“Why.” Her arms tightened around his shoulders. “Why we have to stay safe for you.” Leaning back, she stared into his eyes and saw the bleak knowledge he held in his soul.
The knowledge of all the ways she could die, and all the ways he couldn’t protect her, her sisters, and her mother if he weren’t always diligent.
It was the curse of loving men such as this, whether they were lovers or the best damned brother and cousins anyone could have.
His jaw bunched, emotions whipping through the light green of his eyes and clenching the muscles of his face before he nodded sharply.
A quick hug to both Rowdy and Natches, and Piper hurried from the room.
As Tim had said, her mother was waiting in the hall, but she wasn’t alone. With her were Lyrica and Zoey, and moving up the hall Eve and Brogan strode toward them quickly.
Brogan’s gaze surveyed her swiftly before he nodded and moved past her, leaving Eve to give her a firm hug as their mother wrapped her arm around Piper’s waist.
They were all safe—this time.
But they were Mackays. The sisters were Dawg’s, Brogan’s, and now Jed’s weaknesses. They would always live beneath the shadow of the Mackay males’ strength, as well as the strength of the men they loved.
A strength that had acquired enemies for them through their dedication to justice.
Flashing a grin first to Lyrica, then to Zoey, she warned them with amused reflection, “I’d acquire ninja training if I were you. Otherwise they’ll never stop hovering. So give in, or get tough.”
Lyrica slumped against the wall.
Zoey just stared back at her with eyes a fierce celadon and an expression of complete rejection of such a thought.
“We’re Mackays,” Zoey stated then. “We don’t give in.”
“Hell, no.” Eve laughed lightly.
“Not in this lifetime,” Lyrica assured them all.
“It looks like it’s time to get tough, then,” Mercedes stated as she had so many times in the past, her smile bright and filled with anticipation as they turned and moved quickly to the kitchen.
Coffee, a sweet, and a game plan. That was how they dealt with the problems life had thrown at them for as long as Piper could remember. Her mother would prepare hot drinks, some sweet she had baked, and they would figure out the best way they could handle the situation. The best way to get tough and fight back against whatever problems they faced.
It was time to get tough.
THIRTEEN
The Mackay women had learned how to fight back—if not in strength then with their intelligence—fight silently, and fight with success years before Chandler Mackay had died. They had perfected the art.
Until now, Piper, her sisters, and her mother had been certain they could make their male family members back up and stop hovering so closely. Piper could see now that it wasn’t going to happen.
But she could also see why.
With Eve sitting with them, coffee and a slice of Mercedes’s coconut cream pie in front of them, they began to plot and to plan.
Not for their freedom.
Not for their independence.
They were plotting, planning, and they would do all they could to defend all they loved, however they had to.
No matter what it took.
TWO DAYS LATER
Stepping into the upstairs bedroom Piper’s mother had moved them into, Jed closed the door quietly behind him and stared at the woman still sleeping deeply.