Ramirez grinned at her, his lips stretching in a slow smile. “You are so wasted on him.” The guy took a step closer. “I brought you a present.”
She wasn’t too sure she wanted anything from him.
“Go on. It won’t bite.” He lifted the bag.
But you might.
Kenton snatched the bag from him and peered inside.
“See, I can be thoughtful.”
“What you can be is a pain in the ass.” Kenton tossed the bag to her. “Some clothes.”
Yes.
That grin still lightened Ramirez’s otherwise scary visage. But really, that guy—he didn’t seem the grinning type. Dark. Dangerous. Deadly. Like a fire ready to rage.
“They might smell like smoke, but I figured it was better than nothing.” Again his eyes skated over her. “Then again…”
“Do you want me to kick your ass?” Kenton asked quietly, and there was no hint of humor on his face or in his voice.
Ramirez just shrugged. “You can try.”
“Ease up, boys,” she ordered, shooting a hard stare at them both.
“Yes, ma’am.” From Ramirez.
The guy was obviously trying to piss off Kenton. His attack was also quite obviously working.
Ramirez reached back and pulled a folded-up newspaper from the belt loop on his pants. “Jones ran the story.”
“Shit.” Kenton grabbed the paper.
The news. She hadn’t even thought that the story about the fire at her place would be on the news and in the papers. “I’ve got to call my brothers,” she told Kenton, spinning around and heading for the bathroom to change. If her brothers heard about the fire before she had a chance to talk to them—
They would freak.
The door thudded behind her.
What? Again?
She glanced back, seeing it shake. A real strong fist must be hitting that thing.
Kenton and Ramirez turned together. “That’s not Monica,” Ramirez murmured.
Lora caught a glimpse of his gun.
Kenton was armed, too. She could see his weapon now, poking through the line of his coat.
“Easy,” he told Ramirez, even as the other agent moved to flatten himself close to the hotel room door.
“Uh, Kent…” She began because that door was shaking again.
He risked a glance through the peephole, then turned to stare back at her. He’d dropped the newspaper. “Sweetheart, I really think you should have made that call sooner.” His fingers curled around the knob, and he yanked the door open.
Ryan. Ben. Jake. They spilled inside. Faces red. Jaws set.
“What the f**k is goin’ on?” Ryan snarled.
Her lips parted. “How did—how did you even find me?” She dropped the bag onto the bed.
Ryan stormed across the room. “Your house was on fire. Fire.” He grabbed her, hauled her close, and nearly squeezed the breath from her.
Okay, he did squeeze the breath from her.
“Christ, Lora… when I heard the news…” He shuddered against her.
“Who the hell are you?” Ben demanded. She glanced up and over Ryan’s shoulder and found Ben eyeing Ramirez. “What are you two pricks doin’ in here with my sister?”
“Ramirez,” came the reply. “I’m Special Agent Jon Ramirez.”
“Big damn deal,” was Jake’s reply. Pretty much the way her brothers had felt about Kenton’s title. Or, well, anyone’s title. Authority had never impressed them, that was one of the reasons why Jake hadn’t lasted so long in the army.
And why they all ran their own businesses. The boys liked to be in charge.
She pushed against Ryan’s chest. “I’m okay.”
“Bullshit.” His eyes, the same gold as her own, stared back at her. His lips were tight, white around the edges, pulling down the scars. “Max told me you were in that house. That guy lit the place with you in it.”
She hadn’t wanted this. Hell, she’d thought about calling him last night, but it had been 3:00 A.M. “I didn’t get burned.” She wouldn’t let her eyes go to his scars. “I got out before the fire escalated. He didn’t hurt me.”
Jake was there. He elbowed Ryan to the side and pulled her tight against him in a bear hug. “I saw the house on the news this morning. Freaking six o’clock news.” She felt his ragged breath against her neck. “Those scenes scared five years of my life away. Another fire, like before.”
Lora shook her head. “No, not like before.” Long ago, an electrical fire had spread too quickly on a cold winter night. That had destroyed their home then.
Fate.
This time…
An ass**le.
Ben grabbed her next, hugging her so hard her ribs ached. When he eased back, he kept a tight hold on her right hand.
“That guy, Phoenix, he did this, didn’t he?” Ryan could always cut through the crap.
She gave a grim nod. Ben still had her hand. “We think so.” Know so. Slowly, she pulled her hand away from Ben. He watched her like a hawk.
So did Ryan. But that was the way he always watched her. He’d pushed her toward the window that night, pushed and screamed for her to jump.
But she’d glanced back and seen the fire take him.
She hadn’t been able to leave her big brother. She’d gone back and grabbed his hand. She’d dragged him through the flames.
Then the roof had fallen in.
She didn’t remember much after that. She’d woken up… in Frank Garrison’s arms.
“You can move in with me,” Ryan offered. “Until this bastard is caught, you can stay at my place.”
How much heat can you handle?
No. She’d never bring fire to Ryan’s door. Not again. “Kent…”
He closed the hotel room door. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible.”
Ryan swung on him. “Oh, and why the hell not?”
Kenton crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her brothers. “Because as of this moment, Lora is under protective custody. She’ll be staying with me.”
Well, damn. That wasn’t quite what she’d—Lora blinked. “Wanna run that one by me again?”
His eyes glinted. “Until this bastard is caught, consider me your personal bodyguard, sweetheart. Day and night, I’m gonna be with you.” He closed in on her. Jake tensed. So did Ryan, but Kenton didn’t back down. “Phoenix wants you? Too bad. He’ll have to go through me to get to you.”