“Do you have any idea who might want to hurt you, Dr. Banks?”
“No, I’m baffled. I don’t have any enemies that I’m aware of. This isn’t the best neighborhood, as I’m sure you already know.” She wanted to believe it was a random act, but something about it felt personal. Looking up to meet his gaze, she tried to smile. “Please… call me, Bristol.”
Bristol appreciated Israel stepping aside, so she could field questions without interference. He’d stood at the side of the room, his quiet presence a balm to her rattled spirit. She could feel his unwavering support, wondering what it was like growing up in a family where people looked out for one another.
Shaking her head, she looked down, toeing some of the perfume-soaked fabric away from her shoes.
“Wait. The perfume… it’s not mine.” Why would someone bring their own perfume to destroy my apartment? Bristol felt herself sway as a sense of dread moved through her.
You smell like a wet dog. How can you stand yourself? Go sleep outside. No, we’ll still smell you on the back porch. I don’t care if it’s fucking snowing, you stink, and we’ve got people coming over.
A chill moved through her as a flashback played so vividly in her mind, she nearly fell to her knees and begged to be allowed to stay inside. Her parents hadn’t been shifters, and they’d never stopped cursing fate for saddling them with a demon child. Their abuse had taken many forms, but it was their emotional distance that hurt the most.
“Come back to me, Beautiful.” Blinking, Bristol brought Israel’s handsome face into focus. His expression was grim but filled with compassion rather than sympathy. “Good girl. Stay with us, Sweetheart.” She followed his line of sight when he glanced to the side, surprised to see his brother, Bronx, standing nearby. Flashing her a smile, she was sure had women falling at his feet, Bristol felt herself smile. Hell, I bet he was as charming as he was incorrigible as a child.
“Incorrigible doesn’t even begin to cover it, Beautiful.” Israel kissed her forehead, then turned her to his brother. “Let Bronx walk you down to the car. He’ll be happy to show you whatever pimp-mobile he’s driving.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know a McLaren 720S is not a pimp-mobile—it’s designed to impress a future sister-in-law. Who knows, I might even convince her she’s making a terrible mistake hooking up with you.” When he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders to escort her out of her trashed apartment, Bristol was relieved to feel nothing but protective, brotherly energy surround her. The man was obviously a world-class flirt, but it was equally apparent that’s where it ended.
“Get your own woman.” Israel’s barked response was followed by a much softer warning. Take care of her, Bronx. I’m entrusting you with the most important person in the world. Bristol might have thought those words were the end of the telepathic communication if she’d heard Bronx respond. Once they were seated in Bronx’s car, she turned to him and raised her brow in question, and he laughed.
“Yes, there was more, but it was about what he would do to me if anything happened to you. Very tacky. You could do better, you know.”
She found herself relaxing, despite the mess she’d just left. The supple leather seats cocooned her, the sound system made it seem as though they’d gotten front row seats at a Kenny Chesney concert, and the new car smell made her forget the obnoxious smell of the perfume in her apartment. When Bronx started the car, she turned and started to speak, but he shook his head.
“Israel wants to do this for you, Bristol. My brother takes care of all of us. He drops everything and flies all over the country when one of us is in trouble, yet never asks for anything. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time he asked anyone to lend a hand, so when he asked me to take you shopping, I agreed without a second thought.”
“Shopping? Why would he want you to take me shopping?”
“Sister, your clothes are shredded, and even if they weren’t, the stench would be enough reason to send them all to the dumpster. We can replace stuff, but it will take a while longer to get that damned smell out of my nose. Freaking hell, that was nasty.”
She couldn’t argue with his comments about the perfume. The disgusting scent had no doubt been chosen explicitly because it was overpowering and gross and easily covered the scent of whoever had been in her apartment.
“You don’t have to take me shopping, Bronx. I have a few things at my office, and I’m sure you have plenty of other things you’d rather be doing.”
“A few things? Okay, listen. If I don’t take you, my sisters are going to swarm you like a hive of bees. You’ll be stuck hitting every high-end store in Austin before they decide there isn’t enough locally for you to choose from, then you’ll find yourself spirited off to Dallas before you know what hit you.” Shaking his head, Bronx grinned, “You’ll be traumatized for life, and Israel will be pissed because I didn’t follow instructions. To be perfectly honest, I don’t want to disappoint him when he never asks for anything—and of course, there’s the fact, he’s a pain in the ass when he’s mad.”
She didn’t know any of the Adlers well, but she was coming to realize they were usually teasing when they sounded the most serious. The unrepentant grin lighting up Bronx’s handsome face was all the confirmation she needed.
“Israel warned me you tend to take things literally, so I’ll try to curb my sarcasm. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to place any large bets on my success.” Shaking his head as they turned onto the highway leading to the city’s high-end shopping district, he flashed her another well-practiced charming smile. “Shopping sucks and having to scale back the snark is going to be a challenge, but on the flip side, we get to spend a chunk of Israel’s money. Top that off with the bragging rights, I’ll get with the girls, and we have a winner.”
“He can’t buy me clothes… it’s too much. It doesn’t matter, anyway. I have to be at the hospital in a couple of hours, so I don’t have time for this foray into retail hell. I need to get my car moved to…” Damn, where was she going to stay until her apartment was fixed?
“Parker already called the hospital.” Bristol felt her mouth drop open and her blood pressure spike. “Oh, shit, I know that look. Any man who survives childhood with five sisters recognizes that expression. Chill, little sister. The chief doesn’t want you hurt on his watch—he’s just doing his job. How would it look if he didn’t protect the city’s favorite doctor? You think he wants to answer to all those pissed-off pregnant women or their husbands?”
She could only stare at him, shocked speechless.
“Yeah, didn’t think so, and this isn’t even mentioning that he’s a Dom. You see where this is headed, right?”
Bristol let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and nodded. The hospital was fairly secure against outsiders, but she’d be a sitting duck if Clovia Williams was the culprit, and Bristol’s gut instinct told her the woman who considered Israel hers was a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic. How had her life spiraled so out of control in such a short time? Damn, she’d spent years putting scandal and bad publicity behind her. Now, she’d been dropped right in the middle of a situation she hadn’t done anything to create. It was damned humbling. The sudden realization the car had stopped moving shocked her back to the moment.