Mason nodded. “I can’t imagine anywhere safer than here.”
“Me either,” Sam agreed.
Emmy held up her hand. “Wait, so you’re all going to help me? We’re talking about taking down the damned Mafia here, one of Vegas’s biggest crime families.”
“Yeah, and?” Eli asked, a grin on his face.
“And don’t you need a moment to think about it before jumping in?”
“I don’t know how much Graham has told you about what we’ve done, but this wouldn’t be our first rodeo with very dangerous, powerful people. That’s what we do.”
“But I can’t pay. My dad has locked down all my accounts and—”
“Whoa there, darlin’. Who said anything about paying?” I asked.
She looked at me, her eyes briefly fluttering between the other men at the table before landing back on me. “You’re going to do this for free?” She began shaking her head. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to put your lives at risk and not get paid for it. I—”
I stopped her. “This is what we do, Emmy. You need help, and we’re going to help you.”
“But you don’t even know me. Not really.”
I hardly knew her, but what I did know was that I felt protective over her already. There was something about her that caused my hackles to raise when I thought of her in danger. It wasn’t just her beauty, either, but she was kind and smart too – not the type of person who deserved to be caught up in bullshit like she was.
“Doesn’t matter,” Eli said before I could. “You need help, and the world is a shitty place sometimes. We do pro bono work for those that need us the most.”
“I’m not exactly needy. My family has money, it’s just—”
“Tied up with the enemy,” I finished for her. “Which means, you don’t have access to it. It’s fine, Emmy. Like I said, this is what we do.”
“We’ll set up a guard duty as well, in addition to the security system. Someone will be awake and watching for trouble at all times,” Samuel said. “We’ll close the gate to the property, check the cameras out there as well. Ain’t no one coming in or out of here without us knowing about it.”
“Will you stay and let us help you?” I asked her.
“I don’t know if she’s gonna have much of a choice soon,” Sam announced. “The roads in town are starting to flood. The main bridge is out. I think the cabin is on high enough ground to be safe for now, but we need to keep an eye on the situation.”
“Definitely,” Mason agreed. “Things are getting bad in town, I’m afraid. And surrounding areas as well. I don’t think it’s safe to be driving much – even without the Mob looking for you.”
“If anything, it might slow them down for now,” Eli commented thoughtfully. “Not too many ways into Liberty. Mostly only roads the locals know.”
I looked at her. “I promise, we’ll keep you safe until we can bring these guys down.”
She still looked unsure, and I didn’t know what else I could do to convince her that we could really help. I knew her experience with the Mob and the lack of justice had turned her cynical, but we’d taken down crime rings before – just a few months prior, to be exact.
She turned those large, brown eyes toward me, and I saw something in her expression that made me think it wasn’t as simple as her believing that we’d keep her safe. There was something else going on, something she wasn’t telling us. I would have to get that out of her later when my brothers weren’t around. If she was hesitant to open up to me, there was no way she would open up to them too. I’d talk to her in private.
My brothers turned their attention to the flood, but I couldn’t really follow them. Emmy was beside me, quiet and deep in thought. She stared off into the distance, outside the window across from us. The rain continued to come down, and it felt like it would never stop.
I wondered what she was thinking about. After everything she’d been through, she held her head up and remained strong. I never once saw her break down when most others would rightfully be in tears.
Her dark hair fell across her cheek, and it took everything in me not to reach out and push the stray curls aside. It didn’t seem to bother her any, but it hid part of her beautiful face from view.
I had meant it when I said she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Had I crafted the perfect woman, Emmy would be it. I had never been so smitten before in my life.
Get it together, Graham. She doesn’t want anything serious. Even if she did, her life is a mess. The last thing she needs right now is a relationship. Especially with someone who’s never been too good at being in relationships. I tend to ruin every one I’m in, and I’m sure this would be no different.
But it didn’t stop me from staring at her and thinking she was perfect.
“So what do you say, Emmy?” Eli’s voice cut through my thoughts.
“What do I have to say about what?” she asked, turning to face Eli. She looked as confused as I was about the question.
“You’re going to stay, right? Let us help you?”
“Yes, I think I’ll stay,” she said, but then quickly added, “For now.”
“Until we make sure you’re safe,” I said.
She nodded. “We’ll see what happens, I suppose.”
“I think that’s the wise choice,” Eli said with a nod.
“Not like I could get very far right now anyway, right?” She never took her eyes off me, and I knew that part of her didn’t want to leave.
Which was good - since all of me wanted her to stay.
Ooo000ooo
Her phone buzzed as we were parting ways – each one of us had a job to do. We’d lock this place down like Fort Knox. My brothers left me on personal guard duty, and I was more than happy to take on that job. Emmy stopped in the hallway and pulled out her phone. I walked up beside her. Her hands were trembling, and the phone fell from them to the floor.
I bent down to pick it up, but she said, “No.”
I stopped, still low to the ground and looking up at her. Her eyes were wide and filled with unshed tears. Her entire body shook. I grabbed the phone without looking at it and stood up, stepping close to Emmy.
“What is it?” I asked her. “Can I look at your phone?”
She hesitated a moment, but then nodded. I glanced down at her messages.
We have your father. If you don’t want us to hurt him, come back to Vegas now and we’ll go easy on you. If not…
Then there was a photo of a gun held to a man’s head. I assumed the man was her father. He had the same dark eyes and hair as her, and there was fear in his gaze. I didn’t even know the man and it filled me with unease and sadness.
I slipped the phone into my front pocket and pulled Emmy close. “It’s going to be alright.” I wrapped my arms around her, and she fell into my shoulder. Her body shook as she sobbed.
“They have my father,” she cried. “Graham, what am I going to do? He’s not a good man, but he’s still my dad. He’s the only family I have left.”