Predictably, the two men were standing right outside the door. The one with wild, curly hair, the man who claimed to be Ben’s brother, was arguing with his partner. The other man remained calmer, trying to soothe the curly-haired guy with murmured words and caresses.

As soon as Ben’s brother noticed me step out of the room, he was on me with a million questions. Part of me was actually glad for the distraction, because being in a hospital again, even if I wasn’t the patient, was freaking me the fuck out.

“What’s wrong with him? Is he okay? Is he hurt? How did you find him? Who are you?”

“He’s okay. He’s got a broken wrist, his shoulder was dislocated, and he’s being observed for a concussion because he lost consciousness at the scene.”

“What scene? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Take a breath, Griff. He’s okay… just let that sink in for a second, okay?”

Griff turned to look at his partner. His face was ashen, and I could see the absolute terror written in every line of his face. I’d felt that same panic myself when I’d had to watch an unconscious Ben being rolled into the ER just hours ago. Luckily for Griff, he hadn’t had to see Ben’s agony as his dislocated shoulder had been put back in place or the disorientation he’d felt when he’d woken up and started calling for Georgie.

“Yeah, okay,” Griff said.

“I’m Sam,” the other man said as he stuck out his hand.

“Reese.”

I shook Sam’s hand but Griff didn’t bother sticking out his because he was on to the next question.

“What happened? Who are you to him?”

That was a loaded question if I’d ever heard it. “I… I’m his protection,” I said.

“Pfft,” Griff scoffed. “Where’d you qualify for that? The back of a cereal box? How the hell did he end up beat to shit and then back with more injuries if you’re his damned bodyguard?”

“Back?” I asked as I eyed him suspiciously.

“Yeah, back!” Griff practically yelled. “I know he was in this very hospital two days ago all beat to hell. But he sure as hell didn’t have a broken wrist or a dislocated shoulder. Noah would have told us if he had!”

“Noah?” I asked.

“Friend of the family,” Sam answered. “He found Griff’s phone number in Ben’s pocket when Ben came into the ER the first time. Noah is a nurse here. By the time he told us about the number, Ben had left the hospital without telling anyone.”

I hadn’t seen a phone number in Ben’s pocket, but it was possible it’d gotten lost in the shuffle of the ER somewhere.

“So I ask you again,” Griff growled. “How did he end up like this if you were supposedly watching out for him?!”

“Griff,” Sam murmured.

“No, Sam. It’s a fair fucking question.”

I felt my back teeth grind together. “He’s right. It’s a fair question. He got away from me. By the time I caught up to him, he was already in trouble. There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already said to myself, believe me. It won’t happen again. Not on my watch.”

Griff’s eyes widened, and I wondered if maybe I’d said that a bit too aggressively. It was the truth, though, and maybe I needed to say it as much as he needed to hear it.

“Is he still in danger?” Griff asked. I could see how worried he was for Ben, but I still didn’t know enough about him to determine what, if anything, to tell him.

“Yes.”

Griff blinked at me. “Dude, seriously? Is that it? What the hell is going on? I need details.”

The man was getting on my nerves.

“Why don’t you tell me who the fuck you are, and if you really are his brother, where the hell have you been?” I responded.

Griff looked taken aback. “I’ve been wondering every single day for twenty-two years where my baby brother is, that’s where, not that it’s any of your fucking business.”

“Then we’re done here,” I said. “Because you’re not getting back in there until I’m satisfied you’re not going to upset him.”

Griff was understandably pissed and I saw something flash in his eyes. But I was completely caught off guard by his next question.

“Fine! So tell me this. Why the hell is the son of a former US president playing bodyguard to my little brother?”

I felt my hands automatically curl into fists even as tension threaded throughout my entire body. I’d gotten so used to the idea of not being recognized in the time I’d been with Ben, that I’d almost forgotten what it was like. And part of me actually hated the man for reminding me of that fact.

“Okay, I think we all need to take a breather here,” Cain said as he stepped between me and Griff, and I had to wonder why.

Until I noticed that I was practically nose to nose with Ben’s brother.

“He doesn’t want you here,” I snapped as I let Cain push me back toward the door leading to Ben’s room.

“I’m not going anywhere, Peanut Butter Cup. You tell Ben that!”

“Reese, don’t!” Cain said as he grabbed my arm, but I ignored him. Griff met me halfway, but before the first blow could fall, I heard my name being called out.

I turned to see my boss striding down the hall, his sharp eyes taking in the scene before him.

Ronan Grisham was a man you didn’t mess with in any sense of the word. Not only would my job be in jeopardy if I kicked Griff’s ass here and now, Ronan would be able to take me down with little effort.

I forced myself to step back from Griff, and I saw Sam whispering something in his ear that had Griff taking in several deep breaths.

“Everything okay here?” Ronan asked, though he’d clearly seen the whole scene unfolding and knew things were far from okay.

“Fine,” I muttered as I crossed my arms and moved to stand in front of Ben’s door, sending Griff the message I hadn’t been able to make clear with my fists. I was irritated with myself for letting the asshole and his stupid nickname get the best of me, but hearing him poke fun of something as simple as my name had brought back a whole host of memories from when I’d been a kid. None of the reporters who’d followed my father wherever he went had ever called me that particular name, but there’d been plenty of others.

“Little E,” when I went through a phase of looking just like him. “Grease,” when my father’s campaign manager had been accused of payoffs. “Reese Peace,” when I’d made the stupid mistake of shooting the peace sign at the cameras when crossing the lawn once. And their favorite, “Roz,” which was their attempt at using the initials of Reese Oliver Shaw to sound cute. It was never “Ross.” But Roz. Thank god they didn’t know I was gay. I could only imagine the resurgence of the name.

I felt Ronan’s knowing eyes on me, but he turned his attention to Griff and Sam.

“Reese, do you want to make the introductions?” he asked as he studied them.

“No,” I spit out before I could stop myself.

Cain stepped past me and said, “Ronan, this is Sam Marian and his husband, Griff. Sam is the caterer Ethan and I were telling you about. His family owns the vineyard where we’re getting married.”

I watched as Ronan made polite conversation with both men and shook their hands. He looked at me expectantly, clearly wanting me to fill him in.

“Foxy here” —I pointed at Griff— “is claiming to be Ben’s brother. Ben doesn’t want to see him, though, so I was just asking him to leave.”

Griff opened his mouth, probably to give me another piece of his mind, but he was cut off by Ronan.

“Mr. Marian, I can understand this is probably really upsetting for you, but my men and I need to make Ben’s safety the number one priority, so you’ll understand if we need you to show us some kind of proof that you are who you say you are.”

“Sorry, my ‘I’m Ben Fox’s brother’ bumper sticker is on my other car,” Griff snapped impatiently. “Why don’t I just call the cops and let them settle this?” Griff’s brittle gaze shifted to me. “Or maybe I’ll just call the press and tell them the son of the great Everett Shaw won’t let me see my own family.”

Griff’s voice cracked a little at the end, and I felt something inside of me soften, despite his threats to involve the authorities and the press. I knew he was Ben’s brother. Ben had basically said as much, even when he’d denied it, because he’d added the comment that Griff wasn’t his brother “anymore.”

Which meant something had happened between Griff and Ben.

“Why doesn’t he want to see you?” I asked.

My question actually had Griff snapping his mouth shut for a second in surprise. Then his shoulders slumped, and he seemed to lean against Sam as the other man’s arm went around his waist.

“I don’t know,” Griff admitted. “Our parents gave Ben up for adoption when he was a baby… I only got to see him once before they took him away forever.”

“How old were you?” Ronan asked.

Griff shook his head, so Sam answered for him. “He was seven.”

“So you never saw Ben after your parents gave him up?”

“No… he was just… gone. I, um… things kind of fell apart for me after that, and I took off. When I was fifteen, the Marians adopted me.”

I could tell just by his hesitation that there was more to the story, but I refrained from asking. It wasn’t any of my business. Not to mention I really wanted to know what had happened between him and Ben to make Ben so resentful. And how had Ben even known about Griff if Griff hadn’t known where Ben had ended up?

Sam was rubbing his hand up and down Griff’s back. “We tried to find Ben a few months back, but the PI I hired couldn’t track him. We made sure the adoption agency that handled the adoption had Griff’s information so Ben could find him if he wanted.”

“But he didn’t reach out?” I asked.

“No,” Griff said sullenly.

I exchanged looks with Ronan.

“Mr. Marian, would you be willing to let my team verify the things you’ve told me?” Ronan asked.

I could tell it was on the tip of Griff’s tongue to argue, but Sam squeezed his hand.

“Yes,” the man begrudgingly said. “But I’m not leaving this hospital.”

“Fair enough,” Ronan said. To me he said, “Ethan tells me they’re going to start prepping him for surgery soon.”

I nodded.

“And the child?” he asked.

“Ethan was able to look her over, but we don’t know much.”

Ronan nodded.

“Okay, Mr. Marian, here’s the plan,” Ronan began.

“It’s Griff,” Griff murmured. The man seemed defeated, and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

“Griff,” Ronan said gently. “We don’t know all the details about what your brother and his sister have been through in the past week, but it’s clear they’re still in danger.”

“Sister?” Griff asked in an awed voice. “He has a sister? Was that… was that the little girl you were holding?”

I nodded. “Georgie. She’s four,” I said.

Ronan allowed my words to sink in. Griff’s face took on a soft, faraway look. Clearly he was a family person. I wondered if he had other siblings or even children of his own.

“Sam, a sister,” he said quietly to his husband. Ronan waited a beat and then continued.

“Yes, so the men who hurt them have Ben’s ID and phone. Chances are they know where your brother lives, so going home isn’t an option for them right now. Ben’s injuries are also significant enough that he’s going to need some help recovering for at least a few weeks, if not more.”

“I’ll do it,” Griff chimed in. He actually looked relieved at the prospect of being able to support his brother. “He and Georgie can come stay with us at the vineyard. They’ll be safe there.”

“No, they’re staying with me,” I interjected before I could even think better of it.

I felt all eyes on me a second later, and not surprisingly, Griff looked like he was gearing up for a fight. But Ronan got his attention by saying, “I’m afraid that just hiding your brother away isn’t going to solve the problem, Griff. We need to figure out who is after him and his sister and why. And from the injuries your brother has sustained, these men obviously mean business.”

“So what? I’m just supposed to let him go with you?” Griff asked. “I just fucking got him back!”

“Ronan,” Cain said quietly from behind me. We both turned to look at him.

“The vineyard is in a good location. Perimeter is big but few entry points, easily defensible. There’s nothing around it so you can see people coming.”

The few words seemed to be enough for Ronan, and he nodded. I was surprised when he looked at me questioningly.

I hesitated, then nodded. My plan had been to take Ben and Georgie back to Seattle, but I couldn’t deny that it might be a bad idea to split the brothers up while they seemed to have issues to work through. I still had no clue why Ben didn’t want to see Griff, but I knew that taking him away might mean never finding out.

“Griff, would your family be willing to have some of my men watching the vineyard while Ben and Georgie stay there? We’d also need to limit the people coming and going, especially guests,” Ronan asked.

“Of course,” Griff said eagerly. “Anything. I’m sure Blue and Tristan will do anything it takes to make sure Ben and Georgie are safe. They own the vineyard, but Blue is my brother.” He seemed to freeze on that word, as if somehow he was betraying Ben by calling someone else brother. “I mean…”

“It’s okay,” Sam said, leaning in to place a kiss on Griff’s temple. “They know what you mean.”

“Okay, let’s go talk to Ben,” Ronan said. He motioned to me to lead the way.

Ben’s eyes actually seemed to soften a little when he saw me, but the second the other men started entering the room behind me, his jaw went rigid, and he seemed to tighten his grip on Georgie, who was still lying curled up against his side, Duckie tucked between her hands.

I could feel Ben’s accusing eyes shifting to me as Ronan introduced himself and then explained the plan of staying at the vineyard to Ben. Even before he finished speaking, Ben was shaking his head.

“No. No!”

“Ben—” I began, but he cut me off with another shake.

“No, I’m not going. I’m taking Georgie home.”

“Ben,” Ronan started to say, but Ben cut him off too.

“I want you to leave! All of you!”

He looked so scared and exhausted. Part of me wanted to steal him away and curl myself around him until he could regain his strength. I wanted him to look at me like he had at the motel… like he’d needed me. Not anyone. Me.

“Ben.” This time it was Ethan who spoke. “I know how hard this is… believe me, I do. I know what it means to have to trust someone else when you’ve never had that before.” Ethan’s eyes shifted to Cain, and I felt a warmth go through me as the two men smiled at each other. I didn’t know much about how they’d met, but I’d seen the news stories about Ethan’s violent ex and the terrible things he’d done to Ethan. “But if you don’t stop long enough to trust someone, you’re going to have to run and then keep running, and I promise you, that’s no way to live. And it’s no way to ask a child to live, either.” Ethan’s eyes fell to little Georgie who, thankfully, wasn’t aware of what was happening around her.

Ben narrowed his eyes at Ethan, but Georgie chose that moment to whisper, “Benji,” and snuggle against his side. Ben closed his eyes for an instant before looking down at her and rubbing her back to soothe her. He somehow missed Griff’s little gasp at Georgie’s nickname for Ben. I glanced briefly at Griff in time to see him cover his mouth with his hand.

“Okay,” Ben said. “But I don’t want him there,” he said under his breath. But I could tell Griff still heard the words because he let out a sound of disappointment.

“Ben,” Griff began, but Sam interrupted.

“We can do that. No problem.”

I could see Griff’s desire to argue, but Sam seemed to have somehow convinced Griff to shut the hell up for the time being.

Georgie chose that moment to wake up, letting out a little cry and throwing herself at Ben. She tried to curl up into a little ball but inadvertently hit Ben’s injured side in the process, causing him to groan in pain. I went to his side and put my hand on Georgie’s back. To my surprise, she automatically turned to me and began crying.

“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked as I lifted her into my arms. Her little hands clutched at my collar as her legs tightened around my ribs. I was grateful for the mild painkiller Ethan had given me to dull the throbbing that had been shooting up my spine ever since the collapsing fire escape had hit my back. Thankfully, Ethan had had a chance to look at my injury and all I had was some bad bruising.

It took Georgie a good fifteen seconds to answer me, and even then it was in such a quiet voice I could barely make it out. “Don’t wanna go with those bad men.”

For a split second, I didn’t know what she meant, but then I realized she was afraid of being taken again. The room was full of strange men, and she had no idea these men weren’t the same as the ones who’d taken her.

“Oh, honey,” I said, smoothing her hair from her face. “These men are going to step out of the room, but they’re not bad men, okay? They’re all friends of your brother. And they all want to help keep you safe. We’re not going to let anything happen to you again.”

She glanced at the men, at Ben, and then back at me before nodding and tucking her face into my neck. The hand holding Duckie came up to bring her thumb to her mouth, and my eyes drifted toward Ben’s.

The sense of betrayal was still keen in his eyes, but there was something else there too. Something I didn’t know what to call. I remembered all those promises I’d made him, and it was on the tip of my tongue to make him another one… to promise I’d help him get his life back… but something shuttered in his gaze, and I knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Earning his trust back, if I’d ever really had it to begin with, would be an impossible task.

Especially since he still had no idea who I really was or what it was I did for a living.

And he hadn’t seen the scars on my arms and on my chest, and he didn’t know about the things I’d done in the past and the danger I’d brought to my family because of my stupid actions. How could I tell him all of those things? How could I even tell him who I really was? Who was I kidding? The second Griff got the chance, he’d tell Ben about my father.

I was saved from having to think on it further by the entrance of a nurse into the room. Ronan took that as his cue to leave, and Cain went with him. The nurse told Ben he was giving him a sedative in preparation for the surgery, so I tried to distract Georgie by turning her away and asking if she had any pets, since I remembered how much the girl loved animals.

“Yeah,” she said shyly. “Princess Kitty.”

I could just picture a fluffy cat following this little girl around. “Tell me about her. What color is she?”

“She’s pink. And really fluffy. She’s kinda lazy though.” Her lips turned up in a smile. “But I talk to her a lot. She’s my best friend, and I miss her.” Georgie’s face suddenly crumpled and she began to cry.

“Georgie?” Ben called from the bed. I could hear the slur already in his voice from the meds. They must have been fast-acting. “What’s wrong?”

“Princess Kitty,” she wailed. “I want Princess Kitty here. What if she’s hungry?”

Ben’s face fell. “Oh baby, I’m sure she’s okay. She’s a tough old girl.” It was clear he didn’t mean what he said. He and I both knew there was likely not anyone in the apartment to look after the cat with them on the run.

Griff spoke up. “I’ll get her! Just tell me where she is and I’ll get her. Sam and I are great with animals! Hell, half my family are veterinarians.”

Ben seemed like he was going to argue, but then something in his face shifted. “Uh, yeah. Could you? That… that would actually be really nice. Georgie is really attached to that… to Princess Kitty.”

I peered at him. Something was up.

Griff was oblivious. He just seemed thrilled to be useful to his brother. “Anything. Anything at all. Just give me an address.”

Ben rattled off the address in Atlanta while Griff scrambled to make note of it in his phone. He yanked Sam out of the room to start his Princess Kitty quest as soon as possible. I wondered how the hell he expected to retrieve a little cat from Atlanta, but I had much greater issues to worry about. But I did make a mental note to ask Ronan to have someone meet Griff and his husband at the apartment in case Georgie’s attackers were waiting there.

Ben chuckled. Clearly the meds were kicking in, leaving him feeling just fine.

“There’s a purse you can put her in,” he called after them. “It’s in the cabinet in the kitchen. Has a strong lid. Make sure it’s on tight.”

I wasn’t sure Griff actually heard that part, but I didn’t stop to wonder why a cat would need a strong lid on a carrying bag until much, much later. Of course, by then it was too late.