The Girl's Got Secrets (Forbidden Men #7)(135)

Her family turned, and three pairs of eyes focused on me. I straightened in my chair, not ready to be their center of attention.

“Who are you?” the uncle asked, eyeing me with untrusting disdain.

“I, uh...” I pushed to my feet and held out a hand. “Asher Hart, sir. I’m Remy’s...friend.”

The older man sniffed derisively at my palm. “She has too many gringo friends. What were you doing at her apartment?”

I blinked, not expecting this line of questioning. “I, uh... Actually, she was at my place. I came home from work and found her unconscious on the floor. 911 talked me through giving her a shot from her EpiPen.”

“Bien,” Tomás told me, slapping the side of my arm companionably. “Gracias for helping her.”

His dad scowled at him and snapped something in Spanish, which only made his son shrug and answer with a few short unaffected words. Then Remy’s uncle was spinning back to me and blinking as if he wasn’t sure how to receive me now.

I’m not sure what Tomás had said, but it seemed to temper the older man some.

“Do you guys know of anyone who might want to poison her?” I asked. “Someone gave her a box of chocolates with peanuts in them. But...” I shook my head. “I don’t think it was accidental.”

“Even though it very likely was accidental,” Jodi rushed to add when alarm spread across the faces of Remy’s family members.

Tomás shook his head. “I don’t know, amigo. No one had it out for her. Remy’s likeable, you know.”

I nodded. Yeah, I knew.

“Maybe her ex. That lead singer in the band. What was his name?” For a second, I thought he was referring to me. But then he snapped his finger. “Fish ’N’ Dicks. That’s it.”

My mouth dropped open. “Braden Fisher? She dated him?” I glanced at Jodi, who cringed and nodded, before I turned back to Tomás, who rolled his eyes.

“I know, right? But I can’t see him wanting to get at her for any reason. He was the one who cheated and—”

When his eyes went wide as if he was about to say too much, I sighed and said, “Stole the lyrics of her song. Yeah, I know.”

I tried to think of anyone else who might be mad at her for any reason. The only person I could think up was me, but then I turned my thoughts to Gally and Holden...who’d just been forced to accept her into their band. But when I glanced their way, Gally lifted a bored voice and called, “So are we getting extra sex tonight for being all charitable and coming here to check on her?”

Okay, so Gally and Holden probably hadn’t poisoned her. I turned away with a frustrated sigh, but someone lurking in the hallway caught my eye. I blinked, focusing on him, but he was gone before I had a good look.

Narrowing my eyes, I followed my suspicions and stepped out of the waiting room. The man was about twenty feet away, his back to me and shoulders hunched forward as if trying to conceal his identity. But I knew that walk. Damn it.

“Hey,” I hollered.

He glanced back, and yep, there was my father.

Son of a bitch.

When our gazes met, he whirled away and darted around a corner.

Remy’s words suddenly echoed through my head. The worst way to hurt you would be for someone to go after the ones you loved. And it wouldn’t take a lot of investigating for someone to realize I loved her.

I took off running and skidded around the corner in hot pursuit. When I came to another corner and hurried around it, something hit me hard in the face, taking me down to my knees. It f*cking hurt too. I tasted blood and immediately saw stars.

“Christ.” I dove at a pair of legs in front of me and heard my dad grunt as I tackled him to the ground. His head banged against the tiled floor, and I took advantage of the moment to leap on top of him and slam my fist into his face.

He cursed and struggled under me.

“Was it you?” I demanded. “Did you give her those chocolates?”

He laughed up at me, flashing a bloody-toothed smile. “Did it get the job done, or is she still alive?”

“You f*cking bastard.” I hit him again.

I would’ve broken his nose next, but he swung something at the side of my head, knocking me off him and ringing my bell until I saw stars.

“Too bad your stupid f*cking pet wasn’t as easy to get rid of,” he snarled as he rose above me. “What kind of * has a squirrel for a pet anyway? I never could beat any kind of manliness into you, could I?”

I blinked him into focus in time to see him lift his weapon above his head, and what the f*ck was that? Looked like a metal clipboard thing he might’ve stolen from a doctor or nurse. Lifting my hands to protect my head, because I wasn’t sure my noggin could stand another wallop, I flinched backward.

The sick malicious relish in his eyes told me how much he loved being in this position, standing over me and making me cower. I gritted my teeth, ready to dive at his legs again, but someone pushed him from behind, making him lose his grip on the clipboard. It went flying past my head as he tripped forward and landed on his knees.

“Now, now, old man. No one’s allowed to play unfair with my little brother.”

I gaped up at Pick, who was toeing my father onto his back on the floor so he could then press his foot to the old man’s windpipe, pinning him by his throat.