Four

THE TERRIFYING TRIO

GARBLED VOICES ECHOED DOWN THE HALL, so I drew the covers over my head. Maybe if I closed my eyes real tight the dragon would go away. I held my breath and listened. A deep voice bit accusingly at the air, his words lost in the darkness. Scared the monster would turn his attention toward my door, I crawled silently out of bed and made sure it was locked. I tried to turn the handle, but it held true, so I sank down on my bottom and pulled my knees to my chest. The dragon couldn’t enter when the door was locked. I’d figured that out when I was eight.

A thud sounded on the wall and I jerked, my heart racing. Momma was fighting with the dragon again, who’d no doubt leave her battered and bruised. That meant she’d need taking care of for a few days. Jumping from the floor in panic, afraid he’d punch through the wall and attack me as well, I ran to my bed and climbed under the covers. Then I prayed really hard that God would send my daddy home to slay the monster in the dark.

I awoke with a start, the memory of a darker time clouding my judgment. Without thinking, I climbed out of bed and ran to the bedroom door to make sure it was locked. Then I flipped on the light to cast away the shadows and took in my surroundings. White wicker furniture graced the small room. Pictures of sailboats and lighthouses hung on the pale blue walls, painting a picture of coastal Georgia in the summertime, as lace curtains billowed in the breeze through the open window. I breathed in slowly, taking in the salt air, allowing reality to center itself in my head, then let it out and turned off the light. I was in Bernice and Eunice’s cottage on Tybee Island. I wasn’t eight anymore, hiding beneath my covers. I was almost twenty-five, and my father had just blown into my life on a Harley and a smile.

I had a sister.

And my mother was dead.

I was also thirsty with a bit of a hangover.

Bad dreams caused me to sweat, so my oversized T-shirt was clinging to my chest with the aftereffects. Careful not to disturb Bernice and the Wallflowers, I unlocked my door and slipped out into the darkness. I headed to the kitchen for water while the last remnants of my dream clung to me like a shroud.

Bernice had insisted on sleeping on the pull-out couch, so I tiptoed past her like a burglar and opened a cabinet.

“Right side,” a soft voice called out.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Bernice propped up on one arm watching me. I moved to the right and opened the door, pulling down a plastic tumbler with seashells floating in a band of sparkly liquid around the outside.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked her, turning the tap on and filling my cup. I should probably look for headache medicine, but I was too tired to bother. The past twenty-four hours were kicking my proverbial behind like a prizefighter.

“Sleep and I aren’t acquainted most days, sugar. Too much to keep my mind occupied for that.” When she patted the edge of the mattress, I hesitated for an instant, afraid of what she might ask, then abandoned my cup in the sink and moved forward and sat down.

“You want me read you a bedtime story to help you sleep? I hear they’re all the rage with the under ten crowd.”

Bernice’s eyes brightened at my quip. “Sure. We could make one up together,” she said, then jumped in with both feet. “Once upon a time a scared little girl was abandoned by her father. She was all alone until she grew up and made friends. They were the best of friends too. They had beautiful names and they formed a flower club, one where they each agreed to stop runnin’ from men, so they could find love. And two of them did. But when it was the scared girl’s turn, she balked. Ran in the opposite direction when the handsome and sexy Neanderthal tried to climb the wall she’d built. And do you know what happened next, butterbean?”

I shook my head, because seriously, Bernice could read people better than anyone I’d ever met, and I didn’t think I was ready to hear the end of this story.

Bernice’s eye softened. “The Neanderthal made it over to the other side, ‘cause when men like that make their minds up, they never waver from their course.”

I shook my head harder. “He’ll climb right back over it.”

“And why is that?”

I’d held my secrets close to my vest. Never speaking about them to anyone. I’d spent years thinking if I didn’t acknowledge my past then it didn’t happen. But here in the darkness of the cottage by the sea, I could feel my resolve breaking. Until I’d met Cali and Sienna, I’d never felt strong enough. I’d even caved to Sienna and told her about Blake and how much I’d been hurt by his betrayal. The Wallflowers, in a sense, were weakening me while making me stronger. Crumbling my defenses because I wanted to spew my secrets, to lance the wound that was festering. But I was so afraid they’d look at me differently if they knew the truth. I didn’t want to see pity in their eyes. I didn’t want to be different in any way. But I realize now I’d been choking on the memories far too long. Allowing the wound to turn septic.

“Because,” I began, then stopped. Could I really do this? Could I lance this wound? With a deep breath for courage, I decided to be brave for once in my life. “Because the sharp-witted princess is really a ghost. A ghost of a girl who just pretends to be real.”

Bernice searched my face for a moment, but she didn’t react to my admission. “Who killed the girl?”

My lips trembled uncontrollably. I needed to finish. “A dragon.” The words stuck at first, yet it was still bitter on my tongue. “He found her in the dark and touched her.”

Bernice was good. She barely moved her head, but I caught the jerk like I’d struck her. She pulled herself into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her long legs. Then she looked me straight in the eyes, as if what I’d confessed wasn’t shocking. There was no pity, no sadness etched across her beautiful face, and I began to breathe again. “The girl’s not dead,” she whispered, reaching out to run a hand down my cheek. I closed my eyes at the motherly caress, wanting to lean in until she held me tight. I was relieved by her quiet resolve to move past my confession with answers, instead of tears. “She’s bein’ held prisoner by the dragon.”

I nodded. I was definitely a prisoner.

“Do you know what slays dragons?”

My eyes flew open, interrupting her. “Nothin’ can. The girl tried. It’s why she made friends with the beautiful flowers, but she’s so scared all the time that nothin’ works.”

“You’re wrong, my precious, sharp-witted girl. True love slays dragons the size of Atlanta and heals wounds deeper than the ocean. You only have to open your heart to it.” She held up her hand and snapped her fingers sharply, smiling brightly like the debutant she was. “Then poof.”

I looked at her hand then back at her eyes. “Poof?”

“Poof. Just like that, your past is in the past and the rest is what you and my sweet Calla Lily like to call a happily ever after. No more dragons. No more ghosts. Just happiness.”

I narrowed my eyes because there had to be a catch. If it were that easy, then why had she remained single her whole life? She was from one of the first families in Savannah. Cali was the only grandchild left to take over the reins of Armstrong Shipping when her granddaddy died. And I knew from conversations with Cali, that Bernice and Eunice had been treated badly by their father. Ignored by him for most of their lives, and disinherited because they chose not to toe the line like an Armstrong should. So why then, if love conquered all, had she not married and moved out from under the constant struggle of being ousted by her family?

“Then why didn’t you find love, so you could heal from your negligent father?”

Bernice’s mouth softened, along with her eyes, the blue shimmering with mirth. “I did. I found love in the form of a six-year-old child who needed me more than I needed a man.”

My heart tugged at my insides. She’d foregone love because of Cali. She’d dedicated her life to raising her brother’s daughter, rather than making a family of her own. Bernice’s love had been unconditional, her entire focus on Cali. Unlike my aunt had been.

Now that I knew Shirley was my aunt, and not my mother, some of her actions made sense. I’d never felt like she loved me like a mother should. Protected me enough. Not like Bernice and Eunice had done for Cali. They’d taken care of her, where I had taken care of my aunt from the time I was old enough. How many times had I cleaned up after my aunt had a wild party, so my friends wouldn’t see? How many times had I put myself between her and a man when I was old enough? How many times had I made sure my bedroom door was locked because I couldn’t trust that my aunt would be sober enough to keep the dragon out of my room?

“Cali is so lucky to have you,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. My whole life might have turned out differently if Shirley had raised me like Bernice had raised Cali.

“Not as lucky as I am to have her.” She meant that. Every word of it. She didn’t seem to feel she’d missed anything. Love had healed her. The love of a child. The love of her older sister as they banded together to give Cali the home she needed. And that got me thinking. Why couldn’t I do the same? Why couldn’t I be the cool aunt to Sienna and Cali’s children? She hadn’t been lonely her whole life. Cali said she’d stilled dated from time to time, so maybe that would work for me? If I dedicated my life to being the best aunt I could be, I wouldn’t have to worry about my past screwing up a relationship. I could live my life vicariously through their lives like Bernice had done, and keep my secrets buried deep. I’d never have to worry about sending a man running when he figured out I was broken.

It was the perfect solution!

“Thank you, Bernice. I know what I need to do now.” Her brilliant smile lit up the darkened room, matching the moon’s glow filtering through the open window. “I’m gonna be just like you. Who needs a man anyway? They’re more trouble than they’re worth, right?”

Her smile, the one that could have launched a thousand ships, slipped like an ill-fitting bra. “Are you out of your cotton-pickin’ mind?” she whispered on a screech.

I blinked. “But you just said—”

“Sugar, I had the love I needed to help me heal from a loveless childhood, but don’t think for a second that I didn’t lay in bed at night wonderin’ where my Prince Charmin’ was.”

The pain that radiated from her as she spoke was almost tangible. “Bernice—”

“I love my girl. I’d kill for my girl. But I still would have welcomed a man into my life, if the right one came along. But we were so busy tryin’ to heal Calla after her parents’ deaths, that I woke up one day on the wrong side of fifty. Don’t close yourself off from the love of a good man, Poppy. Never do that.”

I was struck silent, unable to process anything she said except one. That not once, in all her years, had she met a man she could have loved. A woman like Bernice. Beautiful, sexy, crazy Bernice who had everything going for her.

“You’re sayin, that not once, in the fifty some odd years you’ve been gracin’ this planet, has a man floated your boat, rang your bell, or tooted your horn enough to marry him?”

Bernice clasped her hands and looked down, sniffing as if she were offended. “Ladies don’t normally speak of such things,” she mumbled, still buried by the conventions of her past. She’d been raised to be a debutante, and occasionally, those lessons still held her hostage. “But since we’re on the subject, I want to be completely honest with you, so you don’t make the same mistakes. My bell has been rung on many occasions, but my toes have never curled in a way that I would have been tempted to explore a relationship with anyone.”

“Your toes have never curled? No man has ever tempted you in any way?”

She seemed to hedge for a moment, bobbing her head back and forth. “Once,” she finally admitted. “But he was a stranger on vacation. I didn’t know him, mind you, but there was somethin’ about him that called out to me in a way that no other man had before.”

I was suddenly intrigued like a cop following a lead. How could a woman like Bernice not have found anyone to tempt her all these years, except this one man? She could have had anyone with her looks and witty charm. I needed to know more about this man, so I scooted across the bed, laid down on my stomach, crossed my feet at my ankles and got comfortable. Then I propped my chin in my hands like a child ready for a bedtime story, eager to hear the whole romantic tale. “Tell me everything.”

Bernice looked over my shoulder suddenly, and her eyes grew wider. “You didn’t hear all that did you?”

“By all, do you mean did I hear, you gave up on love to raise me? Then yes.” Cali’s voice was soft. When I turned to look at her and Sienna, her expression was tender. You could see the love she felt for Bernice written in every look, every beat of her heart.

Cali moved to the bed, followed by Sienna. They both crawled on top, next to me, and lay down just like I had.

Bernice glanced at Cali, her expression pensive.

“Tell us. Wallflowers don’t keep secrets,” Cali said, reaching out to tug on her foot.

Bernice smirked. “It was nothin’. Next to nothin’.”

“Then tell us if it’s nothin’.”

She looked at each of us, then her eyes seemed to empty of conscious thought as if she were recalling the incident. “Eunice and I were here on a long weekend. I’d just gone outside to water the plants, and there were two cars parked in the street. I looked up to watch a family loadin’ their bags, and there he was. Tall. Dark. Dangerous lookin’. I could hardly breathe just lookin’ at him. He had an edge about him, similar to your men. The kind that said my daddy wouldn’t be able to run him off. The way he looked, the way he commanded the space around him was like a force of nature.”

Cali smirked and looked at me, her eyes lighting from the inside. I bit my bottom lip to keep from swooning myself at the look on Bernice’s face as she reminisced about the encounter. Whoever the man was, he’d made an impression on Bernice, one I don’t think she’d soon forget.

“But he had a family?” Sienna asked, confused. “You were lustin’ after a man who was married?”

Bernice shook her head. “He wasn’t married. It was just him, another man with his wife and young son, and a young family with little girls. Besides that, no man openly looks at a woman the way he looked at me if they’re married.”

“He saw you too?” I questioned.

She nodded. “He was puttin’ a bag in the trunk and turned. We locked eyes and he stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there starin’ at me like I was somethin’ he’d like to eat. I tried to mentally will him to come closer, but the spell was broken when Odis Lee showed up for Eunice. He walked up while we were frozen in time and hugged me where I stood. When I looked back, hopin’ he’d come introduce himself, he was openin’ the driver’s door and climbin’ in. Then he drove away without a backward glance. I haven’t seen him since, and believe me, I’ve looked.”

“How long ago was this?” Cali asked.

Bernice shrugged. “Last summer. Fourth of July weekend.”

“So, when Devin showed up, and you said what you wanted for your life wasn’t the same as what I wanted for my life, it was a fib?”

Bernice snorted, but it still sounded ladylike. I’d give the Armstrong women credit; they could make any word or situation sound dignified when it came out of their mouths. Cali included.

“Butterbean, what I wanted was to be happy. After growin’ up in that house, raisin’ you made me happy. Don’t you fret about me, I’ve lived a very full life.”

Cali’s eyes brightened with unshed tears, then they grew determined. “Would you’d be open to love if the right, tall, dark, and dangerous man walked into your life now?”

Bernice smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m in my fifties, any man worth his salt is already taken. I know this, and I’m okay with it. Besides, I get to live vicariously through you, my dear sweet girl.”

Cali didn’t seem to hear her. She was worrying at her lips, her eyes deep in thought. Then she looked up at Bernice with a shrewd smile, one I knew meant adventure for the Wallflowers. “Did you happen to catch this man’s name?”

Bernice blinked. “Why?”

“Just curious is all.”

Bernice eyed her suspiciously but answered. “I heard the young woman call out to him while we were starin’ at each other.”

“And?”

“Joe. She called the man Uncle Joe.”

_______________

“I’m gonna find this Joe,” Cali whispered, watching Bernice out of the corner of her eyes.

I peeked over the top of her head and watched her aunt pour coffee grounds into a filter. It was 4:00 a.m. and we’d all decided to stay up and watch the sun rise over the ocean. “A man named Joe isn’t much to go on.”

Sienna leaned in closer. “We know he rented a place on the same street as this cottage, so that narrows it down.”

I hated to burst their bubble, but since I lived in the land of denial, and ‘the glass is half empty’ more than most, it was my duty to point out the pitfalls. “What if someone other than Joe booked the rental?”

Cali’s lips pinched at my observation. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Plus,” I went on, because I’m always a ray of sunshine, “No realtor or rental agency is gonna give out that information just because you bat your lavender eyes at them.”

Cali and Sienna both slumped in unison. I reached out and patted Cali’s hand. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“No, dangit. She sacrificed so much for me. She deserves to be happy for once in her life. To have a man who, you know, she can spend quality time with and do you know what with while she’s still young enough.”

I glanced at Sienna and smiled. “I’m sorry? Do ‘you know what’ with?” Cali still couldn’t say the word sex. It was so flipping cute. Especially since we know she and Devin go at it like rabbits.

She rolled her eyes. “Have sex.”

“Sister, she did it. She said—”

A loud crash from outside silenced me. The girls and I turned to Bernice, who was looking out a window facing the side of the cottage.

“What was that?” Cali asked.

Bernice looked back at us and shrugged, turning back to the window just as a scream filled the night. I reacted without thinking and ran to the door. Flipping on the porch light, ripping open the door with both Cali and Sienna hot on my heels, we ran outside and searched the darkness for the source. Movement caught my eye and I turned toward the rental next door, where the aliens were staying with their three daughters. The window that faced the alley was broken, glass littering the ground below, sparkling in the low light from our porch light. I moved closer to the end of the deck and waited. Listening.

“We should call the police,” Sienna whispered.

The world seemed to hold its collective breath as we waited for something to happen. The hair on the back of my neck began to rise as if unseen eyes were staring back at us. Like an invisible rope began to pull me, I stepped off the porch and rushed across the alley. Cali and Sienna followed, whisper-shouting for Bernice to grab her phone. A sense of urgency coiled through my body. Something had happened in that darkened rental by the sea, and all I could think about were their three daughters possibly hiding from dragons.

As soon as I reached the front door, I knew I was right. It was slightly ajar.

“Looks like someone broke in,” Sienna whispered, trying to draw me away from the door.

“Knock, then call out,” Cali said. I turned back to look at her and caught movement up the beach. I squinted, and swore I saw Nate, Bo, and Devin peeling from the shadows like avenging angels, their faces grim in the streetlights as they marched our direction.

“Is that . . .”

Sienna turned at my question. Her breath caught in surprise, just as Cali leaned in and knocked, calling out, “Hello?” The air around us seemed to charge with anticipation, then in a burst of energy, a hooded male barreled through the door, knocking me into the girls and onto my back. Stars exploded in my head when it connected with the decking, dazing me momentarily. I rolled to my side and forced my eyes open to make sure he wasn’t coming back for round two. He wasn’t. Instead he was racing toward the surf, and he was carrying the youngest daughter with his hand cupped over her mouth. I didn’t waste time getting to my feet as the girls shouted at the Terrifying Trio—Nate, Bo, and Devin—currently sprinting full-steam ahead. I screamed for the man to stop, causing him to look over his shoulder while I ran after him. As he tried to climb a sand dune, his right foot snagged on something and he stumbled. Using both my hands, I dug into the sand for support and climbed up the dune in pursuit. I reached the hooded figure as he got to his feet and grabbed hold of the little girl’s waist. I tugged, wrapping my arms tighter around her body, trying to dislodge her from his arms. She slipped in his grasp and I tugged harder, then went flying on my back with the child still wrapped in my arms when he backhanded me across the face. My already pounding head groaned on impact, and I bit my lip. Needing to put distance between myself and the kidnapper, I began to roll back down the sand dune with the tiny girl tucked into my chest. I heard Nate roar my name. The kidnapper looked over his shoulder at the pissed-off trio of badasses rushing toward us and bolted. Without looking back for his quarry, he pushed off the dune and sprinted for the water.

I was suddenly surrounded by the Wallflowers as the child began to wail. I sat up in time to see the Terrifying Trio fly up the dune and over. Nate was in the lead with murder in his eyes.

Sienna pulled the frightened child into her arms while Cali helped me stand. “I’m taking her to Bernice,” Sienna shouted, then turned and ran back to the cottage.

A shout rang out in the distance, then the thunder of gunfire rent the night air. My blood froze in horror at the sound. Was that Bo firing or the kidnapper?

On weak legs, I climbed the sand dune with Cali in tow. My heart pounded in fear, afraid we would find one of our men shot. At the top of the dune, we watched silently in relief as our men dove unharmed into the surf, trying to catch the kidnapper. He was twenty yards ahead of them, battling the tide as he swam for a powerboat anchored in the shallows. I held my breath when the kidnapper pulled himself into the boat and started the engine. I couldn’t tell who was who in the moonlit waters, but all three stopped when the boat’s propellers kicked up sand and water. They dove below the surface when the bow lurched toward them and Cali and I both screamed.

The boat seemed to pass right over the top of the men. For a few frantic seconds we waited for them to surface, then our legs were carrying us down the dune when three heads broke the surface. I stopped a few feet from the water as the men trudged to the beach, but Cali kept going, battling the tide before throwing herself at Devin. Envy curled around my gut as she buried her face in his neck, her legs wrapping around his waist like a vise. She remained plastered to him as he made his way to the beach. Devin acted as if she weighed mere ounces, carrying the extra burden easily. And the relief on his face when he reached the sand and buried his own face into her neck, closed my throat. They loved each other so much.

Nate was the last out of the water. I scanned his drenched clothes for any signs of blood, avoiding his eyes as he walked right up to me and stopped.

“Look at me,” he bit out.

Raising my eyes slowly, I stared at his neck instead of his face. When he tilted my head back and ran his thumb across my bruised jaw, I closed my eyes to stop the tears from welling. Heat rose up my neck and bloomed in my cheeks at the tenderness in his touch.

“I’ll fuckin’ kill him when I get my hands on him.” I jerked in surprise at his angry, yet smooth as molasses voice.

Hearing the tone sent a shiver down my spine. I knew at that moment he meant what he said, and it sent panic coursing through me. I stepped back and began to shake. The adrenaline rushed through my veins until it settled in my heart, causing my fight or flight instinct to kick in.

“I’m okay. Thank you for your concern,” I said without meeting his eyes, then turned and headed toward the cottage at a dead run. I had to burn off the hormones wreaking havoc through my system, or I’d collapse at his feet again.

I kept running until the lights from a sheriff’s cruiser came into view. Then I picked up my pace, concern for the other girls overshadowing everything else. When I reached the rental, I saw Justin Moore, the Sheriff of Chatham County, climbing the steps with his gun drawn. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans instead of his uniform, his hair a mess like he’d rolled out of bed and rushed right over. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me and scowled. I started to say, “The little girl is with Bernice,” but he was looking over my shoulder. “Strawn, what the fuck?”

“Attempted kidnapping of a minor female.” Bo stopped at my side then looked down at me. “Ms. Gentry here recovered the child while Hawthorne, Jacobs, and I pursued the kidnapper. He escaped by water in a high-powered boat. Red. Headed north toward Hilton Head.”

Justin raised a finger, holstered his weapon, then grabbed his handheld and barked orders into the static while we waited. I was itching to get inside the rental and find the other girls.

“This where the abduction occurred?” Justin asked as soon as he was done.

I nodded. “She was with her parents and two other sisters.”

Bo looked down at me. “Go sit with Bernice, we’ll let you know when we need a statement.”

I started to argue, but a large hand grabbed my elbow, pulling me across the deck. Justin jerked his head at Nate as we passed. Peering over my shoulder as Nate walked me down the deck, I watched Moore enter the rental, calling out, “Chatham County Sheriff,” as Bo followed, dripping seawater as he went.

Nate’s jaw was taut as he led me back to Bernice’s. He didn’t say anything, just kept right on walking. I heard footsteps behind us, so I glanced over my shoulder and found Cali and Devin, his clenched jaw in a mirror image of Nate’s.

Bernice gasped, “Is she hurt?” when Nate ducked his head through the cottage door.

“Yeah,” he bit out. “We need ice for her jaw.”

That’s when I realized he was shaking with anger. I pulled back and looked up, flinching at what I saw. His eyes were burning with heat, his lips pressed into a tight line, and the color of his face had turned a scary shade of peeved-off Neanderthal.

I pulled my arm out of his hand, looking at anything but the man in front of me. I guess he was pissed because I ran from him.

Bo popped his head in the door, catching Devin’s attention. Devin followed him out to the porch. I looked around the cottage for the little girl and found Sienna sitting in a chair, rocking her as she sniffled and sucked her thumb.

Turning back when the door opened, I studied Devin’s expression as he entered. I was on pins and needles waiting to hear about the rest of the children.

“One male, one female, and two minor females were found bound and gagged in a bedroom. All alive. Moore asked us to bring Rachel to her parents. He wants the rest of us to give our statements at the station this mornin’ at nine,” Devin relayed. I sat on the edge of the couch and took my first full breath since we’d heard someone scream. The girls were unharmed.

Sienna stood with the little girl named Rachel, cuddling her close. Devin opened the door, and she exited. I could see Bo on the porch waiting for her, speaking with an officer. When Devin closed the door, he looked back at Nate and his jaw twitched.

“What?” Nate asked, watching Devin as closely as I was.

“The father is State Senator Ryan Scott.”

Nate blinked at the information, then closed his eyes, growling, “Shitstorm.”

“Fuckin’ hurricane.”

I glanced at Cali to see why both men looked ready to punch a hole in the wall. She looked confused too.

“What?” I asked Devin. “I don’t pay attention to politicians because they’re all liars with an agenda. Why does it matter who this guy is?”

“He’s got the final undecided vote on a gamblin’ bill before the Georgia House. If he votes yes, then a state question allowin’ Native Americans to open casinos will be put before the voters.”

That still didn’t tell me why they were so tense. I didn’t pay attention to the news. Heck, I never watched TV. If I’m not on my computer working on a cover, then my nose is buried in a book. Fiction is way more entertaining than the real world.

“And?”

Nate looked down at me. “It’s been a statewide debate. Scott’s been all over the news, his face on the front of magazines. He plans to run for governor in the next election, so he’s been closemouthed about how he’s leanin’.”

“What’s the big deal about gamblin’?” I directed my question at Devin. The less interaction Nate and I had, the better. “And why does this make his daughter’s attempted kidnappin’ a, you know, a shitestorm or a hurricane?” I swear I saw his lips twitch. Had he never heard the word shite?

“We’re in the heart of the Bible Belt. Folks don’t want the kind of corruption that comes with casinos, and it’s a shitstorm because you three just saved his daughter, which means the press is gonna want a piece of you. They’ll hound you until you want to pull a gun and shoot them,” Nate ground out, answering for Devin, his anger escalating. “It’ll be fuckin’ pandemonium within a few hours, once word gets out. Probably even make national news.”

Oh. My. God.

“Why does this keep happenin’ to us?” I asked Cali, because honestly, it was like we were cursed. First Maria dies, and Cali gets kidnapped because of Devin’s stalker. Then we get chased through Savannah by a meth-head before falling victim to gold thieves who leave us for dead. Now my father has returned with the ghost of my real mother attached, and a grandfather who murdered her. But this . . . This made my stomach churn more than dealing with the ghost of my mother. I’m an introverted extrovert. I don’t like people in general but can talk to them easily if need be. Being hounded by the press, who would want to know who we were, was my worst nightmare. My entire past could come to light.

Cali looked as freaked out as I did, until Devin mumbled, “At least I’m not draggin’ the Savannah River.”

Oh boy!

Cali whirled on him, her posture defensive. He needed to learn when to hold them or fold them. She was still pissed at his earlier outburst that we’d end up dead if we left their sight. “You think this is funny?” she bit back, her expression one of a pissed-off Wallflower with thorns.

Devin rounded on her quickly, his own anger and impatience seemingly restored, and kept walking until he’d backed her into the wall. “Do I look like I’m laughin’?”

“We don’t plan any of this. We were inside when it went down,” she defended, pushing at his chest. “How are we to blame this time?”

“If you’d stayed inside and called the police, sayin’ you heard a noise rather than goin’ outside and investigatin’, would you still be in this mess?”

Cali opened her mouth then she looked to me. I twisted my lips to keep from admitting he was right. We’d leaped before we looked once again. But, in the grand scheme of things, it was a good thing we had, or a little girl would be in the hands of a kidnapper. And that cinched it for me. No matter how bad the press got, it was worth the aggravation since it meant Rachel was safe.

“You can’t tame a tiger,” Bernice called out, glaring at Devin. “You can’t stop a river from risin’ or the sun from settin’ any more than you can order these women to think before they react. It’s in their nature to rush to the aid of others. You can bellow all you want, but you won’t change who they are. And it’s a good thing, too, since Rachel was saved because of their pigheadedness. You need to accept them as they come, ‘cause orderin’ a Wallflower to stay put works about as well as tryin’ to baptize a cat. You’ll just end up covered in blood with an angry female spittin’ and hissin’ at you.”

I couldn’t stop a giggle from rising at the sight of Bernice laying into to Devin and hitting him with the truth. Or the look on his face when she raised a brow at him for trying to intimidate her niece. I covered my mouth when Devin looked between both women and considered her advice, then cleared his throat and mumbled, “Yes, ma’am,” before curling his arm around Cali’s neck and kissing her temple. It was awesome to watch, but I didn’t believe for a second Devin agreed with her. He was too alpha to change his mind. Too in love with Cali to back down where her safety was concerned. And the smirk Cali gave him when he answered said she didn’t believe he’d backed down any more than I did.

Bernice smiled at his response then patted his arm, drawling, “Such a gentleman,” before winking at me. I snorted in response. Bernice didn’t believe he meant it either. I looked up at Nate, expecting to see humor written across his face, but I found narrowed eyes glaring at me. Before I could move out of his line of fire, I was up and over his shoulder like a rag doll.