Then he’d spoken about Lara and Matt being kidnapped.
She glanced to the door. That was something she could ask Georgie about, but what excuse could she use if Georgie asked her how she knew?
Finally he’d wanted to know the Stokes’s plans and how much the police knew about the whole situation. She sighed. No way she could casually insert that into a conversation. Dot and Nhiari would give her the third degree.
As for the Stokes… there were so many of them. Three brothers and Georgie, and they all had partners now. Did Kurt mean just the siblings, or everyone?
Jordan laughed at something on the television, and the sound warmed her heart, calming her. She had to protect him.
She just needed to figure out how.
Chapter 3
Arthur followed Sam into his townhouse that evening and stared at the stairs up to his room. His leg ached and it felt too hard to tackle them now. He didn’t bother suggesting they convert the downstairs study into his bedroom because he’d heard the therapist tell Sam he needed regular gentle exercise, including steps.
Sam was taking Arthur’s recovery seriously. He was like a military-trained mother hen, all routine and precision, but with a slightly more caring undertone.
“You need any pills?” Sam asked, dumping his backpack on the kitchen bench.
Arthur clenched his teeth and nodded, waiting while Sam dished out his dose of painkillers.
Brandon and Sam had agreed he shouldn’t have access to his own pain medication. While he resented the lack of autonomy, he didn’t blame them. They didn’t trust him.
He didn’t trust himself.
He swallowed the pills and sank onto the stool, relieving the pressure on his stump. He rubbed the area, but it didn’t help a lot through all the padding.
“What did you think?” Sam asked him.
“About what?”
“The boat and the tour.”
Arthur was about to shrug and give a non-committal answer when he noticed the slight twitch in Sam’s eye. Sam cared about his answer.
Why?
Sam always made things work. Surely he wasn’t worried about his decision to leave the army and buy the tour boat.
The silence stretched. Shit, he had to fill it. “Runs smoothly. Crew are good. Customers seemed happy.”
Way to list the obvious. He wasn’t reporting back to a senior officer, he was talking to a friend. Before he could add something more meaningful, Sam smiled. “Thanks, mate.”
Arthur pressed his lips together. He’d said nothing of value. Was that kind of response all they expected of him?
He considered it while Sam got something out for dinner. Had it always been that way?
He wasn’t the best with words, always stuck to the facts first so he couldn’t offend anyone, or say something wrong. Emotion was… difficult for him. His father had always berated him if he got emotional.
Someone knocked on the door and Sam was in the pantry, five different containers in his hands. He looked over his shoulder. “Can you get that?”
Arthur got to his feet, wincing as the prosthesis rubbed again. He shuffled to the door and opened it to find Sam’s girlfriend, Penelope there, her long red hair tied back into a braid and still in her Parks and Wildlife uniform. She held up an insulated bag. “Hey, Arthur. I made a curry for dinner, and there’s far too much for just me. I thought you and Sam might like some.”
This petite woman had had Sam tied up in knots only a few weeks ago. Arthur had looked forward to his phone calls about her and Stonefish Enterprises. He’d felt useful for the first time since his accident, and he’d enjoyed hearing Sam unsure how to act around a woman for the first time ever.
He nodded at Penelope and held the door wider so she could come in.
“Oh, I don’t want to disturb you.”
