Reid let out a long breath. He was the youngest, the security company’s private investigator. “Things have been…tense. With the trial getting so close.”
Scrubbing a palm over my chin, I studied my brother. As much as Reid knew how to interpret body language, and was once an excellent interrogator when he worked for the police department, he often struggled with controlling his own tells. His face was like an open door to his emotions: eyes dark and tired, body hunched inward with his knee bouncing erratically.
“The entire town is struggling,” I said softly.
Reid held my gaze. “It’s different for us, and you know it.”
My heart sank. I took in Reid and August. Of course things were different for them. I just didn’t know how bad the struggle was. No one had come to me.
My face heated. “I’m sorry things are hard for Lark, Reid.” I turned to August. “And how’s Emersyn?”
August tensed. He stared down at the table. “She’s strong, you know that.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“But…” he continued. “It’s getting harder. Emersyn is expected to testify. And her brother…”
He trailed off, and I tried not to let my own complicated emotions show. I carefully kept my features loose and unresponsive.
“I’ve been worried about Jake, too,” I confessed.
August’s hands clenched. “Emersyn doesn’t need to be worried about him on top of everything. He’s been doing so well the past couple of years, but it’s like he’s spiraling all the sudden.”
I hung my head for a moment, gathering my thoughts. Ever since Jake’s outburst at the survivors support group, I’d been worried.
And the incident with Quinn the other day didn’t help things.
When she’d flown down the stairs, that envelope in hand, she’d looked terrified. Truly scared in a way I hadn’t known she was capable of. Every fiber of me wanted to know what was in the manilla envelope that had terrified her like that, but she wasn’t my business.
At least she wasn’t supposed to be.
“Everyone is on edge. The town hasn’t been very receptive to Quinn’s presence. I’ve personally witnessed threats toward her.”
Confusion flickered over my brothers’ faces.
“The defense attorney?” Roman asked, brows raised. “I didn’t know people were threatening her.”
I jerked my chin down in a tight nod. I didn’t want to be too specific that Jake was the one throwing around such threats.
Suspicion glinted in Roman’s eyes. “Is something else bothering you?”
I tried to not react to the very accurate question. Roman might be the brawn of the family, the fire chief who took after our father rather than working for the security company, but he was as intuitive as our gentle mother.
“Nothing really,” I tried to say with indifference.
I didn’t want to explain the way Quinn’s fear was still seared into my brain. I didn’t want to bring up that there was something that had made her scared, and she was hiding it. Because that wasn’t their problem, and it certainly wasn’t mine.
“Do you really think someone threatening this defense attorney would act on it?” August leaned forward.
I squared my shoulders. “I don’t know, but I think we should try to look out for her.”
August and Reid shared another look. Reid practically bristled.
I held up a hand. “Not entirely, just keep your eyes and ears open around town for hostility. She’s staying at Mom and Dad’s, and we don’t need trouble coming to their door if we can avoid it.”
“But in your professional opinion, do you think these people are really that unstable?” August pressed.
“It doesn’t matter what my professional opinion is,” I snapped, a sudden anger heating through me. My brothers had always put too much trust in my abilities anyways. “I personally know that people are capable of anything and shouldn’t be underestimated.”
