I’d seen his face. The utter shock on it was one thing, but there’d been so much more there I hadn’t had time to unpack.
Riley wore a knowing look, like I was being an idiot but she would indulge me because I was pregnant. "We look after our own, Brooklyn. Even before the baby, I knew you were going to be part of our world. Dylan would never have ripped us to shreds for just anyone. I've never met anyone he cared enough about to fight for like this. And that waslongbefore the baby news."
My hospital door smashed open and two hulking dudes lurched through the doorway. After being attacked by strangers, I wasn't sure if I should panic or not, but when the nurse followed a moment later, shouting at them, I simply lay back to watch it all play out.
"You are not allowed in here!" she yelled, trying to wrestle them out the door.
Guy one, who wore his blond hair in a shaggy, surfer do, slapped a smart-assy sort of smirk on his face. "Nurse lady, seriously, you don't want to get in our way. We're the major donors for this hospital, and there's nothing you can do to stop us."
She went super pale, which was impressive since her heritage seemed to be from an Asian country. "My apologies, sir. I didn't recognize you in casual clothing."
He waved her off, and before she could say another word, ushered her out the door and slammed it closed. Then, blondie and his brown-haired friend spun to smile at Riley.
"I told you fucking idiots to stay in the lobby and keep guard," Riley snapped. "What are you doing in Brooklyn's room?"
Blondie moved closer, examining me as if I was some sort of science experiment. "We can protect you better from here," he said, and I saw the gun at his waist. He'd concealed it so well I hadn't noticed it until now.
Riley sighed. "This is Jasper," she said to me, "and the other is Evan."
Their names gave the flash of recognition that their faces hadn’t. The other heirs, in the flesh, and I honestly didn't recognize them at all. Though to be fair, I pretty much only stared at Dylan whenever Delta was on the news, and occasionally Beck and Riley because they were just so striking. The other two were a bit faceless and nameless to me.
At least they had been until this point. Funnily enough, they were both very handsome, tall and muscular, and I wondered if “supermodel hot” was the minimum requirement to join their crew.
"This is Brooke," Riley continued. "She’s our current mission to protect, so I need you both at your top game—"
"Do you think I still need a protection duty?" I interrupted.
Jasper nodded. "Oh yeah. And that was before we found out about the..." His eyes dropped to my mid-section. "But, yeah, D asked us to watch over you while he killed a motherfucker, and as much as I wished I could go on a hunting trip, I'm expecting some action here too."
Anxiousness gripped my chest, and I shook my head. "No, I'm done with all of that. No more action here, thanks."
Evan just gave a casual shrug. "It'd be cool if that's how it worked."
Jasper snorted a laugh and shot his friend a look. Clearly, I was missing some inside joke there... or perhaps their lives really were dramatic enough that this was their version ofnormal.
Riley let out a long sigh. "What Tweedledee and Tweedledum mean is that until the blueprints have been recovered, goons are going to keep coming for you. Your brother has been messing with some seriously dangerous people who are not nearly as understanding as Delta-Huntley."
I wrinkled my nose. "You're the benchmark for understanding?"
She gave me an amused grin. "Well... we didn't put you in the hospital, did we?"
"Fair point," I mumbled with a wince. My hand moved back to my midsection, like I was subconsciously comforting my baby. How the hell I'd gone from praying I wasn't pregnant to desperately needing my baby to be okay, I had no idea. Near-death experiences tended to provide profound moments of clarity, though.
For me, it was simple. I wanted this baby, no matter what Dylan had to say about it.
"I think Blake’s dead," I said, my head a mess of random thoughts. "The guys that attacked last night told me they’d tortured him to get the information. I doubt they would have just cut him loose after he spilled his guts."
Jasper snickered. "Knowing who he tried to screw over, I’d say they probably literally spilled his guts."
Riley scowled and shot him a death glare. "Shut the fuck up, dickhead. That's Brooklyn's brother."
"Her brother who systematically beat the crap out of her for years," Evan reminded her. "I doubt Brooklyn would be real cut up if that douche was pig chow right now, right, B?"
What was with these guys using nicknames for everyone? Not that I minded. It gave me a small, warm, fuzzy feeling, like I was somehow a part of their crew. B, like D.
"Not really," I admitted, "but it would be nice to know for sure that he's really dead. Because if he's not..." I shuddered, then groaned as the movement made my ribs protest. "I hope he is. But I'm just saying, Dylan is wasting his time. If Blake’s alive he won’t be found."
Jasper and Evan exchanged a look, but it was Riley who replied.
