Then he got cocky, took his eye off the ball, thought she was safe with his friend Cal.
And Cal had done that to her. Instead of protecting Lyssa, it turned out that Daniel had handed her to the big bad wolf.
All the anger, all the insanity welled up inside him again. “You don’t get it,” he snapped. “She’s my baby sister. It’s always been my job to take care of her. I mean, we asked him to give her that job because we thought she’d be safe. And look what he did. He took advantage of his position. He took advantage of her!”
Tasha stared at him as if she didn’t even know him. “Do you even hear yourself? The idea that you asked Cal to give her that job is nuts. It’s like you think you have the right to manipulate her life.”
He shook his head, releasing another spike of pain. “We’ve always taken care of Lyssa. And we always will.”
She made a sound of disgust. “I can’t believe I need to tell you this, when you should be able to see it with your own eyes, but you don’t need to take care of her anymore.”
He growled, “You don’t get it.”
“Of course I do. You’re her big brother. You love her. But you don’t get that she’s an adult now. She can do whatever she wants with her own life.”
“Well, he’s damn well gonna marry her.” Although the thought of having Cal as his brother-in-law made him see red all over again.
She wiped at the blood on his chin with a little more force than before, and he winced.
“What century is this? Whether or not they get married is up to them. And so is where they want their relationship to go. Lyssa is perfectly capable of being a single mom if that’s what she chooses. I get that protecting her was your job when she was a kid,” Tasha went on, torturing him with her cleanup methods, torturing him even more with her words. “But you need to get that she can make her own choices.” She tipped his chin, making sure he was looking at her, even if he could see her beautiful face out of only one eye. “Lyssa is a funny, smart, amazing woman.”
He opened his eye wide enough to see her undistorted. Every time he looked at Tasha, he fell more deeply in love with her.
For one second, he wondered if that was how Cal felt about Lyssa. And for that same brief second, he hoped it was. Until instinctive, protective fury rose up in him again.
“And,” Tasha added as if he needed another and, “she sure as hell doesn’t need you beating up her boyfriend because you think he stepped out of line by falling in love with her.”
He heard footsteps in the living room over the ringing in his ears.
“Oh good, Susan,” Tasha said to his mother. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve just had round one with Daniel over his behavior. He’s all yours now for rounds two through nine.”
With that, his fiancée walked away and left him at the mercy of his mom.
Out of his one good eye, Daniel made out her flushed face, the rigid set of her jaw, and the anguish in her eyes. She’d always been formidable. Even now, with her cap of steel-gray hair, she was fearsome to behold.
He tried to remember when he’d seen her this angry. Probably the last time he’d gotten in a fight. Although this fight had been far worse than any he’d ever had. He understood that, even if he felt that avenging his sister had been justified.
She glared at him, standing close enough for him to see how wide her pupils were, her lips pressed into an uncompromising line, and every muscle in her body tensed.
“Your behavior was unacceptable on every level.” Each word seemed to be its own separate, furious, disappointed sentence. “Not only did you step over every possible line with a man you’ve always called your friend and upset your sister right when she needs you most, but you also traumatized two little boys. Right now, back in the bedroom, their mothers are trying to calm them down.”
Okay, that was bad. He’d forgotten all about Noah and Jorge. The rage had risen up to cloud his vision before he could stop it.
“I raised you to be better than this. I don’t care what you think of what Lyssa or Cal has done.” She stepped closer, and the look in her eyes made him flinch and nearly take a step back. “You have the right to your own emotions, Daniel, but what you did out there is beyond protectiveness. It’s just plain idiocy.” That word was as close as she’d ever come to swearing, because she was too kind to ever call anyone an idiot. Until now. “You owe Lyssa an apology. And you most definitely owe Cal an apology. You owe everyone an apology.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he’d go to hell before he’d ever apologize to Cal Danniger.
But his mother glowered at him, clearly reading his mind. “Don’t you dare say it, Daniel.” Then her tone softened, saddened. “I’m so disappointed in you.”
For the second time, he felt that spike of pain, just as he had when he’d seen the disillusioned look in Tasha’s eyes. His mother’s words made him feel…
Ashamed. He felt ashamed, despite the righteous fury still roiling in his chest.
The back door opened, and all the Mavericks stomped in.
His mom turned on them. “I thought I’d seen you all at your worst, but this takes the cake. I told Daniel, and I’ll tell you too. I’m beyond disappointed in your behavior. And you all owe Lyssa an apology.”
“But we broke up the fight, Mom,” Will said.
She rounded on him. “I cannot believe you’re trying to weasel out of what you did. You might have broken up the fistfight, but you all tried to break Cal down with your words. I never thought the day would come when I would be this upset with all of you.” Their wonderful, warm, loving mother all but growled the words. “I want an apology to your sister and Cal, do you hear me?” She flashed them all a glare like Daniel had never seen as she added, “This is your sister’s life. None of you have the right to step into the middle of it. Just like she never stepped into the middle of any of your relationships. She respected you and your choices the way you’d better start respecting her and her choices.”
With that, she spun on her heel, leaving her sons gaping after her.
And feeling like they were the lowest of the low.
Because deep in their hearts, no matter how much they tried to justify what they’d done, they knew she was right.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
With Cal’s eye swollen shut, Lyssa had taken the keys to his car. He didn’t say a word on the long drive from Portola Valley to San Francisco. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon, even if it was cool, and the traffic into the city was horrendous as they headed toward her apartment.
She sensed every muscle in his body shutting down, every pore closing up, shutting her out. Suddenly, they were right back where they’d been when he’d run away from Catalina, with Cal holed up inside himself.
Finally, she couldn’t stand the silence another minute. “I’m sorry for what Daniel did.”
They’d crawled another quarter mile before he answered. “He was right to do it.”
She whipped her head to the side to look at him. “Are you kidding me? How could he possibly have been right to attack you like that?”