Coming Undone (21 page)

But here I am, calling you on it because I like Elise a whole hell of a lot. She’s strong and kind, and no, she’s not as hard as you are, so you think it’s fun to play with her like a fucking cat plays with a mouse. She’s stronger than you think, but I don’t like you messing with her for sport. You had your chance with Brody. He’s with Elise now. Don’t fuck it up because you couldn’t appreciate what you had. You’re jealous. Happens to everyone. Get over it.”

Brody didn’t know what to say. This was the most Adrian had said about how he felt about Raven in several years, and Brody hadn’t realized it went that deep. While he’d noticed the tension between Raven and Elise, he hadn’t realized Raven had been fucking with her. More than her usual behavior, which admittedly Brody was used to, so he didn’t think much on it. Adrian wouldn’t have made the comment if it hadn’t been an issue. Damn it. He’d need to be extra watchful for it now.

“Is that what I’ve done?” Raven asked Brody.

He took his eyes from Elise, really not wanting to engage in this years-old dead-horse discussion, but it had to be done.

“You and I are square. I accept what you are. But I’m not going to let you hurt Elise. You fuck with her and I’ll step in. Don’t make me do that. She means something to me. A lot.
Fuck
. Pretty much everything, so don’t make me choose.”

Raven physically jerked back, pausing before speaking. “You’ve changed since she came around. Like a domesticated animal or 174 L A U R E N D A N E

something. You used to be free. And now? Not. You look to her every time you answer a question, like you can’t speak for yourself.”

“I am different, yes, in a good way. And fuck you on the looking-at-her-before-speaking thing. You’ve barely been around us as a couple, how the hell would you know?”

“I guess I don’t think I want to like her. I don’t want to be jealous of the way you look at her. Because you looked at me like that and I never appreciated it.”

His anger wisped away at the sadness in her tone. Raven was a lost soul. He’d never be her lover again, but he still cared about her.

Despite her flaws, she’d helped him when he’d needed it most. He’d never forget that. He smiled, wishing deep down that she’d get her shit together and let herself be loved. She’d been wrong on one thing, though it wasn’t necessary to point it out. He’d never looked at her the way he looked at Elise. He knew Elise was different from anyone else in his life. Special in a way no woman had ever been before.

“There’s no reason not to like her. She’s pretty awesome, actually. But you’re still my friend, and that’s not going to change unless
you
change it.”

He looked back up and saw a man in a suit approach Elise, hand her an envelope and walk away. Alarmed at the drastic change of body language and the look on her face as she opened the envelope, Brody began walking toward her, but it seemed to take forever as people kept stopping him for something or other.

Her face paled and she crumpled the sheaf of papers to her chest.

Concerned, he moved toward Elise, now ignoring anyone who tried to stop him.

Her mother approached, but Elise shook her head, instead calling Rennie’s name. Rennie, caught up in some game with her friends, didn’t want to leave. Elise sharpened her voice in a way he’d never heard her use with her daughter. Apparently she didn’t very often, because Rennie came over immediately.

Elise hugged Rennie tight, fighting the panic and the tears. Not again! She’d gotten complacent. They would not take her baby, damn it. She scanned the crowd, looking for Brody, needing the reassur-ance of his presence, and discovered him standing right next to her.

Comfort and safety rushed through her, allowing her to swim past the panic and get hold of herself.

“What’s going on?” he asked her quietly when he bussed her cheek.

“Mom, can I please go back and play? I’m winning!”

She couldn’t seem to stop her hands shaking, so she held tight to those damnable papers and took a deep breath. “Don’t leave my sight. Don’t leave with
anyone
but me, Pops or Gran. Understand?

If anyone you don’t know approaches you, I want you to get away from them and tell me immediately.”

Rennie’s eyes widened. “Are you all right, Momma?”

Christ, what a horrible mother she was, scaring her child this way. She forced the tears away and brushed some potato chips from the front of Rennie’s hoodie, the touch reassuring them both. “I’m fine, Noodle. I’m sorry I scared you. Go on and play.”

“I’ll go over near her, to keep an eye. You
will
tell Daddy what is going on. Right this instant.” Her mother gave her the glare of immediate compliance and headed over to cheer the kids on and keep an eye on Rennie.

She couldn’t help it, she grabbed Brody’s arm and squeezed.

Needing to feel him there.

“Tell me what the hell has you looking like you’re about to freak the fuck out,” he ordered in a low but commanding voice, his gaze roving over her face.

“I can’t right now.”

She knew she looked bad, but she couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

Her teeth had begun to chatter, so she clenched her jaws. She didn’t want to run to him with her problems. He was her friend, they had sex, but she didn’t want to be a burden or a responsibility to this man who’d shouldered more responsibility by the time he was thirty than most had. She couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing her as yet another thing he had to fix or deal with.

He took her arm and guided her, gently but firmly, toward her front porch. She wasn’t getting away from him when he was that intent, and it began to push her buttons. “You’ll tell me what has you looking like you’re about to pass out.”

“Let. Go.” She dug her heels in, starting to sweat, her heart racing.

He turned to look at her and his face fell from angry to sorrow-ful in the span of seconds. “Holy crap. What did he do to you?
I’m
sorry
. I just wanted to take you away from the crowd so I could hear you and talk to you. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I know you didn’t. You just pushed some buttons.” She swallowed hard and groaned aloud when her father came stalking over, looking like midnight and doom.

Of course Brody, seeing his fellow caveman in her father, smiled somewhat grimly and the two exchanged a look of understanding.

Crap, they were going to double-team her.

“I’m fine. Both of you, I’m all right, and this is already catching attention, so can we just drop it?”

“No.” Paul crossed his arms and glared, and to Brody’s surprise, Elise glared right back.

“Elise, we just want to help. It’s clear you’re upset.” Brody slid a hand up and down her spine and she relaxed a bit.

“You can’t. Okay? You can’t. No one can right now. I need to go and watch Rennie.”

Her father stepped in her way, taking care not to grab her. Christ, what the hell had gone on to make her so fearful? Just imagining it made Brody sick with rage. Any man who’d harm a woman was a coward; any man who’d harm this woman made Brody want to pound him.

“Your mother is right there with her. Is Rennie in danger some-how? We can’t help if we don’t know the details. Don’t do this,
bebe
. Don’t shut people out. You don’t have to shoulder everything on your own. You’re my daughter. I . . . I didn’t protect you before.

I didn’t protect Matthias. Let me help.”

Anguish marked her normally pretty features. “This isn’t about Matty. He was a drug addict; he made his own disastrous path to hell. It’s not about you either.
Fuck. Fuck!
”

Brody had rarely heard her say anything worse than a mild curse.

She shook, and sweat sheened on her forehead. Something was really wrong, and he wanted nothing more than to make it okay.

“Daddy, I’m hanging on here by my fingernails. I
can’t
do this right now.” Her voice broke and Paul hugged her briefly.

He spoke very softly, and Brody’s heart ached even as anger coursed through him for her and at her. Why the hell wasn’t she hugging
him
? Why was she holding back?

She stepped back and worked to get herself together. Brody didn’t leave her side. “Just don’t let anyone take Rennie anywhere.

Keep an eye. Anyone but our friends comes here and I want to know it.”

Brody traced a fingertip down her temple. “No one will harm her. I swear to you.”

She looked up at him, tears swimming in her eyes, and he hurt with her, for her.

“It’s them, isn’t it? Those fucking Sorensons.” Paul snagged her attention again, and she looked back to her father.

A sigh came from her lips so deep Brody felt the exhaustion seep from her,. “Yes. They want to take her. They’re trying to take her from me.”

Take her? Take Rennie from Elise? Over his dead body.

Paul took her forearms and put his forehead to hers. “It won’t happen.
Bebe
, it’s going to be fine. You won’t do this on your own.”

Damn right she wouldn’t.

“Mom! Are you sick?” Rennie came bounding up and Brody caught her, bringing her into a hug. She wrapped herself around him like a monkey and stayed, so he kept holding her. Liking the weight of her. Irene Sorenson had worked her way into his heart, and he wasn’t going to let anyone take her anywhere.

Elise looked up at her daughter, faking a pretty good calm face.

“I think I ate too much junk, Noodle. I’m all right. Pops was just giving me a hug to make me feel better.”

Elise’s entire face lit every time she looked at her daughter. Obviously from what she’d said to her father, this had something to do with custody. Brody knew Elise, knew she adored her child and was dedicated to her, as much as Rennie adored her mother right back.

This must be killing her. Hell, it was killing
him
and Rennie wasn’t even his.

Rennie, still perched in Brody’s arms, looked toward her mother.

“I think Brody needs to give you a hug too. That always makes you happy. Your cheeks turn pink.”

Just like they were right then. Brody didn’t bother hiding a smile, and Paul shook his head, grinning at his granddaughter.

“Come with me. I see your gran over there near the ice cream.

Have you had any yet?” Paul asked Rennie.

“Only
one
scoop. That’s not hardly nothing. I’m a growing girl and all.”

“
Isn’t
hardly
anything
. And no more ice cream. Don’t give me that look, Irene. You puke when you eat too much. You know my stand on vomit,” Elise said and shuddered.

“We don’t invite the pukey sick in!” Rennie took Brody’s cheeks between her hands and smooched him noisily, and he couldn’t seem to remember a time when he didn’t love this little girl. She hugged his neck one more time and scrambled down and into her mother’s waiting arms.

“We don’t, because Momma is a vomit-phobe,” Elise spoke into Rennie’s hair as she held her.

“Rennie, we need a goalie!” Nina hollered from the street.

Rennie’s head, which had been resting on her mother’s shoulder, shot up, her eyes bright. “Gotta run, guys. The team needs me.”

Elise sat on the bottom porch step, her eyes still on her daughter.

“I’m going to be expecting all the details later on,” Paul said, a grim look on his face. “There’s
no
way this is going to happen. Those Sorensons need a wake-up call. Think they can push my daughter and granddaughter around. Not happening. Not again.” He kissed the top of her head before he stomped off toward where the kids played soccer.

Brody sat next to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. “I’m giving you a pass because I can see how upset you are and I don’t want you to lose it in front of Rennie. But don’t think that means I don’t expect to hear everything.”

She heaved a breath. “I gotta tell you, Brody, I’m pretty done with being managed.”

“Tough shit, Shorty. I’m not managing you, anyway. I’m asking you to share what is going on so I can help.”

They kept their eyes forward, both of them watching the kids play, both scanning the faces of the people assembled.

“ ‘Shorty’?”

“You arguing that you’re not?”

“If you weren’t so abnormally large, I wouldn’t be.”

He snorted. “Thank you.”

“I need to make a phone call. Will you . . .”

“What? Just ask me and it’s yours.” Christ, the moment words left him, he realized how very true that was. Everything inside him went still for a moment and then clicked into place.

“Will you just . . . Don’t let anyone get near her.”

“Of course.” He turned her head, tipping it so he could see into her eyes. “Baby, you two are my girls. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you both. Do you trust me?”

She nodded. “Yes. But I don’t want to burden you with my shit.”

She leaned in and kissed him before taking one more look at Rennie and heading inside.

Her hands shook so hard she had to take a quick shot of tequila before she could dial the darned phone.

“Childers.”

“Frank, thank God it’s you. I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday. It’s Elise Sorenson and I’ve just been served with legal papers.

The Sorensons are trying to take her again. I thought they couldn’t!

I thought this was done.”

He sighed. “Damn those people. Honey, can you fax the papers to me?”

“Yes. I have a machine here at home.”

“Okay. Get them to me and I’ll look them over and call you tomorrow unless there’s something really concerning. Try not to let this get to you. We’ll make sure Irene is protected.”

“How did they find out where I was?”

He sighed again. “I don’t know, but it can’t be that hard. You’re running a school under your name. A little bit of investigative work and they’d know. They used investigators before.”

“I hate them. How long will this be a threat?”

“We’ll make sure they can’t after this. Just fax me the papers so I can see them too. I imagine my office will be getting a copy of the filing, but they’re not overly trustworthy.”

“I’m faxing this right now,” she said, looking out her front windows toward where Rennie played with her band of guardian angels. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry to bother you on your weekend.