Page 23 of Bonita Brynne
“Maddox says the same thing. Why aren’t you searching for him?” She pulled away and scowled.
“Mom and Raul, come home tomorrow. They want the club to wait for them.”
“That’s dumb. You’re just wasting time.”
Damn, she was a smart ten-year-old. “Storm is the president. If he says wait, we wait.”
My reply seemed to agitate her more. “What about Brynne? Is she with Mom and Dad?”
“Actually, she came here with me.”
Her brown eyes went wide. “She’s in Minnesota?”
“Yes, in the building.”
“Oh my gosh! What is she like? Does she look like Mom? Is she nice? Does she want to meet me?” She scooted off the bed and grabbed a brush off the dresser. “I need to fix myself up before she sees me.” She left the room and talked a mile a minute to Maddox, though I couldn’t make out what she said.
My innards twisted into knots. Valerie’s sass and strong will reminded me of Brynne. Thank God she wasn’t a carbon copy of her.
Valerie took after the Montez side of the family: tan skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes. She looked the most like our dad, though she would never agree. We three Montez kids definitely looked like siblings, thanks to our father’s dominant genes.
Shit, what if Valerie demanded to meet Brynne this minute? I didn’t know if my woman was ready to meet her younger sister. In fact, I’d bet my left nut she needed at least the day to adjust to her new surroundings. And I wanted to apologize for earlier with the kittens.
“Fine, you big bossy boss!” Valerie slammed the door and leaned against it with her arms crossed over her chest. “Maddox said I have to wait to meet Brynne.”
“So you’ll meet her tomorrow.” Small mercies.
She faced the door and stuck her tongue. “He’s not the boss of me! Wait until I tell Dad and Storm.”.
“Valerie, he’s your bodyguard. You know how this works.”She’s only ten, she’s only ten, she’s just a kid and doesn’t understand. She’s a kid whose brother is missing. She’s just a kid, I repeated in my head before I opened my mouth.
When she swung the door open, Maddox was there. Fearlessly, Valerie lifted her head and yelled, “I want a new bodyguard!” When she tried to close the door, Maddox stuck his boot in the way.
“Val,” he growled. “I know you’re scared and upset, but you don’t have to behave like a brat. I’m not going anywhere, so get over it.”
Damn. If my dad were here, he’d punch Maddox in the mouth for talking to Valerie that way. Her silence shocked me.
“You’ll meet Brynne tomorrow, and that’s final.” He shut the door.
Valerie’s bottom lip quivered. “Why is he being so mean to me?”
I went to her and put my arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the bed. “I wouldn’t call it mean. He’s protecting you.”
“In a mean way.”
I didn’t want to defend Maddox, but… “I think it scared the crap out of him that Ray was taken. It could’ve been you while on his watch.”
“He hasn’t left me once.” She blinked back tears, trying to be strong.
“Because you’re his responsibility, and he cares about your safety.” I pulled her close. “Y’know, he’ll be the club’s president one day.”
She bobbed her head. “I know. It’s a little funny that he’s a prospect right now.”
“We all start somewhere.” Phew, crisis averted… or so I hoped.
Valerie went and opened the door. “Maddox?”
He grunted, sounding a lot like Storm. No, a lot like his dad, Matt. It had to be a Knight thing.