Rules of Desire: Protecting Erin(20)
Ace accepted the coffee with a smile of thanks and waited until she was seated before lowering himself into the seat next to her. “Your friend is staying at the hotel.”
Pouring syrup onto the pancakes Reese loaded onto her plate, Erin glanced at Ace and shrugged, carefully schooling her features into a look of mild interest. “Not many other places to stay in town.”
Sitting back, Ace sipped his coffee, watching her over the rim. “Why’s he still in town?”
Looking up again, Erin found her husbands watching her closely. “Why don’t you ask him? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Uneasy at the feeling that her husbands sensed that something was off, Erin took a sip of her coffee to ease her dry throat.
Jared leaned forward, his steady stare making her uneasy. “There’s something you’re not telling us. Out with it.”
Erin set her cup aside and started cutting into her pancakes, fighting to keep her temper in check. “I discovered that Nelson Stark was embezzling from the company. I informed the president of the company, John Ritten, not knowing who else to trust. He arranged for me to meet with Wes Cramer, one of the attorneys the oil company employed. Together we gathered enough evidence to get Stark convicted. You know the rest. I don’t know what else you expect me to tell you.”
Helping himself to several pancakes, Duncan watched her, his eyes harder than usual. “Were you and Cramer lovers?”
Erin gasped, choking on her pancakes.
All four men jumped up, but she waved them off, glaring at Duncan as she caught her breath again.
“No! What the hell would make you think I’d be interested in someone as self-absorbed as an asshole like Wes Cramer?”
Duncan dropped into his seat again. “Something’s going on between the two of you. If not, why the hell is he here?”
Erin jumped to her feet, panicked at the thought that something was going on that she and John Ritten didn’t know about. “I don’t know!”
William cried from his bassinette, her raised voice wakening him.
Irritated at herself for losing her temper, Erin pushed past Jared and went to the baby. “I’ve got him. I’m going to the store.”
Jared started to follow her. “I’ll go with you.”
Whirling on him, she adjusted William’s blanket and bounced to settle him. Keeping her voice at a furious whisper, she eyed each of them in turn. “No. You won’t. Stay the hell away from me. I need some air.”
Chapter Seven
Jared followed his wife from the room, his unease growing as he reached past her for the diaper bag. “I’ll drive you.”
“Fine.” Erin grabbed her purse and adjusted William in her arms with an ease that never failed to impress him.
Meeting her glare, he raised a brow, not about to let her put them in the wrong. “Don’t lose that impressive temper. It doesn’t scare any of us. You have to admit that having a strange man, a man we’ve never even heard of, not only call our wife but show up on our doorstep and grab her in anger is bound to…bother us.” With a hand at her back, he led her out to the SUV.
“Not only that, but we learn that our wife might very well be in danger and she kept it from us.” After setting the diaper bag inside, he took the baby and fastened him in his car seat, bending to kiss his flailing hand.
Lifting his gaze to his wife as she slid into the back seat next to the baby, Jared raised a brow. “Did you really think we wouldn’t have some questions? Did you really think we wouldn’t worry? Did you really think we’d allow you to get away with this?”
Erin averted her gaze, but not before he saw a flash of hurt in her eyes. “What are you and your brothers worried about, Jared? Are you worried that I might be threatened by a damned accountant or that I’m going to have an affair with Wes Cramer?”
The thought of her with Cramer ignited his own temper. Leaning close, he gripped her chin and lifted her face to his again. “If I thought you were interested in Cramer, I would paddle your ass and beat the hell out of him.”
Erin’s eyes went wide, the shock in them telling him she’d finally realized the depth of his anger. Swallowing heavily, Erin pulled away from him. “That’s not funny, Jared.”
Shaking his head, Jared straightened. “No. It’s not.”
He closed the door, blowing out a breath of frustration as he rounded the SUV. Sliding into the driver’s seat, he met Erin’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I love you, Erin, more than I ever thought I could love a woman. One of the things I love about you is your honesty.” He allowed a small smile. “Although, at times, it can be brutal.”