He pulled his gun from his belt and silently approached the front door. He didn't see the fear creep into Bree's eyes at the sight of the deadly weapon. He'd carried it for so long, his hand felt empty without it – like something was missing. When he peaked through the curtain, he let out a frustrated breath, causing Bree to nearly panic.
"It's okay," he assured her before stepping to the door and flipping the lock. Did her siblings have built in radar? My sister's about to get violated by her bodyguard, we'd better hurry over there. He was grateful for his many years of service; otherwise he didn't think he'd be able to pull himself together so quickly.
As four huge men stepped through her doorway, Bree went from frightened to angry in two-seconds flat. She loved her brothers and cousins, but she had left to get away from the interference, not have them keep following her around. She hoped Chad wouldn't say anything to them about the break-in or they'd really freak out on her.
"Where are Larry, Mo and Curly?" Bree asked with an innocent smile.
"Lucas, Mark and Austin couldn't make it," Trenton stepped up and answered, knowing exactly who she was referring to. "Charlie stepped up to take their place, though," he finished, pointing to his long-time best friend.
"How you doing, kiddo?" Charlie asked as he stepped forward and enveloped her in a bear sized hug. All the air was immediately squeezed from her body as he embraced her overly tight. He'd been doing it since they were kids and it always made her feel awkward.
Charlie had always been the pimply faced band geek, but he'd shot up about eight inches in high school and joined the football team, where he and Trenton had become inseparable. He'd practically lived at their place. Now, he worked for the corporation so he'd transferred with them during the move a few years back. She was glad he was there but could do without all the manhandling.
Charlie noticed Chad putting his gun away and narrowed his eyes at the weapon, but kept silent. No one else seemed to think it was out of place for Chad to be sporting a deadly weapon in Bree's tiny living room.
"Did Dad send you?" Bree asked when Charlie finally released her and she could breathe again. She noticed immediately when Chad stepped too close to her in a bodyguard manor. Who the heck was he protecting her from? Her brothers? She'd like to pound the over-sized, macho men, but she didn't need protection from them. She looked at him quizzically but he didn't take his eyes from the group of men.
She stared back and forth from her brothers, cousin, and Charlie, to Chad, and found it almost funny how they were all standing so rigid, almost in preparation for a brawl. Last she knew, her family had been who'd hired Chad so why did they seem like they wanted to rip him to pieces?
Chad's libido was still revving to go, and from the look on her family member's faces, they knew it – and weren't happy about it. They glanced from him, around her room, then back, seeming to realize they'd jumped their sister from the frying pan into the fire. She needed protection, but it was obvious they were thinking she may need a chastity belt as well – at least in his presence. They were probably right.
"Is there something wrong with visiting?" Max asked as he finally broke the odd standoff and stepped forward. He gave Bree a much gentler hug before stepping back. That seemed to trigger the others to step forward and hug her. When they were finished, she sighed and headed to the kitchen.
"I guess not, as long as that's all you're doing here. I'll make fresh coffee," she offered. The sooner they got to the real reason for the visit, the sooner they'd leave her in peace. She'd prove to them she didn't need to run home. After her house getting vandalized, she needed to prove it to herself as well. She was still extremely shaken from her stressful day.
"Nice to know we're so welcome," Alex said with sarcasm, but the smile he threw her showed he didn't have any hard feelings.
"There's not a whole lot of room but we should all fit around the table," Chad said, taking over and leading them to her hardly adequate dining area. The men looked at the chairs skeptically, but gingerly sat, letting out relieved sighs when the chairs didn't break. Chad remained standing against the counter and Bree turned so he wouldn't see her smile. He was still in alpha-dog mode, protecting her, maybe without even fully realizing what he was doing.
"Getting mighty cozy in this place, aren't you?" Charlie asked, his entire attitude was yelling loud and clear that he didn't like Chad and didn't want him in Bree's home. It seemed Charlie was a little jealous. He decided to poke him a bit.
"We're making do," he said with a lazy smile. His comment earned him glares from all four men. Chad knew he could take them out – or he was cocky enough to think so, but he wouldn't want to do that to Bree – they were her family.