Chapter 23
Booker
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ELLIOT HARRIS ARRIVED at five o’clock, his countenance gualed, but not rude, and I ushered him into the great room. “Can I get you a beer?”
“I’d actually like to see my sister,” he said.
“Let me see if she’s awake.”
“I want to see her even if she isn’t.”
I nodded. “Follow me.”
I led Elliot down the hall to the master bedroom and slid the door open partially. Dani was lying on her back, her hair had come loose from the tie and fanned out over her face, and she was naked from the waist up..
“Give me a sec,” I said, and stepped into the room, pulling the covers back up her body.
She groaned and tried to push them down again.
“Dani, your brother’s here. He wants to see you.”
“Go away,” she grumbled.
I slid her hair from her face. “Baby, Elliot’s here.”
She sat up so quickly, she nearly collided with me. “Ell?”
“I’m here, Dani,” Elliot called through the door.
“Don’t come in. I’m naked.”
I shook my head.
“Why the hell are you naked?” Elliot called.
“Why the hell do you think I’m naked?” she retorted.
“Danielle,” I whispered.
“What? I’ve been puking my guts out and miserable, and my brother starts getting all brotherly. It’s frickin‘ annoying” Dani frowned. “Elliot, I’m fine. I have not been kidnapped, I’m not being held against my will, and Austin’s only partially a mad-
man.”
“I’ll wait in the other room,” Elliot said.
“Good choice, brother of mine,” she called.
“You’re feeling better,” I observed.
Dani nodded, pulling the sheet around her. “Why’s my brother ere?”
“He came to talk.”
“I’ll get dressed, then.”
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I shook my head. “You need to rest.”
“I feel great,” she said, and promptly began coughing.
“Babe.”
“I’m telling you, I feel great. It’s all good, honey.”
“Probably a burst of energy before the crash.”
“Then let me use this burst of energy to see my brother.”
I smiled. “You’re making it really hard for me to take care of you
Dani rolled her eyes. “Word of warning, I’m the worst patient on earth. Best to learn that now.”
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“I’ll find you something warm and you can get dressed.” I rose to my feet. “One of the recruits dropped off a few things-”
“What kinds of things?”
I smiled. “Meds and soup.”
Dani looked disappointed. “Oh.”
“Expecting something else?”
“I was just dreaming about cheesecake. No big deal.”
I laughed. “You were dreaming of cheesecake?”
She licked her lips. “I was eating it off of you.”
“Fuck, baby,” I whispered, sitting on the bed again. “You can’t say shit like that.”
Dani giggled. “Why not?”
“One, you’re sick as a dog, and two, your brother’s here.” I grinned. “Wait until you’re well and I can do something about it.”
“But watching you squirm’s kind of fun for me. Especially right now.”
“Why especially?”
“Oh, I don’t know… maybe because of Tiff.”
I sighed. “We’ll talk about that later.”
“Yes, we definitely will.”
“I’ll grab you something warm to put on.”
“Just grab my bag for me, honey, I can take care of the rest.”
“You sure?”
Dani nodded. “I’ve been sick before and had to deal with it alone so yes, I’m sure. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“If your fever doesn’t go down, back to bed.”
“Yes, mom,” she retorted.
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I chuckled, kissed her forehead, and retrieved her bag for her before leaving and joining Elliot in the great room.
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Danielle
I watched Austin leave the room and then stared at my suitcase on the bed. I was spinning emotionally, but I also felt like I was going to die a slow painful death. I chose to pick my battles, and getting the information about Tiff and her relationship with Austin had to be low on the priority list right now.
I climbed off the mattress, my movements stilted and slow as every part of my body ached, and yet, I still had copious amounts of energy. I found clean underwear, sweats, a T–shirt, and a pair of thick socks. I tried to put the socks on, but bending made my head spin, so I took a minute to brush out my hair, pile it on the top of my head again, and brush my teeth.
I padded out of the bedroom and heard the low cadence of male voices as I neared the great room. I exited the mouth of the hallway and the voices stopped. Both my brother and Austin rose to their feet, but it was Austin who walked to me and frowned. “Why don’t you have socks on?”
I held the ball up. “Bending over kind of makes me dizzy.”
Austin smiled and whispered, “If you’re doing it right, it does.”
I giggled.
“Come sit down. I’ll help,” he said, and pulled me to the sofa. Once he’d slid my socks on for me, he headed into the kitchen. “Tea, babe?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
While Austin made my tea, my brother studied me.
“What, Ell?”
“You really like this guy.”
I smiled. “He’s amazing.”
“Do you know what’s going on?”
I nodded. “He told me everything. Are you worried?”
Elliot frowned. “Honestly? Yeah. I knew Steven was an asshole, Ist didn’t realize he was an evil one as well.”
“Austin found my money.”
“He mentioned that.”
“He seems to think he can get it back for me, but he wants to wait out a bit.” I settled my head in my palm, my energy fading. “I’m nervous Steven will hide the money again.”
Elliot shook his head. “I think he’s too arrogant to believe he’ll ever actually get caught.”
“There is that,” I agreed. “Why would Dad buy policies on us, do you think?”
“He did it right when he became chief.” Elliot sipped his beer. ” you remember Gene Rivers?”
“Dad’s old friend from high school?”
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Elliot nodded. “Yeah, he’s the one who sold him the policy.”
“But he died ten years ago.”
“I know, but his son Bobby took over his insurance business. Guess who’s Bobby’s brother–in–law?”
I shrugged.
“Steven.”
“What?” I squeaked.
“Steven’s sister is married to Bobby.”
“Wow,” I whispered.
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When Steven and I had met and started dating, he’d said his family lived out of state… Vermont to be exact, and it would be impossible for us to meet right away. He’d made a big show… allies… of “planning” a trip over Thanksgiving, but he’d walked away with all my money a week before the big holiday and I hadn’t seen or heard from him again. His phone was a burner that he’d destroyed and I’d found out the last name he’d given me was a fake. He’d said it was Arnold, but my sister had uncovered the truth. Unfortunately, not soon enough to find all of my money. She was only able to find the credit card fraud and that’s ultimately what he was prosecuted for.
“This is bigger than we originally thought,” Elliot said.
“Sounds like it.” I yawned. “Sorry.”
“I think you should go back to bed,” Austin said, and set a mug of hot tea on the table beside me.
“Nope, I’m good,” I said right before a coughing fit.
He frowned, handing me some cold meds and a glass of water. “Wake these.”
I did as he instructed and wrapped my hands around the mug of tea, sipping it carefully, the heat of the liquid soothing my sore throat. Austin sat beside me and I carefully folded myself into his side, trying not to spill my tea. He wrapped an arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze.
“What does your father say about all of this?” Austin asked.
“I haven’t spoken to him at length,” Elliot said. “We’ll talk more tonight. But he’s gathering all the paperwork he has on file and I’m going to talk to my brother–in–law at length about how to best protect the family. Emily’s not an easy mark.”
“She’s kind of a gun–carrying, badass, with a black belt, so she can defend herself,” I piped in.
Elliot nodded. “But that doesn’t mean Mitch isn’t gonna want to get in on this. He’ll also have a game plan.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, I get it. It’s all alpha male all the timen her world.”
Elliot chuckled. “Shocking that you’ve found one of your own.”
I smiled up at Austin. “Austin’s not an alpha male. He’s totally mark and easy to deal with. I make all of my own decisions and he just lets me do whatever I feel is best. Why, he tells me everything that’s going on in his life, down to the minute detail and he never makes a move on anything without first discussing it with me. He’s the best boyfriend ever.” I yawned, suddenly finding my eyes difficult to keep open. “I can’t seem to stay awake.”
“That’s because I gave you the nighttime cold meds,” Austin revealed.
“What?” I blinked up at him.
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Elliot laughed. “You were saying, little sister?”
Austin smiled and took my mug from me. “You’re gonna lose your fight to stay awake soon, baby. Just remember that I’m the best boyfriend ever.”
“I hate you so bad right now.”
“I know. Sleep, sweetheart.”
