“Anita!”El squeaked as she rushed forward.
Shawn snickered as he rounded the hood of the SUV.“You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in a month.”
“They saw each other last week, right?”
He nodded.“They’ve always been close.Anita moved from here to her grandmother’s mansion when she was 16, so they’ve known each other a long time.”Under his breath, he murmured, “She pretty much raised El, as far as I can tell.I got here too late to see that, but they’re closer than El is to any of her other family.Although, you’re about to find out why.”
His grim tone had Marc shooting his Triad brothers a look.
Last night, when Ryan had told Trip that he could spend another night with El, they’d also discussed the meeting with her relatives today.
Ryan had pushed like mad to get to see the family this morning though El had tried to put the brakes on by ducking her head in the sand, and Marc knew it was because he wanted to see the lay of the land.Marc could sense that Ryan felt sure her parents had something to do with the kidnapping attempts on El’s life.Why he thought that, Marc didn’t know.The only thing that concerned him was that Ryan was usually right where these instinctual beliefs were concerned.It was part and parcel of him being a leader.Those instincts put him at the top of the evolutionary pile, so even though Marc wished to fuck Ryan was barking up the wrong tree… he feared his Triad brother wasn’t.
With a grimace, he rubbed his chin as El and Anita garbled away in Spanish.Ryan eyed the two women and asked Shawn, “Will her brothers be here today?”
“Very likely.They live on site.They have their own separate residences, but they should come up.They’re nosey bastards.If they think El is here at an unusual time, they’ll want to know why.And as she was already here on Friday, they’ll want to know what’s going on.Not because they’re interested in her, but in case she has any news on the money.”Shawn rolled his eyes.“They live in hope that one of the lawyers can figure out a way to break the trusts.”
“But that’s impossible, surely?”
“Yeah.But when you’re talking billions, they can’t let their hopes sink.”He huffed.“It’s pathetic really.The old man was trying to put her in a position of power; his intentions were good, but he screwed her over something terrible.All the jackals bite at her ankles now.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes.“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Marc sniffed.“Ifwehave anything to say about.”
“You guys might be hot shits in your particular world, but El is the heiress to the Forsythe-Drew fortune.She’s the biggest hot shit around.”
“Yeah, butwedon’t have to control her, do we?”Trip pointed out.“It’s the mother fuckers who call themselves kin.”
Shawn conceded that with a nod.“True.”
Ryan stepped away from the SUV and headed over to their woman.“Who’s this, sweetheart?”he asked softly.
El stepped away from the arms of the South American woman, and murmured, “It’s Anita.She’s been like an aunty to me, Ryan.”She beamed at him and at the woman.“Esminovio,” she explained softly to Anita.
Anita’s eyes rounded.“En serio?”
El’s cheeks grew pink.“You’re the first guy I’ve brought around to the house.”
Marc snorted, then under his breath because he was well aware he and Trip were in the roles of bodyguards now, stated, “Who can blame her?If they’re as bad as Shawn says they are—”
“They’re worse,” Shawn interrupted grimly.
“Then no wonder she had no desire to introduce them to the family.”
“She leads a very solitary life,” Shawn said softly, none of the grimness of his earlier tone bleeding into this one.“It’s sad, but I think she’s happier at home and with us.Before we realized what bastards Enrique and Jamie were, we all got on great.She has a few friends, but they’re not super close.”
“She’ll find it easier to fit in at the Pride.Sure, she’ll be stepping into a powerful position, but she’ll be safe.She’ll be able to trust the people she meets.”
“That will be a hard habit to break,” Shawn said sadly.“Come on.Looks like they’re moving into the house.”
Shawn smiled at Anita as they passed the little woman, and bending down, he dropped two kisses on her cheeks.“Great to see you, sweet cheeks.”
Anita giggled and patted him on the side of his face.“You always were a cheeky one.”
He winked and stepped inside.
Marcus held out his hand to Anita.“I’m Marc.New security detail.And this is Trip.”
