Hidden Away (KGI #3)(27)

“Sarah Daniels leads a very ordinary life, lives in a very ordinary apartment. No one has a single bad word to say about her. As far as I can tell there are no recent boyfriends. No medical records other than a few routine check-ups. I’m trying to get the actual reports now but it’ll take some time. She’s been jobless for months. She has conservative spending habits but her bank account isn’t hefty so she’s getting support from somewhere. My bet is Lattimer. But in short, she’s normal. She’s disgustingly perfect.”

No. Not perfect. Broken. And infinitely fragile.

Garrett blew out his breath. “Then what the f**k?”

“Maybe you’re misinterpreting things, Garrett. She witnessed a murder. She’s either scared of her brother. Or she’s trying to protect him. That’s a lot of shit to deal with. Of course she’s jumpy.”

Bullshit. Yeah, she was scared, and she was cautious, but there was more to it. Garrett wasn’t wrong about this. He’d touched her. He’d felt her tension. Saw the grief and the pain in her eyes.

“I’m not wrong about this, Van.”

Donovan sighed. “The thing is, if she was attacked but never reported it, she probably didn’t tell anyone. Not even those closest to her. Unfortunately a lot of crimes against women go unreported.”

Garrett cursed, knowing that Donovan was right. If Sarah had been hurt, there was a distinct possibility that the only person who knew anything of it ... was her. And the son of a bitch who attacked her.

“Damn it,” Garrett muttered. “This is complicated.”

“I’ll keep digging. If I come up with anything, I’ll call you.”

“Thanks, man. How is Sophie doing? And have you talked to Rachel?”

Donovan chuckled. “Trust you to want to know about the women.”

Garrett scowled. “I didn’t get to go by and see Rachel before I left. I just want to make sure she’s doing okay. I worry about her. And Sophie. She looked about fourteen months’ pregnant when I left.”

“Dude, you’re on speakerphone,” Donovan said.

Garrett winced. “Oh f**k. She didn’t hear that, did she?”

“She might have just started crying, and Sam is threatening to kick your ass.”

“Crying?” Hell. He’d need to send chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Pregnant women were demented.

“I’m joking,” Donovan said with a chuckle.

“Asshole.”

“Rachel is doing fine. She’s called at least once a day to ask if we’ve heard from you.”

Garrett went soft on the inside. He loved Rachel to pieces. Always had. The idea that she worried about him made him feel a little mushy.

“And Sophie has slowed down, much to mine and Sam’s relief. Today she spent on the couch with her feet propped up while Sam fussed over her. She’s tired and I think if she doesn’t deliver soon, Sam’s going to have a kitten. He’s already threatened to kick the doctor’s ass if he doesn’t induce her.”

As much as he dearly loved his sisters-in-law and his family, right now he was grateful to be away from Sam. The man was a bit touchy when it came to his wife and until she delivered safely, Sam was going to be a complete basket case.

“How is Dad? Is he taking it easy?”

Donovan laughed. “Mom and Rusty are driving him insane. He’s called over here at least twice a day, begging for one of us to go rescue him. They won’t let him eat what he wants to eat. They won’t let him work for more than a few hours at the hardware store.”

Garrett grinned at the image of his burly father being bullied by the women in the family. That was the way it usually went. Marlene Kelly was ruthless when she put her mind to something. She kept her husband and all six of her sons on a straight line and it was pointless to resist.

Ever since his dad’s heart attack months before, she’d kept him on a tight leash and ruled with an iron fist.

“What about Beavis and Butthead? They still off on some supersecret mission for Uncle Sam?”

“Uh, about them.”

A prickle of alarm shot up Garrett’s spine. His youngest brothers were still active military, and he worried about them constantly. “Uh-oh. What’s up?”

“Nothing bad,” Donovan hurried to say. “Joe called Sam yesterday. Said he and Nathan weren’t re-upping and wanted to know if they could work for KGI.”

“Well, duh,” Garrett said with a snort. Relief lessened the pressure in his chest. Not that KGI was a cakewalk. They handled their fair share of dangerous assignments, but he’d much prefer to have all his brothers right in front of him where he could watch their backs.

“Yeah, that’s what Sam said. They’re bugging out again in a week. Joe didn’t say where, which bothers me. He usually at least has a location for me. Tells me it isn’t good. But when this tour’s up, they both want to come home.”

“Ma will be beside herself,” Garrett said dryly.

Donovan chuckled. “All her chicks in one spot for more than a week or so? That hasn’t happened since Sam was a senior in high school. She’ll drive us all insane.”

“It’ll be nice.”

“Yeah,” Donovan agreed. “It will be.”

“Okay enough chitchat. I gotta go. I have a date with the couch,” Garrett said. “Kiss the sisters-in-law for me.”