DONOVAN (Gray Wolf Security, #1)(113)

“Tell Harrison I’m bringing the kids over this weekend to hang out with their new cousin,” she said as she dropped me at his front door.

“I will.”

“It was nice, this. I hope we can do it again. Often.”

“Me too.”

I climbed out of the car and let myself into the house, a smile glued to my lips. I’d half hoped that Harrison and JT would be home before me, but the house was quiet as I made my way to the sitting room. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Harrison when I saw him again, but Libby’s opinions had bolstered my courage once more. I was thinking I might have another go at asking him about his feelings for me, I just might do it a little more diligently this time.

I curled up on the couch and was about to take my sketchbook out to finish the sketch I’d started at the restaurant when I heard something shatter on the other side of the house. Fear shot through me. I knew Harrison didn’t have any pets and no one else was here. Or, no one else was supposed to be here. I got up slowly and tugged my cellphone out of my pocket, ready to dial 911 the moment it was necessary.

I walked slowly down the hallway that led to the game room, Harrison’s study, and the guest bedroom where JT was staying. All the doors were closed except for the one to the game room. It stood wide open even though I distinctly remembered closing it just before the taxi arrived this morning.

“Whoever’s in there, I’ve called the police. You’d better go before they get here,” I called, trying to sound as brave as I could despite my shaking knees.

There was another sound—like something falling—and then silence.

I ran my thumb over the screen of my phone, bringing up the dial pad. My thumb hovered over the 9 when Randy suddenly appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Penelope,” he said, his charming smile a little less confident than it’d been the night before.

“Randy?”

“I was just…” He gestured behind him, his cheeks a little pale as he chewed his bottom lip and tried to think of a good excuse for being there.

“You were stealing the game systems.”

“I was looking for something that might be worth more than a couple of bucks.” He focused on me again. “Harrison wouldn’t give me money if I asked for it. And my mother’s money all comes through him, so he would notice if she gave me any.”

“You must be pretty desperate if you’d steal from your own brother.”

To his credit, a little shame burned in Randy’s eyes as he regarded me.

“You don’t know anything about me,” he said, his spine stiffening as he glanced behind him again. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

“No, I don’t. But I can’t stand here and let you walk off with any of Harrison’s things, either.”

He held up his hands. “I don’t got nothing.”

“You should probably go, then.”

“Will you tell him I was here?”

I remembered what Libby had said about Harrison being the only one who could step up in this family and take responsibility for the mess his father left behind. That meant Randy and his problems, too. I imagined it hadn’t been an easy time for any of them. And I didn’t see any point in adding to that burden.

“No. But you have to leave now, before he gets home.”

“Of course.”

Randy immediately came down the hall toward me, that charming smile back.

“Did I ever tell you about the time Harrison dyed his hair green?”

He had. That’s all he’d talked about last night at dinner, all the wild and crazy things Harrison had done in his teens. Randy was full of stories and I’d enjoyed all of them.

“Why don’t you tell me about it the next time we see each other.”

Randy nodded. “My mother said I could stay with her for a while. Maybe I’ll do that.”

“Good.”

We turned the corner into the entryway. Randy turned to me and gave me a big hug.

“Thanks,” he said against my ear. “I won’t forget this.”

And that was the moment Harrison and JT chose to come bursting through the door.





Chapter 26


Harrison

“Hey, Harrison,” Randy said, turning to me with a sheepish look in his eye that was all too familiar. “How you doing?”

His arm was still around Penelope. I wanted to rip it off. Not just off her shoulders, but off his body. I wanted to rip him to shreds for daring to come into my house and touch the woman I loved.

And that look on her face…so much guilt.

Did I really need to ask what was going on?

“Get out of my house, Randy.”

I said it quite calmly, my voice very steady. Randy simply nodded, the light going out of his smile. He leaned into Penelope and whispered something I wasn’t meant to hear. Then he held his fist out to JT.

“Good to see you again, little nephew.”

“You too,” JT said, clearly confused.

Randy just nodded, his gaze moving over me before he brushed past me and walked out of the house.

Penelope just watched him go. Apparently she had nothing to say to either her lover or to me. And I really didn’t want to look at her anymore. I stormed past JT’s chair and went to the stairs, the sound of her calling after me not enough to even slow my step.