Lib Novel Page 57
Randy smiled. “That tells me she really is your sister.”
“Do you know what will happen when you get this all resolved?” Jaime asked.
Sean shook his head. “Not really. We haven’t talked about it. Our focus is getting through this; afterwards, we said we would talk it all out. I’m assuming that she won’t want to live on an island after her experience, but she never does quite what I expect her to.”
Jaime chuckled. “I can appreciate that.”
Sean felt his smile fade. “I’ll completely understand if you both want to stand down. This truly isn’t your fight.”
Randy said nothing, but Jaime’s eyes narrowed. “Indeed?”
Damn, another misstep, but he didn’t know exactly how to get his point across to them. So, he decided that honesty was the best way.
“Protecting Emma is part of who I am. I love her, although, it wasn’t easy to do in the beginning. But, it is my duty to keep her safe. We’re family, and the only ones we’ve got. She got pulled into this mess not by me but because she is related to me.”
“And you think we’re just going to walk away, leave you here to fight this on your own?”
The moment she said it, his temper ignited. “It’s what you’re good at.”
She looked as if he had hit her. “How dare you say that to me?”
“Listen, I get the whole, let’s let things go and forget about the past. But I didn’t know what to expect and you can’t expect me to trust either of you fully again. You both walked away from me, and you explode back into my life like all is to be forgotten. Well, it’s going to take a little time for me to get over that.”
She opened her mouth, but Randy stepped in. “He’s right, Jaime. Neither of us treated you very fairly.”
Jaime turned around to face Randy. “What?”
“Fuck, Jaime, he asked you to marry him and me to move in with him. The moment he did, we both split. If I were in the same spot, I would be leery of both of us.”
She sighed as Randy walked to stand in front of Sean. He cupped Sean’s face and looked him in the eye. “But know this. We are here to stay. We are not leaving; we will get you through this. If anything, you know that we have your back. We both want more…and I know you do as well. Just get used to the fact that we are here, and we are staying.”
Randy didn’t wait for Sean to respond. Instead, Randy leaned forward to brush his mouth over Sean’s. He deepened the kiss and Sean felt it then. Everything Randy had said, everything that Sean felt, was right there for him, for all of them. Sean wrapped his arms around Randy and deepened the kiss. They pulled back and both of them looked at Jaime. She hesitated until Sean held his hand out to her. She came willingly and he pulled her close, kissing her.
“Okay, you’re both here to stay,” he said, his heart warming. He hadn’t wanted them to go, but he had to give them that choice.
“So…” Randy said as he nibbled on Sean’s ear. “Whatever will we do with ourselves?”
“I am sure we will come up with a few things to occupy our time,” Sean said.
Twenty-four
Del pulled onto Cat’s street and glanced over at his companion. Emma hadn’t said much since they’d left Sean’s house. She wasn’t always talkative, but she was definitely in shut down mode. That could only spell trouble.
“You’ll like Cat.”
She didn’t respond. If anything, she looked like she had shifted away from him. She was definitely shutting down.
“She’s very good at her job.”
“Why would that have anything to do with liking her?” she asked, her voice very matter of fact, but Del heard the tension beneath it. He was good at reading people. It was one of the things that made him good at his job and good at managing his team.
“That’s not why you would like her. I was just trying to make conversation.”
She turned and looked at him. “Why?”
“Why would you like her?”
She released one of her irritated sighs. “No, why would you try and make conversation with me?”