Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

W averly couldn't stop crying as she held her sister. They were both crying as they both asked each other if they were okay. The whole world fell away as she held her sister. She'd made it back to Lark. Now she had to find a way to keep her safe.

Waverly finally looked up and saw a man in black jeans with a tight gray T-shirt stretched across his muscled body with tattoos peeking out from his sleeve, watching them. He looked dangerous and she pulled Lark closer to her instinctively.

"Lark, who is that?"

Lark looked over her shoulder and smiled at the man who was definitely not smiling back. "That's Damon. He's Kane's older brother. He's been checking in on me and helping me while Kane was rescuing you. He brought me food and took me to run errands. I told everyone he was my older brother."

"Oh, that's really nice of him." Waverly began to reevaluate the man watching them. He certainly looked as if he could punch a guy out and protect Lark, but helping her out? She didn't see that.

"He is so nice. But Kane is the nicest. I don't know what I would have done if not for him. You should have seen him negotiating, and I thought he was going to reach through the phone and kill the man when they showed you so sick."

Kane had killed two men, just not Bruno. Waverly decided Lark didn't need to know that, nor did anyone else. However, a shiver ran through Waverly at the thought of Bruno still out there, looking for her.

Waverly saw the flash of relief in Damon's eyes when he got a clear look at Kane. She knew that look. It was the look of an older sibling in charge of a family and she immediately felt a kinship with the serious and slightly scary eldest brother of the Townsend family. Maybe he was nice on the inside of the tough exterior he put on.

"Kane!" Lark called out a moment before she pulled back from Waverly and rushed at Kane who was walking toward Damon. Waverly's little sister threw herself at Kane, who smiled in return as he caught her. Waverly's heart melted as Kane hugged her little sister. "You brought her back. I can't thank you enough."

"I told you I would. I'm also having someone meet us at my house. Someone who won't exactly blend in at school but is more your age to keep an eye on you." Kane ruffled Lark's hair as if she were a little kid. Lark rolled her eyes at him but didn't stop him.

Waverly might have been able to deny the feelings she was having for Kane until that moment, but not anymore. Not when she saw Kane protecting her little sister as a big brother would. The entire Townsend family was wrapping them both up in love and acceptance.

"Ugh. You're too sweet. How can I taco blocko you?"

"Excuse me?" Waverly turned to Olivia.

"It's going to be hard, but I've never backed down from a challenge. Please tell me there's something annoying about you so I won't feel so bad doing what must be done."

Waverly blinked up at the physically most attractive woman she'd ever seen. "I recite calculus or scientific facts when I'm nervous, which I am a lot in social settings."

Olivia rolled her blue eyes. "I can't even tease you for that. I recite case law in my head to calm me. Don't worry, I'll find a way to jam that clam."

Olivia walked off mumbling to herself, leaving her husband standing behind. "For the record, I like you too. Kane just gets a little payback and then all will be good. We'll meet you at Kane's house to go over everything for your protection."

"Thank you, Sheriff Fox."

"Waverly," Kane called out. "Come meet my brother, Damon."

Lark was standing between the two men, completely at ease, as she teased them. Damon gave her a quirk of his lips when she rolled her eyes at something Kane had said and there went the rest of Waverly's heart.

"Hello. I'm Waverly," Waverly said, holding out her hand to Damon.

He reached out and shook it, his hard eyes softening a little. "I feel as if I know you already from all that Lark has told me."

"I hear I need to thank you for looking out for her while Kane was rescuing me. I really appreciate that."

"Come on. I want some of that casserole!" Lark called out, bounding away as she dragged Kane toward Damon's car.

Damon smiled at her antics and then looked back down at Waverly. "I'm the oldest of nine. What's one more to look out for? She reminds me of our youngest sister, Penelope. There's no way I would let anything happen to your sister if I could stop it."

"Well, we eldest siblings have to stick together. I'm happy to help if you ever need it."

Damon's lip tilted up again in what passed as a smile when she heard Olivia curse again a short distance away. "I see my sister's problem. You really are too good for Kane. Now, Forrest? I could see you with him. Are you sure you don't want to switch up brothers? He invents stuff too and doesn't sneak into countries to rescue people."

"How boring," Waverly joked. "We'd put everyone around us to sleep talking about our jobs. But Kane doesn't just rescue people. You should watch him work. He has a network of contacts, has an incredibly rational mind for planning things, and is fearless while also being comforting."

Damon glanced at Kane. "You're right. I think you found the right Townsend. Kane was a middle child, oftentimes lost in the pack. It's good someone sees him for who he is. But, to humor me, let Olivia do her thing. It's not personal and then we can finally stop listening to her complain about the junior prom."

Waverly laughed as Damon walked her to his car. The people who had been at the dock were all getting in cars and heading out. Some to Kane's house and some to their own homes. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long day, but at least she wasn't alone. She hadn't been since Kane showed up. She had a support system, at least for now. It was hard to get used to, but what a great feeling.

"Everything okay?" Kane asked as Lark jumped into the front seat next to Damon.

"Yeah. I wanted to thank Damon for looking out for my sister. And I owe you a thank you too. Lark loves you both."

Kane smiled and wrapped his arm around her as they left the marina. "She's pretty easy to love. You both are," Kane whispered into her ear.

Did that mean he loved her? No, surely not. He probably only meant it generally. It's not like he actually loved her. Too bad because she was falling hard for him. She knew she shouldn't. This might only be temporary, but sometimes rationality and logic didn't agree with your emotions.

"Hunter and Maggie will meet you at your house along with the alphabets," Damon told Kane.

"Alphabets?" Waverly asked.

"Yeah, the FBI, ATF, and others."

"Rowan will meet you there too, but Gavin will take the lead since Waverly is an adult," Damon then told them as he turned down a street and into a neighborhood with large yards and pretty houses.

"I'm confused," Lark said, echoing Waverly's feelings.

"Our brother, Rowan, is a pediatric surgeon. He's the one who gave me the antibiotics for you. But he's based in Charleston and Gavin is the doctor here in town," Kane explained. "I think Rowan just wants to make sure he didn't do any harm to you with his prescriptions."

"I can't wait to meet him and thank him," Waverly told them as Damon pulled to the curb of a house that looked way too big for one person.

"A family house?" Waverly asked quietly as everyone got out of the car.

"I'm always prepared." Kane winked at her. "I hope you like it."

"I do. It's lovely," she said of the two-story house with a huge porch and bright red azalea bushes all around it.

A porch that was currently filled with people.

"Oh." Waverly stumbled a little bit, but Miss Ruby and Miss Winnie rushed in and stole her away from Kane. One whiff of the food they were carrying and Waverly suddenly didn't care if the entire town was there.

"Let's get you fed, you poor dear," Miss Ruby said as if she were a doctor calling for meds, stat.

Kane opened the door and she was escorted inside as the big group followed behind her. Waverly glanced around. It was Kane. Clean lines, no clutter, pictures of his family, and a house plant that had seen better days since Kane traveled a lot.

"Here." Miss Ruby ordered Waverly to sit at the broad island counter that separated the large kitchen from the living room.

People fanned out around her, filling the kitchen and the living room. Lark took a seat next to her as Kane handed out plates and put on a pot of coffee. Soon the most glorious breakfast casserole was placed in front of her. Her deb of a mother would have been horrified, but Waverly ate and ate without even looking up or talking to the roomful of people.

"This is so good," Waverly said as she tucked into the third helping Miss Winnie placed on her plate. Coffee was poured and then Kane was sitting on her other side digging into his own breakfast.

Finally, Waverly was full. She was ready for a nap but then a man who looked almost identical to Kane approached her. "Hi. I'm Dr. Rowan Townsend, Kane's youngest brother. I was hoping you'd let us take a look at you to make sure you're okay and don't need any more medical care." It was then Waverly saw Kenzie and Gavin standing behind Rowan.

"Of course." Waverly stood up and surprised both herself and Rowan by hugging him. "Thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I didn't bring you a lollypop or an ice cream. That's what most of my patients get when I do a follow-up."

"Ice cream always sounds good to me," Waverly joked as she followed them into a bedroom on the first floor. It didn't take long to realize it was Kane's. It fit him. It was comfortable, yet nothing was out of place. Just like her house. Lark always said it was because of her having to keep her lab in order, but Waverly just liked things in their places.

"Hi," the other doctor said. "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet at the dock. I'm Gavin Faulkner and this is my cousin-in- law, nurse-practitioner Kenzie Faulkner. We'll be your medical team while you're in town. Is it okay if we examine you or would you prefer just Kenzie?"

Instantly Waverly was at ease. "It's okay for you all to stay."

"My husband told me he had the ship's doctor taking care of you. He sent me the record of what he gave you," Kenzie said.

"That's right, you're Ryker Faulkner's wife. Thank you for the rescue."

Kenzie lowered her voice as if telling her a secret. "Ryker loves helping out. Just don't tell the rest of the Townsends that. They gave him a hard time when they thought he was dating Olivia. I think Ryker wants a little payback, but secretly he really likes them all."

Waverly and the group laughed as Kenzie handed the paperwork to Rowan, who examined it. "Here's what I gave her," he said, showing his own records to Gavin and Kenzie.

"Okay, let's get started." Gavin took her blood pressure as Rowan examined the wound and Kenzie drew some blood.

After a full exam, they declared that she was healthy and good to go but would continue a course of antibiotics to be safe. Kenzie waited until the men left and then smiled at Waverly. "There are some things men don't think about. We couldn't access your chart at your primary's because we didn't want to alert anyone where you were, so I just came prepared." Kenzie pulled out birth control pills, shots, rings, and a patch. "Lark said you used something since irregular periods run in your family, but she didn't know which."

"Oh my gosh, thank you." Waverly blushed as she pointed to the birth control she used. "We, um, needed something and didn't have anything."

"I figured. As soon as I heard how Kane talked about you, even before he left to rescue you, I thought you might need this. But you need seven days until your birth control is effective, so until then . . ." Kenzie pulled out a makeup bag and unzipped it. Inside were lots and lots of condoms. "Not saying you have to have sex, just the way you two are looking at each other makes me very glad I brought them."

Waverly blushed again. "Thank you. I don't know what will happen since I'm still in danger. I keep thinking it's just because of that. It's just Kane's way of keeping me close and safe."

Kenzie snorted. "Look, I've known Kane since he started visiting Shadows Landing. He's had tons of clients since I first met him. None of them got more than a grunt from him when I asked how it went. And he certainly hasn't brought anyone to Shadows Landing or to his family before. Like ever. Not even a regular girl he met at a bar. So, yeah, it's not just his way of keeping you safe. He could have turned you over to the FBI for that. Do you need more condoms after hearing that?"

Waverly laughed. "You're nothing like what I expected a billionaire to be like."

Kenzie snorted. "I'm not a billionaire. My husband is. I'm a girl who worked her ass off to pay for her degree and worked night shifts in the ER. Just because I married Ryker doesn't mean I'm not that same girl who worked twelve-hour shifts and whose parents thought she should marry the manager of the chicken clothing manufacturer from my hometown."

Waverly blinked. "Chicken clothing? Like clothes for chickens?"

"Yup."

"I have so many questions."

Kenzie laughed and opened the bedroom door. "We can swap stories at Harper's Bar as soon as you have your security plan in place. Kane has my number. Call me if you need anything."

Waverly saw Kenzie say goodbye and noticed that Gavin and Rowan had already left. Now the room was filled with lots and lots of very large men. And Lark.

"Everything good?" Kane asked quietly as he joined her at the bedroom door.

"Didn't your brother tell you?"

Kane shook his head. "Rowan takes HIPAA seriously. Are you okay?"

"I'm all good. Everything is healing well."

Kane let out a sigh of relief but then looked at the cosmetic bag in her hand. "What's that?"

Waverly grinned as she set it down on the dresser. "A present from Kenzie. Now, who are all these people?"

Kane took Waverly by the hand and led her into the fray. She met his Special Forces brother, Hunter, and his wife, Maggie, first. Then she met FBI Agent in Charge Peter Castle and FBI Agent Paxton Landry. Then she met ATF Agent Dare Reigns. Finally, Granger introduced her to the others in the sheriff's department, Kord King and Tristan Durand. Kord and Tristan were the daytime deputies and then she also was told about the night shift who would patrol the area late.

"What exactly is the plan?" Waverly asked after meeting everyone.

"Pretty basic," Peter told her. He was the one clearly in charge of her situation. "Kane, Hunter, and the deputies keep you safe while the rest of us try to find Bruno and who hired him. Until that time, you don't exist. If need be, I know a trusted U.S. Marshal we could bring in to put you into protective custody."

"Don't worry," Kane said, taking her hand in his. "You'll be safe here."

That was the cue to leave. Everyone except Peter and Damon headed out and Lark came to sit next to Waverly on the arm of the couch. "What do I do?" Lark asked.

"Same as you have been," Peter told her. "Be worried. Say that your sister is missing. That you're upset, but know she'd want you to continue with school. We'll keep someone on you at MSU."

Lark rolled her eyes. "That guy is actually too old. Everyone was commenting on him."

Peter fought a smile. Waverly couldn't hide hers. To a freshman in college, a thirty-year-old would seem ancient. "We have someone new coming in. He's twenty-three and just graduated from the FBI academy."

"Is he cute?" Lark asked, suddenly interested.

Peter frowned. "Not to you."

"Don't worry, I got that part taken care of. Platonically," Kane told her. "We have a friend who goes to school there. He knows everyone and can get you both into an elite social circle, which usually includes campus security."

"If you tell me that it's the school president, I'll actually die," Lark groaned.

There was a knock on the door and Kane smiled as he stood up. "Not exactly." Kane opened the door and Waverly almost laughed out loud as Lark's mouth dropped open. "Quad, thanks for coming."

Even Waverly knew who Quad Clemmons was. He was basketball royalty. He was the king of MSU on and off the court. Heck, he was the king of college basketball.

"No prob. What's up?" Quad asked, glancing around the room. His eyes landed on Lark and he gave her a little smile.

Lark had to look up, way up. Terry Clemmons IV, known his whole life as Quad, was six foot seven. His shoulders were almost as wide as the door. His black hair was cut into a high fade so the top showcased his natural curly hair while the rest was all clean straight lines.

"This is my friend, Lark Davenport," Kane said, motioning for Lark to join them. "She's a freshman at MSU and needs your help." Kane gave a very short summary of what had happened to Waverly. Quad frowned and said how sorry he was she'd gone through that. Waverly had expected a diva since everyone said Quad was going to be better than Lebron. Instead, he was kind, attentive, and eager to help out. "There will be an FBI agent on campus, but I was hoping you could take them in. I know campus security looks out for you all. This way we can use security without whoever is most likely watching Lark realizing it."

Quad nodded. "Yeah. No problem. I can claim the FBI agent dude as a nutritionist or something. Heck, even an assistant with all this NIL stuff to manage. It's very nice to meet you, Lark."

"Thank you. It's really nice of you to help me out."

Quad bit his lip then and looked a little worried. "I don't know how to explain you though. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but the best way I know to explain why you're suddenly in my circle of friends is if we were dating."

Lark nodded. "That makes sense. Fake dating, of course. I don't expect you to actually date a freshman. But don't you have a girlfriend? I've heard you mention her in press conferences before."

Quad looked a little embarrassed. "She's not real."

Lark gasped. "No! You made her up? Why would Quad Clemmons make up a girlfriend? Oh," she dropped her voice. "You're gay and don't want anyone to know?"

Quad's dark skin blushed. "I'm not gay. It's just that I want to focus on basketball and my classes. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to have girls throwing themselves at you all the time? I've had three women say they're pregnant with my baby and I've never even met them. So, actually, you'd be doing me a favor. It would help keep them at bay for a while as my season gears up."

Lark held out her hand. "Deal, fake boyfriend. Should we get back to campus to make our debut?"

Quad grinned and shook her hand and Waverly almost laughed at how his hand engulfed her sister's. "Let's go, boo."

"I'll have my agent meet you outside the campus center in two hours," Peter told them. They both nodded but were clearly fully invested in the fake dating role as they couldn't stop staring at each other.

"Be safe, you two," Waverly called out.

"I don't like the look of that. I better have a chat with Quad really quick," Damon said, slipping from the kitchen.

"I think I'll join you. Be right back." Kane kissed Waverly's head and rushed out after his brother, leaving Waverly laughing at them. Poor Lark. She now had two overprotective big brothers for the time being.