Page 5 of Shamelessly Loyal
A door slammed, and a carbon copy of the stoic one strode across the intervening distance at a ground-eating pace that promised death and destruction were riding in with him. I’d seen that kind of expression before.
While Pretty Boy looked like he planned to intervene, the newcomer wasn’t remotely interested. Nevertheless, the closer he came, the more familiar he looked. He was Rome’s twin, so that made sense. The familiarity was annoying, as were the interruptions. There were too many people here to wrangle.
What had Em been thinking?
“What the hell did you do, Rome? Why would you bring Elaine Benedicthereof all places?” the newcomer demanded.
How nice, he knew exactly who I was. Fine, I could work with that. “Great, is there anyone else coming who is going to be shocked and awed by my presence that we’ll need to stop to explain it all?” I demanded. “If so, would it be possible to use the restroom now? I’d rather discussEmersyn’sproblems instead of this, but we don’t have all day.”
“She can help,” Rome said after I finished. “Come on, I’ll show you to the bathroom.”
“Wait,” his snarling brother said before we even went two steps. “Havingherhere is dangerous.”
“Why?” the smoker demanded.
“Fuck this,” one of the men stated. “Rome - take her to the bathroom. Everyone else, shut up and let Freddie explain. All of you, be quick. We’ll do this inside— Vaughn, call Doc and get him over here. Then we won’t have to have them explain everything twice.”
Rome dipped his head to the door, and I didn’t waste time on listening to their debate. I needed to do more than just empty my bladder. He guided me upstairs, then through a bedroom to another room. “This is Starling’s,” he said. “The bathroom is clean.”
Honestly, I’d take it. “Thank you.”
Once in the bathroom with the door closed, I leaned back against it. Steadying my breathing and my pulse took some significant focus. Starling’s room—Em’s. This had been her room. Her bathroom.
A scant investigation didn’t turn up anything familiar. I made use of the toilet, then washed up. I needed a real shower and change, but that would have to wait. As it was, I made do with freshening up and then checked my cosmetics. Despite the nearly two days in the back of the car, I was only slightly rumpled.
Ten minutes later, I had my heart rate steady and my breathing even. The touch-up smoothed out my expression, and when I opened the door to the bathroom. I was ready to deal with these strangers. They cared about Emersyn. That was a huge mark in their favor. Danger radiated from every single one. Danger and suspicion.
I didn’t care about that, not as long as it meant they’d do anything to get Emersyn back. Downstairs, the silence crackled with all the things they weren’t saying. Freddie had fixed sandwiches, a lot of sandwiches. He offered them to me like they were hors d'oeuvre and I debated declining.
However, my stomach cramped in protest, so I selected one of the ham and cheese sandwiches with a nod. The sincerity in his grin was kind of painful. Everything about him screamed youth and pain, yet he was genuinely trying. More than once, I caught the men staring at me, studying me, weighing me. I kept my expression under control.
Grandfather often said that when you can control your body language, you can control a room. Always leave them wanting more andneedingto understand. Here, that seemed prescient advice.
I had taken a seat while we waited, not because I wanted to surrender any control in letting them tower over me but because I needed them to calm down. As it was, the twin’s brother vibrated with barely leashed rage and kept glaring at the door more than me. So, whoever we were waiting on—the elusive Doc—was definitely the subject of his ire. When the door opened, admitting the older man with the hollow eyes and the tight expression, the angry twin snapped his glare to me.
“Talk.”
“Charming, I’d know you two were brothers without the looks.” Personally, I preferred stoicism and minimal use of words to testosterone-fueled anger. Uneasy humor rippled through the others, but to be fair, we didn’t have time to linger on this. I looked at Freddie. So far, he’d been the most bluntly honest with me. “Everyone here is trustworthy?”
“Yes,” he answered without equivocation.
“Good, because I’m going to need all of you to help.” Now, however, I rose from my seat and moved to stand in front of the dark television. It allowed me to control where they directed their attention and gave me a clear line of sight to all of them. “Emersyn’s in trouble.”
“And you know this—” Dammit, the raw growl of anger in his voice should not be remotely compelling.
Still, I cut her brother off with a slice of my hand. “Pretty Boy, this will go much faster if you let me talk and save the questions until after the presentation.”
Shock punched the silence and his jaw snapped closed with an audible click and the grind of teeth. It really should make him less attractive. The darkness clinging to my pretty boy disturbed me a hell of a lot more than I wanted to admit—to anyone.
“So, a little more this,” I continued, holding my thumb and fingers together like a closed mouth. “Instead of this.” I mimed yapping with my hand. His eyes went flat and dark. His eyes. This close, there was no mistaking Emersyn’s eyes glaring out at me. Only the storm and fury in them had never been directed at me. “Good. Emersyn contacted me a few days ago because of a reward that was put out by my family and friends of ours. I knew she was okay, but my grandfather offered the reward at my request. We were hoping someone would try to collect from us before the Sharpes, and that would let me know if anyone had found her before they could sell her out.”
I needed to tell them everything. Even revealing the gaps in what I knew. Holding back now wouldn’t help her. That wasn’t an option.
Folding my arms, I pressed on. “I promised her I would help in any way. I would also warn her if we heard anything. That was our last conversation. Then I heard she’d beenfoundand was coming home.”
Revulsion slid through me. The few scant images I’d seen of her at the airport had terrified me. Her uncle was—revolting. Going home wasnotwhat she wanted. Ever.
“That was the last thing she wanted.”