Zack ached both from lack of sleep and from the worries that gnawed at his every conscious thought. Brittany was blissfully unaware of his inner anguish as she stood by the front door, waiting for her cab to arrive.
“I’ve had so much fun,” she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Zack had to admit that for a while he’d had fun too. But as soon as he’d seen Max’ picture all his enjoyment had been overshadowed by worry.
“It was good seeing you,” Zack reached for his sister and gave her a tight hug. It felt good to hold her close, but also strange. Brittany was so much taller than the girl he’d had to look out for all those years ago. She was a woman now. But Zack still felt the need to protect her, especially from someone as dangerous as a Skeleton Kings member.
A part of him wanted to just yell at her, to scream until he lost his voice about how she needed to stay away from Max. But he knew that if he did that he’d just be effectively pushing her into her lover’s arms. No, he needed to be subtle about his dislike for Max and hope that it would be enough to make his sister see sense.
“Feels like only yesterday I was living here,” Brittany sighed as they parted from their embrace.
“It pretty much was,” Zack agreed. “You’ve barely been away. You don’t want to go rushing into anything.” He chose his words carefully and registered Brittany’s response. He saw her bristle beneath the turquoise blouse she was wearing. A hand drifted up to her neck and began to massage the back of it.
“I’m not rushing into anything,” she insisted plaintively.
“You seem pretty in love to me,” Zack folded his arms across his chest. “I just hope he’s on the same page.”
“Of course he is!”
“So you guys have talked about the future?” Zack queried. He didn’t like what he was doing. Every word he spoke felt like bile in his mouth. But if Brittany started asking Max about their future and where their relationship was going it would be the ultimate deterrent, especially to a Kings member. Those guys were notoriously nomadic with relationships, adopting a “wherever they leave their hat” policy.
“Sure, we’ve talked about the future,” Brittany nodded but her bleak expression revealed the truth.
“Good,” Zack rested a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Because he’d be a fool not to want to marry you.”
“I didn’t say we’ve discussed marriage,” Brittany frowned, shrugging him off.
“Why not?” Zack persisted. “That’s where the relationship is headed, isn’t it?”
“Won’t I seem like a bit of a bunny boiler to be asking about marriage already?”
“Not if you’re serious about him.”
Pouting thoughtfully, Brittany turned back to look through the window. The street outside remained empty; her cab yet to arrive.
“I am serious about him,” she eventually concluded.
“Then you probably should be discussing marriage.”
“Zack,” Brittany sighed his name as she spun around to look at him. “Are you saying this because you genuinely care about my future or because you’re hoping I’ll look like some sort of crazy person and scare Max off?”
Zack was stunned into silence. Brittany was more perceptive than he’d given her credit for.
“I didn’t expect you to be overly keen on me being in a relationship,” she frowned at him. “But I’d hoped for at least your support.”
Lowering his head Zack could feel the tips of his ears burning with shame. She was right, of course she was right and under any other circumstance he would have been supportive. But Max wasn’t just a regular guy, he rode with the Skeleton Kings and that made him unpredictable and dangerous.
“I genuinely care about your future,” Zack promised. And he truly did. The only reason he wanted her to break things off with Max was because he cared about her future. He didn’t want her getting embroiled in any pack problems. And there were definitely problems brewing. The very fact that Max, and some of his cronies, had taken up residence in Colridge was extremely troubling. The Kings were planning a strike, the question was when would it happen?
“Oh, cab’s here,” Brittany saw the yellow car as it slid up to the curb and stopped. She shouldered her bag and gave her brother a sad smile.
“Will you at least meet him?” she asked, cocking her head to the side the way she used to do when she was a little girl, whenever she was trying to get her way.
Zack knew it would be a terrible idea for him to meet Max. What if Max recognized him? Or worse, what if Max was only even dating Brittany to get to him? Zack shuddered at the thought, but he wouldn’t put such behavior past the Skeleton Kings. Jameson’s scars were a painful reminder of just how far they’d go to protect their turf and the kind of depths they were willing to sink to.
The cab driver was now honking his horn, the sound cutting through the peaceful stillness of the street. But Brittany didn’t move, she stood staring at her brother, her eyes wide and expectant.
“Brittany…” Zack fumbled for an excuse.
“You’re meeting him,” Brittany concluded for him, swinging open the front door with unnecessary force. “You can’t possibly dislike someone you’ve never met,” she continued as she stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine.
“Meet him first. And if you still don’t like him, then fine.”
“I never said I didn’t like him,” Zack protested as she strode down the driveway towards the waiting cab. He tightened his fists as he noticed the cab driver cast an appreciative sweep of a glance up his sister’s bare legs.
“You didn’t have to,” Brittany shot back over her shoulder before bundling herself into the cab. Zack groaned and cracked his knuckles as she watched her drive away. He sensed that removing Max from her life was going to prove tougher than he’d originally hoped.