspicious scurrying.
She turned. There.
The hair was distinctive on Tylers. They were beneath the table behind Marin’s. No wonder. The chairs had been taken somewhere else.
Claudia ignored Ransom Weatherby for a moment; she texted Auggie quickly to let her know she had the girls.
Then she turned to the three persons of interest. They were most certainly up to something tonight. Interrogation time. “You three. Out. Time to face the music.”
Avril came first. “Hey, Aunt Claudie…what’s shakin’, copper bacon?”
“Your kid bacon is about to be cooked. You three wandered away again.” Of course they had—they were a bit feral.
Bruce Tyler hadn’t paid a moment of attention to the girls, unless they were getting in his way.
Family rules, and even the norms of public behavior, were something the girls were still learning.
Claudia knew the truth—herding Tyler girls was even harder than herding cats.
She made a decision. There was a large crowd of guys coming right at them, and they were most certainly inebriated from the beer that flowed a bit too freely tonight, including that ass Jacob Neilson.
She swung Avril up onto the bench next to Rex.
Then followed with Tobi. She pointed and motioned at Jules, who climbed up after her sisters, a sulky look on her face.
The girls stared at the Weatherby brothers. Suspiciously.
Claudia took the seat directly next to Ransom-the-Jerk and tried to ignore the feel of him pressed so close. She looked at the Weatherby brothers. “If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, we’re going to borrow your table until the crowd thins.”
Tobi eyed the big men around her. She looked so tiny next to Rex, right there. “Are these safe peoples, Aunt Claudie? They are not bad guys going to taked you or our big sisters away?”
“No one is going to take anyone away tonight. But when you wandered away you really scared Mommy Aug, Junie, and Em. You know you have to tell one of them or me where you are going. That is the rule.”
“They don’t hit little kids, Aunt Claudie?” Avril asked, still looking at the Weatherbys and Brandt. Claudia didn’t miss how the men started a bit at that. “You are really, really sure about that?”
“I am very sure about that. Ransom and Rex put the bad guys in jail for hitting people. Especially little kids. Just like I do. So…tell me…what’s going on? Why were you hiding?” She leveled at the one she knew would be the first to break under questioning. “October Grace?”
“We don’t want new daddies. Daddies hit really, really hard, Aunt Claudie,” Tobi said, a little too loudly.
“And Wonkus McBubbles wants our Em, and Jules said his brother mens probably want to do the gross kissing and that other naked stuffs with Mommy Aug and Junie ‘cause they are so beautiful and nice. And then the mens would be our daddies after. Just like Daddy did it with Sheila, and she was there to be our mommy, but she went to heaven instead. And left us Baby Mae-Mae. And we don’t want new daddies. We gotta make them go away before that happens. So we did.”
Claudia almost looked to the ceiling and prayed for guidance. This was…heavy stuff. And it should be Auggie talking to them about this. “Oh, girls…”
“Tobi, you weren’t supposed to tell what we talked about or what we did,” Avril this time. That girl…she could never keep a secret. Thankfully.
“Just what exactly did the three of you do?” Claudia asked. “Julianna. Spill.”
“Are we going to be in big trouble?” Her lower lip wavered. Claudia hesitated. She knew big trouble was a trigger phrase for the girls. Bruce had used it before he’d…abuse them.
Of course they were terrified of men. How could they not be? “You might be in a little trouble, depending on what you did. I suggest we go find Mommy Aug and explain, okay?”
“Will they make us go back to Garrett?” Avril asked, a worried tone in her words.
That was her biggest fear—going back to Bruce.
Claudia had held her through a nightmare about that very thing the last time she’d stayed over with Auggie.
“In Garrett we just did whatever we wanted all the time. We can’t do that here.
There are all these rules. I don’t like the rules; they are too hard to remember. ”
“But Mommy don’t hitted us ever, Avril. Or Em or Junie. I don’t want to go back to Garrett. We’ll get hitted again there,” Tobi said, obviously gearing up to fight with her sister.
“Girls, you are never going back to him, or Garrett. I promise. I won’t ever let it happen, either.
No matter what.” Claudia stood. She looked at Marin and Marin’s new pals.
Saw the knowledge in their eyes of what these precious girls had faced.
“Thanks for the loan of the table. We’re going to go find Mommy Aug and have a chat, I think. ”
“Anytime, Aunt Claudie. We can talk later, if you like,” Marin said.
Marin had been saying things like that lately.
But…the idea practically froze Claudia when she thought about it.
What was there even left to say? Nothing would change what Claudia’s father had done to Marin.
Nothing would change what had happened to Claudia since then, either.
And she just didn’t want to deal with catching Marin up, either. She just…didn’t.
Claudia just nodded noncommittally as the girls climbed down.
She reached out when the climb was a bit too much for Tobi and Rex helped steady the little girl.
Claudia lifted her closer. Tobi’s little arms went around her neck, and she clung.
Claudia kissed the precious little girl on the forehead.
There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for these three little monsters.
“It’ll be ok, Tobi, I promise. I promise. ”
Tobi just laid her head on Claudia’s shoulder as she carried her through the crowd. “We just don’t want new daddies, Aunt Claudie. Daddies are just too mean…”
Her heart broke for these baby girls once again. “Not all of them, sweetie. I promise. But you will never have to go back to him again. Ever.”