Page 45 of Her Brother's Keeper

That’s when Sage chose to thunder down the stairs, “We watching a movie?” he asked excitedly.

“Not now, Sage. It’s almost time for bed.” I said and I just felt tired.

“Then why is he here?” Sage asked and Nox smiled at him.

“Sister and I are just clearing something up, buddy. We still on for Sunday?”

“Yeah,” Sage said then looked at me. “You better not screw this up for us,” he said, “I like him.”

“Sage,” Nox said sharply. “You need to start treating your sister with a little more respect, dude.”

“Whatever,” my brother muttered at his sullen pre-teen best, before he took the stairs two at a time to retreat back to his bedroom. I fixed Nox with a silent stare. I really didn't know what to think, but the fear, the abject terror in Lucas’ eyes had been very real when he’d said ‘You didn't have to send them.’ It’d been all he said on the matter but math had always been a fairly decent subject of mine and putting two and two together hadn't been difficult.

“Maren, they were hurting you. What would your dad have done?” Nox asked.

“My daddiddo everything he could. He went to the principal, called the principal, all of that, even though he was so sick.”

Nox sighed and reached up halfheartedly before dropping his hand back down. I was surprised to find how much I justachedfor the proffered comforting touch and it broke off a piece of my heart that he thought I was so angry I wouldn'twanthim to touch me. I let my hand fall from the door knob and hugged myself. A sort of cold that had nothing to do with the frigid air swirling in from outside.

“And what did the principal do?” he asked evenly taking a careful step inside over the threshold, swinging the door shut behind him. He eyed me carefully waiting for my answer.

I swallowed hard, “Nothing,” I admitted, voice hollow. “Mr. Barber didn’t do anything. He just told me that I needed to ignore it, get a thicker skin… that if I ignored it they’d eventually stop.”

“And did they?” he asked gently.

“You know they didn’t,” I answered quietly, dejectedly.

Nox sighed before pulling me in against him, giving me the comfort I so desperately needed. He kissed the top of my head and said softly; “This is what the outlaw lifeissometimes, Angel. I bet you and your dad did everything you could, at least by citizen’s convention, but we ain't about that. We handle our own. We protect our own with a fierce devotion and loyalty. No one hurts our property and gets away with it, Baby.”

Outrageous!

I shoved off of him and put some space between us. “Is that what I am to you?” I demanded. “Property?Like a piece of cattle or something? Or maybe it’s more like a lost kitten.” Anger bubbled up inside me and I could feel every throb of my heartbeat in my face which I knew was likely a garnet to match my Christmas gift.

“Okay, poor choice of words right off the bat, but do you think you can put it on ice long enough for an explanation or are you just going to blow a gasket right here right now?” He asked.

I paused and tried valiantly to shove my rage away long enough to hear him out and the only reason I managed to was because this felt like so many arguments or fights that had gone before. Ones that ended like me and Luke, with the forever kind of hurt and mad that neither party could come back from and that scared me. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all. I was doing my very best at adulting and part of that was holding on to my emotions andtalking it out, wasn't it?

Nox took my silence as the go-ahead to go on, saying, “You fit into my life so perfect it’s easy to forget that you don't know all the jargon or lingo.”

Like flipping a switch, my feminist outrage cooled to room temperature and I felt my shoulders drop, “Explain,” I said curtly with none of the actual feeling that should have gone behind it.

“You want I should get back on the other side of the door so you can keep heating West County? Or you want I stay in here?” He asked with a devilish twinkle in his eye and he knew he’d already won me over. I wanted to make him go back outside just for yanking my chain but my electric bill was already disagreeing with its treatment. I stepped aside to let him further into the house.

“Sit,” I ordered and his grin broadened.

“Anything you say, Angel.”

He stepped lightly across my living room floor, his boot steps still sounding heavy against the hardwood. It was so quiet otherwise that I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as adrenaline and no little fear pushed it through my veins. Nox searched my face with those light colored eyes of his and his face fell.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Explain, please?” I said and latched the door behind me, turning the deadbolt until the lock gave a satisfying click.

“In a minute, first you need to tell me what’s up.”

“Nothing!” I lied and he frowned even harder.

“Okay,” he said as if he didn't believe me, and the pulse-pounding well of emotion very nearly choked me.

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