Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

EMERSON

D eclan dials his dad as soon as I close the door to the study behind us. He paces behind the desk as the phone rings. Cillian finally answers with a brisk hello.

“Harper got a letter at our house today.” Declan wastes no time with niceties.

“In the mail or dropped off?”

“She said it was stuck in the front door when she got home from class. I’ll send you a picture.” He snaps a few photos and sends them over.

“Fuck.” Cillian sighs heavily. “I thought she’d be in the clear there with you guys.”

“Is this the same as the others she’s been getting?” I ask.

“Yes, right down to the ink and handwriting.”

“Do you think it could be her boyfriend?” Cyrus asks. “There’s something weird about him.”

“No. I already looked into him. He’s squeaky clean.”

“What do you want us to do?” Declan asks. “Should we call Sawyer or Nolan?”

Sawyer is Declan’s cousin, and Nolan is one of his partners. Sawyer is an attorney, and Nolan spends his time on the other side of law. I don’t exactly know what he does, and that’s probably a good thing.

“No, not yet. But we might have to if my PI can’t get to the bottom of these letters. In the meantime, can one of you be with her all the time?”

Declan looks up at us in question. Cyrus and I both nod because we’re not going to let her be put in danger or harassed on our watch. She doesn’t deserve it.

“Yeah, we’ll adjust our schedules accordingly.” He switches off speakerphone and talks to his dad a minute longer before hanging up .

“What time did you leave the house today?” I ask Cy.

“About a quarter after two.”

“She would have gotten home around three,” Declan says as he looks at his phone. “Did you see anything in the front door?”

“No, and I went out the front, so I for sure would have seen it.”

“Fuck.” Declan echoes his father’s earlier sentiment. “Let’s figure out a schedule for who is with her.”

“She’s not going to like that,” I say.

“Does it look I give a fuck?” he counters.

Honestly, I don’t either.

As soon as we get the next week figured out, Declan goes upstairs to talk to Harper about the plan. It might have been better for Cy to deliver the news because he’s spent the most time with her without antagonizing her, but Declan insisted.

“I saw Georgios,” Cy tells me once we’re alone.

“When?” My gaze snaps to him.

“A couple days ago.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Because I didn’t want you guys to worry until I knew when and what he wants me to do for him. ”

“What’s that?” Dread drops in my gut like a ball of lead.

“Just a messenger this time. There’s a fighting ring in Atlanta. He’s got me set to fight some Irish punk who’s wavering on a deal Saturday.”

“We have an away game.”

“I know. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Georgios knows about Harper; I want to keep you all as isolated from that part of my life as possible.”

“Did he threaten her?”

“Yes, but not in any more of a serious way than he’s threatened you or Declan.”

“I wish you’d let us buy your freedom from him.”

“It doesn’t work like that. If you did, he’d just keep shaking you down for more and more money. I have to earn my way out.”

It’s a pipe dream at this point, but I don’t say that out loud. It’s been years, and every time Cy thinks he is close to being finished, his uncle moves the goal post on him. I’m not a violent man, but his family makes me murderous.

“Are you going to sleep in my room again tonight?” I ask .

“Maybe. I’m going to go upstairs and paint for a while. I’ll come down if I need to.”

“Okay.” I wrap my arm around his shoulders and pull him to me for a loose hug. He comes willingly and rests his head on my shoulder like the weight of the world is on his own.

I have to fight the urge to walk him back against the wall and plunder his mouth with mine. We’ve had intense physical encounters over the years, and I think if we weren’t so afraid of losing each other, we would have had actual conversations about it. We might even have explored being in an actual relationship.

Instead, we just dance around each other until we crash against each other following his fights. The way he looks at me when I’m cleaning his cuts and abrasions is nothing short of intoxicating. His ferocity clings to his being and makes me feral, it’s explosive. He drops his arms from me and walks away. As much as it hurts, I know he’ll work through his feelings by putting brush to canvas and creating something beautiful. I walk over to the desk, giving the letter one more look before putting it away in the bottom drawer. The last thing Harper needs is to wander in here and find that sitting right there.

As I climb the stairs, I hear Declan’s cutting sarcasm as he argues with Harper. I walk down the hall and let myself into her room, finding her facing off with him from opposite sides of the room.

“I don’t need you guys to babysit me. It’s probably just some weirdo bored because he lives in his mom’s basement.”

“Do you know how to protect yourself?” Declan challenges.

“Yeah, it’s called 911. Three little digits and the police come running.”

“What if someone takes your phone? Corners you against a wall? What are you going to do then?”

“Scream.”

“They’ll just knock you out.”

She snorts. “No one’s going to hit me.”

“Don’t bet on it. Until we figure out who is sending those letters, you aren’t going anywhere on your own. End of story.”

“Who do you think you are? Our parents just got married, and you’re not actually my brother.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

His words hit her like a slap, a flash of hurt shining in her eyes like a beacon. He didn’t mean it the way she’s taking it, but I’m going to let them figure that out on their own. For now, I’ll try to play peacemaker.

“Harper, we’ll figure out a path forward soon, but for now it would make all three of us and your parents feel better if you’d let us accompany you around. We’ll stay back and be discreet if you want.”

“The fuck I will.”

I shoot Declan a glare that he gives right back to me.

“I’m fine with you or Cy,” she says to me. “Just not him.” Her eyes burn with anger as she looks at Declan.

“Okay, we’ll make it work.”

Her phone rings, and she smiles when she sees who it is. “Banks is calling. Can you give me some privacy?”

I swear I catch a low growl from the back of Declan’s throat, but he turns on his heel and stalks across the hall to his room. I’m tempted to follow him, but the door slams behind him, and I hear the lock flip. It’s fine, I need a shower anyway.