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So, what was it damn well doing pressed to her ear?

She was hopeless.

“H-hello?”

“Hey, baby girl.” Kent’s rich deep voice reached out to her. He was so confident and strong. She figured he’d never experienced a moment’s doubt in his life. He’d never let his own brother push him around. Make him do things he didn’t want to do. Have him hiding under the bed covers like a wimp.

“Everything all right?” Worry entered his voice.

Shit. She knew how perceptive he was. She couldn’t let on that there was anything wrong.

And what would happen if she did tell him? Kent was strong and smart. He had a team of men who were all incredibly lethal. They’d squash Max like a bug.

It was tempting. So, tempting. But the thing that held her back was shame. She felt so ashamed that Max was her brother. But more than that, she was ashamed of herself. She’d let things get to this state. The first time he’d bullied money out of her, she should have said no. The first time someone approached her to extort money for Max’s debts, she should have denied knowing him. Or better yet, called the police.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that easy. But she could have tried. Instead of just letting all this shit happen.

“Fine. Although I still don’t think I need a bed time,” she added, hoping he would think that was the problem.

His low laugh told her he’d probably bought her misdirection.

“Big Little girls often have issues with bedtimes, but they’re the ones who need it the most. Otherwise they get cranky.”

“I do not get cranky,” she protested then she softened her voice. Not that Max would be likely to hear, but she couldn’t trust him. She refused to give him any more ammunition against Kent.

“You sure you’re all right?” he asked again. “Your voice sounds kind of muffled. You’re not coming down with something, are you?”

“No, I feel fine. I hardly ever get sick. I’m just under the bed covers,” she admitted.

“Under the bed covers, huh? The other day you were tucked under so only your hair stuck out the top.”

“And you were worried I would suffocate,” she teased.

“Still doesn’t seem safe to sleep that way,” he defended.

“I like it. It makes me feel safe, I guess. Is that lame?”

“Of course, it’s not, baby girl,” he said soothingly. “If it makes you feel safe then that’s what you should do. Although, you know you’d feel even safer if I was there next to you, don’t you?”

Her body heated at the thought. She knew she’d feel like she had won the lottery if he was next to her.

“Not sure there’s enough room for you in my bed,” she teased.

“Well, then, you’ll just have to sleep on top of me, won’t you? Think I might have you sleep like that anyway.”

Just the image of that had her breath coming faster, her pulse speeding up. Yeah, she liked the thought of that. A lot. “Although I don’t like the idea of having my feet hang off the end of your tiny bed. So maybe it would be better if you were in my bed.”

“I...I...”

“Too soon for that, baby?”

“Umm, yeah, it’s not that I, well, I do like the sound of that. But I...”

“I know,” he said warmly. “I said I’d give you time to think about all this and I’m going to try hard to do that. Just know that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you hide from this. I really think it’s what you need, sweetheart. You need a Daddy to take care of you, to make sure you don’t work too hard, that you don’t stay up all night watching television and drinking pop. That you have a safe harbor to come home to when life becomes crazy. I’d do whatever it took to take care of you, baby girl.”

That...that sounded like her dream. Except...

“But what do you need?” she asked him.