Page 6 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“Sorry,” he replies, holding up his hands in surrender before he signals to the waitress for two more beers.

“Right, so who else would be interested in taking Max from you? What about Adam’s family?” Jacob asks.

I consider it a moment but shake my head, “I don’t think so, but I suppose it’s possible… Adam wasn’t exactly close with them and aside from the odd phone call, Max has barely any kind of relationship with his grandparents. He’s never even met them. Surely if they wanted him in their life, they could just take the proper channels or ask me to meet him? I wouldn’t deny them access. There would be a whole host of options available to them before resorting to this.”

“True. But we can’t fully discount them. I’ll have someone look into it, just to be sure. Who else? Any enemies?” he probes.

“None. I’m a waitress, not a spy. I barely have any social life to speak of, I’m just a boring mom. I don’t have enemies,” I say, gesticulating frustratedly. Then, a thought occurs to me. “But you do,” I add leaning forward slightly and narrowing my eyes at my brother across the table. “Isn’t it possible that this is someone trying to get at you?”

Jacob clenches his jaw, “It had occurred to me, yes, and I am looking into it. Trust me, if it’s someone fucking with my family, they’ll regret it,” he promises menacingly, and I know he means every word. “I still want us to consider every possible angle though. If this person is claiming to be Adam, perhaps it’s got something to do with him, an enemy from his past.”

“I guess so, but Adam’s dead, why terrorize his family?” I ask, not quite believing it could be that.

“Money is a powerful motivator, Em,” he says, cocking an eyebrow and looking at me like I’m a naive fool. “Adam was a gambler with a shitload of debt.”

“Yes, but I’ve been paying that off on time every month without fail,” I reply, stung that he might be insinuating otherwise.

“I know that. But that’s just the legitimate loans that you’re aware of. What if he got into debt with loan sharks or other unsavory characters?” Jacob points out gently.

I take a deep breath. “The thought had occurred to me, but after four years, I figured that if he had done so, they’d have come knocking before now.”

“Unless it took them this long to find you. Em, you moved out of state and changed your and Max’s surname to your maiden name,” he reasons. “They might think you still have the money and want to use Max as leverage to get it back.”

Bile rises in my throat as I realize that my brother is right.

Fucking Adam. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him for what he’s done to Max and me.

I bury my face in my hands, the horror of the situation I’m in fully dawning on me. Some strangers are after my son, and we have no idea who. And it turns out that there’s a pretty wide net of suspects that want to hurt me.

“Oh god, Jacob, what am I gonna do?” I moan.

“It’s okay, Em, you’ve got me, I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you or Maxi,” he assures me, reaching across the table to place a warm calloused hand on my shoulder.

“How?” I ask despairingly, “You can’t be with us both twenty-four-seven.”

“No, I can’t, but my club brothers can.”

I look up at him, dropping my hands from my face, “I sincerely hope you’re not suggesting a revolving constant bodyguard to sleep on my couch and follow us around,” I ask disbelievingly.

“No, not exactly,” he says carefully before explaining. “I don’t think you and Max should stay at your place at all. If these people know where Max goes to school, it’s likely they know where you live, and work. My suggestion is that you take some time off work and stay in one of our safehouses.”

“Jacob, I can’t just take off work and pull Max out of school, and even if I could, what if these guys find us all alone in some deserted safehouse?” I say exasperatedly.

“You can most certainly take time off, and just say Max is sick or something. He’s only six, what’s he gonna miss out on? Fingerpainting? And you won’t be alone. I’ll have three of my most trusted men staying with you at all times,” he replies, folding his arms triumphantly.

“No. Absolutely not,” I say, slamming my palms down on the table.

“Em, you don’t have much choice, this is serious and the only way to keep you both safe. It will only be for a short while, I promise. You have nothing to worry about with these guys, I trust them, they know better than to try anything funny,” he promises, and I can tell that he’s not going to back down, once Jacob’s mind is set, he’s as stubborn as a mule.

“Fine. But on one condition, Max still gets to go to school. It’s safe and secure there, they only let approved people collect him and I will ensure they keep an extra close eye on him. You can have your men watch the school too if you wish, but Iwon’t interrupt his learning. Despite what you think, he’s at an important developmental stage.”

Jacob contemplates it for a second, but he knows I’m as stubborn as he is. “Fine, agreed.”

He insists on paying the check and we all leave with Jacob following on his bike behind us. At home, I notice a couple of his men hanging around and they confirm to him that they’ve checked the place and there’s nothing to report before we go up and quickly pack our bags, ready to head to the safehouse.

Part of me regrets asking for Jacob’s help, I don’t exactly relish the idea of being sequestered with a bunch of scary biker dudes, but I know I need him. I can’t pretend this isn’t happening anymore and I’ll do anything to keep Max safe. I just hope this is all over soon, and that these bikers aren’t disgusting brutes. No doubt if my brother chose them to live with me, they’ll have the looks of chimps and the personalities of paint. I’ll just have to ignore them and hide away in my room. I packed plenty of books to pass the time.

I can’t say I’m looking forward to meeting these men. They’re part of my brother’s world, a world of danger and violence, hard men with no feelings beyond anger and lust. It’s a world I’ve been trying to avoid, yet somehow, I’m getting sucked right in.

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