Groans filled the room at Madi’s subtle—like a jackhammer—advice.
“Don’t listen to her, Chase. You be as protective as you feel you need to be,” Jay said, staring down his sister.
She glared right back with a fire in her gorgeous hazel eyes.
Chase scrunched up his little face so much that his blue eyes closed.
“That’s enough.” Mary’s put an end to their standoff. Like John, she rarely raised her voice. She didn’t need to.
Jay’s phone vibrated on the table next to his chair. “Speaking of protectors. Nathan’s here. He says AJ and Blake aren’t far behind.”
Jack took Natalie from a tiring Chase, who promised to be the best big brother ever, and gave the baby to Meg.
Jack, Jay, John, Doug, and I met Nathan in the hall.
“What happened after we left?” I asked, causing all heads to turn my way.
Nathan clapped my shoulder and shook his head. “Nothing. Literally nothing. Unless you or Madi recognize anyone in the pictures we took, we have nothing.”
“Damn it.”
“The last fire happened a couple of days after, so we’ll schedule Sammy, Dean, and Frank to cover the restaurant and watch for suspicious behavior,” Jay said.
They were all local police officers who worked part time at SSI.
“Do we need to bring in extra help?” John asked.
“Let me check their availability and I’ll let you know.”
“Can I go see my wife now?” Nathan asked, already walking away.
“Yeah, we’re done,” Jay laughed. “Robinson, can I have a second?”
“Sure.”
“Something about this is off. Cate feels it too.” So did I.We’re missing something. “You can’t afford to get distracted.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you’re too close, I can assign someone else.”
Over my dead body. I didn’t use those words, but my “No, sir.” conveyed the message.
“That’s what I was afraid of. Just…” he gripped the back of his neck. “Just be careful.”
“Yes, sir.” That should’ve been the end of the conversation, but Jay wasn’t convinced.
“You’re sure your feelings won’t be an issue.”
“Positive.” I stood tall and staked my claim. “There isn’t a person on this planet who’ll work harder to protect her.” Before he could say anything, I set him up.
“How far would you go to protect Cate?”
He swallowed before admitting, “I’d kill to protect her.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’d die to protect her.”
I felt the same about Madi, but I had to use stronger words to convince her brother. “I’d scorch the world to keep Madi safe.”
It was Jay’s turn to pick his jaw up off the ground as I walked away.
