As her hand moved up and down slowly, making small, swirly shapes, my body jumped, reacting to her touch.
“It’s horrible to say, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that everyone knows. I don’t have to hold it in. I am still scared shitless the guy will hurt them and you, though.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll find the bastard and make sure he pays.”
Chapter 17
SITTING AT THE round table, all eyes were on me. I knew they wouldn’t make this easy on me, but to have this be so damn formal was another blow. For a moment, I felt like the enemy, a feeling I never wanted to have again as long as I lived.
“Catarina,” my father spoke, looking down at the table instead of me. That crushed me. “To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. You should have trusted us to take care of you. That being said…” He paused while inside I wanted to cry, run far away and hide. I was thirty years old, but his words made me feel like a petulant child. Even worse, I deserved them. “Sometimes we don’t make the best decisions when it comes to fear, and that is what you felt.” He lifted his gaze then, looking right at me. “I can see it in your eyes.”
I barely managed holding back the tears. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Jag, who was at my side, grabbed my hand and held it on top of the table, showing our solidarity and giving me the comfort I so desperately needed at the moment.
“We know you are, but we need to meet like this so you understand the severity of the choices you made. The threat upon us could have been neutralized months ago. And the fact that this asshole is following you means he’s not backing down. The choices you made affect us all, and you need to realize that.”
“I do, Daddy. I was just so damn scared. It paralyzed me.”
Uncle Vino spoke up. “Fear can do that to a person, but never fear someone hurting us. As long as we stick together, we can take them out before they come after us. Information is key, and what you had was the key. You can’t hide those things from us ever again.” Uncle Vino’s orders were clear even though he put them in the most comforting way, given the situation.
“I won’t hide again.” I meant every word. This wouldn’t happen again.
“Good. Now,” my dad spoke, “have you seen anyone unusual around you? Felt eyes on you?”
“That’s the thing. No, I haven’t, and for this guy to see my every move, I would have thought I’d see something.” That had baffled me from the beginning. I had always watched my surroundings and never once spotted someone out of the ordinary. Since becoming more vigilant, I had spotted Ghost several times, but never anyone lurking out of place. How the guy had gotten so close was a mystery.
“And Scraper and your Ghost don’t know anything about this?” my father asked.
“No. I should have at least told them so they could keep a better watch on me.” I hung my head and rolled it around. I wanted so badly to leave, but the sooner I did this, the sooner it would be over.
“Yes, you should have,” Dad chastised. “That is why they are there—to protect you from this shit.” He sighed deeply. “All right, from now on, Jag wants Rex with you at all times. You are to go nowhere without him. Scraper and Ghost, as you call him, are with you, too. For the time being, you need to stick with work and home. Got it?”
“Yeah.” That wasn’t a big deal in the least. Considering the last few months, that had been pretty much all I did, anyway. “What if he finds out I told?” My fear gripped me.
“We all have protection. We will be fine.”
“Kiera?” I asked.
“She will have the same restrictions as you. Lord help you when she finds out.” Uncle Vino chuckled.
I sighed. “I know.”
“Come here.” My dad stood, and I rose and walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed hard. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too, Daddy. I’m so sorry.” A lone tear leaked from my eye.
“No more of that. It’s done. You learned, and it’s over.”
I nodded into his shoulder.
He released me, and then the rest of my family bombarded me with hugs and words of reassurance, even Val.
“Come on. Let’s introduce you to Rex,” Jag said.
I nodded, leaving the room with him. Jag gripped my hand, leading me into the kitchen where Scraper, Blondie, and Hulk sat next to a huge hunk of a man.
Standing well over six-foot, his eyes were cold and focused, arms bulging with tattoos, and his dark hair was a free-for-all mess. If I was being honest with myself, he scared me a bit.
“Catarina, Rex,” Jag introduced.
When the man rose, coming closer, my nerves shook.
“Hello, ma’am. No funny business. You tell me every move you make. If I have to hunt you down, I’ll handcuff you to me. I don’t give a fuck if you have to pee. You tell me.”
Everything about him told me he was dead serious, and the last thing I would ever want was to be cuffed to his body.
“Okay.”
I looked to Jag for reassurance, and he smiled, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and holding me tight.
“Where is she?” Screeched from behind me, making me wince.
I turned to see Kiera charging toward me, her fists balled and her face beet red. I stepped forward as she stomped closer.
“All this time. All this time, you didn’t tell me! Me! You tell me everything. You tell me when you’re ragging, when you have a booger up your nose, and hell, how good Mr. Loverboy here is in bed, but you couldn’t tell me someone was stalking you and threatening you!” Her words came out in such a flurry that some sounded pretty jumbled.
She stood there, tapping her foot with her hands lodged on her hips.
“I’m sorry. I screwed up.”
“Screwed up!” She shook her head. “Yeah, you royally screwed up! I can’t believe you didn’t come to me!”
I moved closer to her, hoping she saw the sincerity in my eyes. “It won’t happen again.”
“Damn right.” She glared. “If you start acting like a raving bitch again, I swear to God, I’ll beat it out of you.”
“It killed me not to tell you. So many times, I wanted to.” I looked away from her. “I couldn’t risk you getting hurt. I couldn’t risk anyone getting hurt, Kiera. Please understand.” I looked back at her, seeing some of the fire had dissipated from her eyes.
“The only way you get hurt in this family is if you don’t talk. It’s too damn important. You know this.” She huffed out a big breath. “No more secrets,” she commanded.
“I love you.” I walked up to her, wrapping my arms around her and feeling how stiff she was. After a few moments, the steel went out of her spine, and she wrapped her arms around me, sagging into me. “No more secrets,” I whispered.
“I love you, too,” she said into my shoulder.
We stood there for a while, until Val broke the moment.
***
The day went by in a blur. Jag had to work, leaving me with Kiera. We watched movies and ate way too much. I actually felt like myself for the first time in months. I felt smiles creep across my lips and welcomed each of them.
So much had happened over the past day, but it felt like weeks had passed. Kiera made a huge dinner with lasagna, salad, and bread. It seemed the mouths we needed to feed and take care of were growing.
After setting it out buffet style, the guys would come in and out, eating and moving around the property. Rex never left my side. That man was seriously intense, and when he wasn’t watching me, his eyes were glued to Kiera. Interesting.