“His team is pretty good, I’ll grant him that. I’m getting kind of hungry. Piper, have you had lunch yet?” Aiden asked.
“I can make something,” she immediately volunteered.
“You keep working on that calculus. Just point me to the kitchen, and I’ll rustle up something for the two of us to eat. Drake, if you’re lucky, there might be some leftovers when you get back.”
“I’ll show you where everything is,” Drake said as Aiden stood up. Aiden stopped at the coffee table where more of Piper’s books sat.
“Piper, are you studying Othello?”
“I will be, that’s one of my Granny’s books.”
“I love that play. Maybe we can discuss it later,” Aiden said.
“That’d be great.” She grinned at him over the back of the sofa.
The two men continued toward the kitchen.
Aiden opened the refrigerator and poked around. “So where are you off to?” he asked as he pulled out a block of cheese and butter. He then zeroed in on the pantry.
“My sister, Trenda, has someone watching her house. It’s freaking her out.” Drake looked at his watch. “If I’m not back in four hours, you should expect my sister Evie to arrive. She drives a jeep and has a smart mouth.” Drake watched as Aiden found the bread and cans of tomato soup.
“How many sisters do you have?” Aiden asked.
“Six.”
“Are all of them going to end up here?”
“I wish.” Drake watched as Aiden emptied the soup into a saucepan. “But not all of the girls live in town.”
“And the guy watching Trenda?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s a prison buddy of my dad’s. Aiden, he’s managed to pick up some real winners from Pikeville. I spotted one with a swastika tat last night. My dad was into the meth trade before he got put away twelve years ago. The sheriff is in on this too. All in all, you’re walking into a shitstorm.”
Aiden looked up and grinned. “Hell, Drake, my birthday isn’t ‘til next month, you shouldn’t have.”
Drake laughed. “This is serious.”
“Shut your mouth. I understood you. We’ve got some down-home ugly going on. I get it. I think you’re just too close to the subject because it’s your father who’s the bad guy and your sisters are targeted but think about what we’re normally up against.”
Drake let out a sigh. Aiden was right. Five guys who were so stupid that they’d actually served time? If his sisters weren’t involved, he’d normally be handling this blindfolded. “You’re right.”
“Of course, I am. I’m older and I outrank you. Get it through your head, in this relationship, I’m always going to be right, and you’re always going to be wrong.”
“Fuck you,” Drake said without heat.
“Go see about Trenda. I’ve got to get Piper fed.”
“About Piper,” Drake started.
“She and I are going to discuss the merits of Othello.”
Drake continued to stand in the kitchen.
“Are you still here? We’ll be fine together. Did anybody ever tell you that you worry too much?”
“It’s in the job description,” Drake said.
“Which one? SEAL team member or big brother?”
“Both.”
Chapter Five
He looked at the GPS on his phone and swore. Really? Trenda had to live at the end of the road next to the empty field? For fuck’s sake. It’s amazing that they had only watched the place for the last two days. Wait a minute, that wasn’t true, three days ago their dad had ransacked the place. Trenda was as defenseless as a baby bird.
It was easy enough to spot the car that was scaring poor Bella. Drake parked three houses away. It was overcast so he might not be immediately spotted as he got out of the car and walked toward the asshole in the beige four-door. Even if he was spotted, what was the problem? Nobody was expecting him to be back in town.
As he meandered up the side of the road, he made sure he kept the jerk in his sights, which was easy enough to do. He had his head resting against the driver’s side window, staring at the house. Obviously, his job was to intimidate Trenda as well as to keep watch. If the man had a brain in his head, he’d be occasionally checking his six, after all, the rearview mirror was right there.
Drake watched in stunned amazement as the guy actually pulled out binoculars in plain sight and looked over at his sister’s house. Was he out of his mind? Again, he did that without turning around, totally unconcerned that somebody might be watching him. When Drake got beside the car, he noted the doors were unlocked. The guy just made it easier and easier. Drake pulled out his gun and had the backseat door open, and his gun pointed at the guy’s head faster than he could drop his binoculars.