Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning, over bowls of cereal, Safe couldn't take his eyes off Wren. She had on one of her new outfits, and it fit her perfectly. The black slacks made her legs look longer than usual, and the matching jacket over a pale pink blouse was both feminine and professional at the same time.

"I set up the safety meeting for this evening," Safe told her.

"You did?"

"Yeah, is five-thirty okay? I figure we'd be able to get from your office building to the base by then with no problem. I can pick you up."

"Oh, okay."

"You don't sound so sure," Safe said, trying to read the emotions on her face.

"No, I am. I just…I know you don't want me to go to Africa, and I'm nervous about the trip myself. I'm afraid he aring about all the things that could go wrong will make my nervousness worse."

Safe felt bad for her. And she wasn't wrong. Talking about the fact that she could get kidnapped or caught in a literal crossfire between warring political parties wasn't high on anyone's list of fun things to discuss. But it had to be done. "Any chance some of your coworkers will change their mind and come too?"

Wren shrugged. "I doubt it. But I'll try talking to them again today. I think a couple of them, like maybe Luke and Oliver, are interested, but they're too scared to look weak in the eyes of the others if they agree."

"Idiots," Safe couldn't help but mutter.

Just then, Wren's phone vibrated on the table next to her.

They both stared at it for a beat, before Wren looked at Safe. "Unknown," she whispered, as if whoever was on the other end of the line could somehow hear.

"May I?" he asked, his hand hovering over the phone.

Wren nodded.

Safe's heart rate spiked. If this was Matt, he had some definite words to say to the asshole. "Hello?" he barked into the phone. "Who is this?"

"Um…is Wren Defranco there?" a deep male voice asked.

"I asked, who this was," Safe retorted.

"My name is Easton Farris. I'm looking for Wren Defranco. Is this her number?"

"Why do you want to speak to her?" Safe asked.

"It's a private matter."

"And I'm telling you that if you don't tell me what the hell you want with her in the next two seconds, she's blocking this number, and you won't ever get to speak to her, period," Safe growled.

He felt Wren's hand on his arm and looked up at her. She was biting her lip as she stared at him. Taking a deep breath, Safe tried to relax his muscles.

"I'm her half-brother."

"What?" Safe asked, shocked. That wasn't what he'd expected to hear at all. "Wait a minute…" He put the phone on speaker. "Say that again," he ordered.

"I'm Wren's half-brother. We share a father."

"But…that's impossible," Wren whispered.

Easton clearly heard her.

"Wren? Holy crap, I can't believe I found you! It's possible. My dad met your mom at a bar when he was twenty. He went to a motel with her and they slept together. When he woke up, she was gone. He never saw her again." Easton was talking quickly, as if he expected to be hung up on at any second. "I've taken it upon myself to look into my genealogy and did one of those DNA tests. I was shocked to be matched as a close relative of a Wren Defranco. And even more surprised when it said we shared a father."

"I did one of those tests on a lark a few years ago," Wren said. It was Safe's turn to put his hand on her arm now, to support her. Her eyes were huge in her face, as if she wasn't sure what was happening. "I was told my father was a felon. That he'd done time in prison for murder."

Easton gasped. "That's a lie. When he woke up in that motel, he realized his wallet was gone, the bitch he slept with—oh…er…sorry. Your mom had taken it. So if anyone was a criminal, it wasn't my dad. "

"She is a bitch," Wren confirmed.

"Look. I know this is a huge shock. But when I brought the information I'd found to my… our …dad, he was adamant that he wanted to meet you."

"Why?" Wren asked.

"Why? Because you're his daughter . He didn't even know you existed before, but now that he does, he wants to connect. Look, we don't want anything from you other than your time. Our dad's a great guy. He lives in Mission Viejo, just south of Los Angeles. I don't know where you live, specifically, but he's willing to travel to wherever you'd like to meet you. Or fly you here. No strings attached."

"Mission Viejo?" Wren asked, sounding dazed.

"Yeah."

"She's going to have to think about it," Safe told Easton firmly. "You can't expect her to just fly off to LA to meet someone she has no proof she's actually related to."

"You're right. Of course. I can send you all the info I have from the website I found her on. Also, my dad isn't just some random dude. He's Tyler Farris. One of the founders of Farris Morgan, the energy transportation company."

"Holy shit, really?"

"Yeah."

"I applied for a job there," Wren said.

"You did? Wow! Okay then. Small world. Well, my dad's been married for twenty-six years, and my mom is excited and nervous to meet you too. You have two other half-brothers besides me, and two nieces and a nephew. Not to mention aunts and uncles and cousins. We're a big group, and we'd love to at least introduce you to your family. "

Family , Wren mouthed softly, looking at Safe with tears in her eyes.

"Send the information you have to me. I'll text you my email address," Safe said. "After I have people I know look into you and Tyler, to make sure what you're saying is on the up and up, we'll reach out."

"I'm not lying, and you can look into us all you want. All we want, all my dad wants, is to meet the daughter he never knew he had. He had three sons, and I think he always wanted a girl. Wren?"

"Yeah?"

"What you said about your mom…did you…was your life growing up…okay?"

Safe's nostrils flared in agitation as he looked at Wren.

"No," she said simply.

"Shit. Okay, well…I'm sorry. My dad didn't know about you. If he had, he would've done what he could to take care of you."

Wren nodded, but Easton of course couldn't see her. Couldn't know how emotional his words were making her.

"Send the information," Safe said. "We'll be in touch."

"All right. Thank you. On behalf of my dad and the rest of our family, we really do hope you'll consider at least talking to us."

"Later," Safe said, before hanging up. He put the phone down, then immediately stood and pulled Wren to her feet. He hugged her hard, knowing she was stressed out just by how tightly she gripped him in return.

A minute or two went by before Safe pulled back so he could see Wren's eyes. "That was intense. Are you all right? "

She looked up at him, her eyes swimming in tears. "I have a family," she whispered.

"Looks that way. But before you get too excited, you have to let me check things out. Make sure he's legit."

"He knew about the wallet my mom stole. How would he know that if his dad wasn't there?"

She had a point.

"I applied to work at Farris Morgan."

"You said that."

"It was my first choice for jobs, but I'd already accepted the job here at BT Energy before Farris even started their interviewing process. So I withdrew my application. Wouldn't that have been a weird coincidence if I'd met my father and neither of us knew?"

"I, for one, am glad you're here and not up in LA," Safe told her.

She gave him a watery smile. "And he's not even that far from here. This is so crazy!"

"At least it took your mind off the meeting this afternoon."

Wren chuckled. "Very true."

"You okay with this?" Safe asked in a serious tone.

"I don't know. One part of me is thrilled. The other part is cautious. I mean, I've found that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. But then again, what would these people have to gain from lying about who they are? It's not as if I'm worth anything, money-wise. They have more to lose if they claim me than I do."

"They could be using you to get info on BT Energy that they can steal," Safe suggested .

"True. You're really going to look into them for me?"

"Of course."

"And if I do decide to meet them, will you go with me?"

"Try and keep me away," Safe practically growled.

Wren looked up at him in a way he couldn't interpret.

"What?" he asked gruffly, feeling off-kilter himself with what they'd just learned.

"I just… you . Everything. I feel as if I'm in a dream. A good one," she said quickly with a small smile.

"Things have been pretty crazy, between that Matt guy, your apartment, us, your upcoming trip, my upcoming mission, and now this…But I'll tell you one thing. I wouldn't change a damn minute. We're gonna get through this. Maybe years from now we'll look back and laugh. Maybe write a book about how everything went down."

Safe was taking a chance saying that. But he realized it was what he truly wanted. This woman at his side. Years and years from now. Looking back on how they met and everything that happened. With any luck, they'd have exactly that—decades together.

"Yeah," Wren said wistfully.

"One good thing is that hopefully the mystery of the unknown caller is now solved," he said. "And we've got the locks on your apartment changed. Alabama and Fiona have almost finished cleaning things up over there and?—"

"Wait, what ? They have? Why?"

"Because I talked to their husbands, and they spoke with their wives, and they wanted to help. So the four of them—because no way would Abe and Cookie let their wives be there without backup, considering we haven't found this Matt asshole—have spent the last couple days repairing what they could and trashing anything that's not salvageable. Also, I probably should tell you that Summer and Cheyenne went shopping, and they've replaced all your plates, cups, and glasses, and the silverware that was bent beyond repair. I'm told that nothing matches, but that it's ‘eclectic and funky and cool as hell.' Their words, not mine."

"Bo…"

"I know. It's a lot. And I know you just said that you have a family now. But sweetheart…you already had one. Here . With me and my friends, and now your friends. We take care of our own, and since you're with me, you're one of us."

"I can't wrap my mind around all this," Wren said with a small shake of her head.

"Well, you don't have to right this moment. We both need to get to work. I'll pick you up at five, and we'll grab something quick to eat before we head to the base. My team has been researching what they think will work for you, and what they can teach you in the time limits we have."

"Oh crap! I haven't even met the rest of your team yet," Wren said.

"No, don't stress about that. They already love you. You don't need to worry about it," Safe told her.

"Right," Wren mumbled.

"You don't," Safe insisted. "They've heard all about you from me. Wren this, Wren that. They've been bugging me about finally getting to meet you in person. All you have to do is be yourself. They'll adore you."

"I don't think I can take much more stress today," Wren told him .

Safe kissed her. Just leaned in and covered her lips with his. It wasn't passionate, but he was no less moved by the experience. He loved being able to touch her and kiss her whenever he wanted. New relationships were always exciting, but this was more. Better. He was as comfortable with her as if they'd been together for years, rather than the short time he'd actually known her.

"You're the epitome of the saying that you never know how strong you can be until you have no choice. You've got this, Wren. No matter what life has thrown at you, you've persevered. And now you have me. You no longer have to deal with shit on your own. You can lean on me. And our friends. Okay?"

"I'm starting to believe it," Wren said.

"Good. Come on. Kevlar will kick my ass if I'm late. Let's go."

"Bossy," Wren teased.

"You have no idea," Safe told her, his mind going to the things he wanted to do with her in the bedroom. It was definitely too soon for that, but he wouldn't be a guy if he didn't at least think about it.

"Promises, promises," she sassed.

Safe's cock twitched in his pants. Lord, this woman was going to be the death of him. But at least he'd die a happy man.