She hated the tears that filled her eyes. She was the baby of the family and had always tried really hard to fly under the radar. Count had every right to be angry. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t change the fact that you embarrassed this entire family and we’re all paying for it. I don’t even know what to think. What kind of idiot goes to a bar and picks up a stranger? Then you had to do it with cameras rolling so it was fodder for everyone to see. We raised you better!” He cursed. “Knock that off, Mia. I’m talking to her.”
“You’re being a prick,” her sister insisted from somewhere close to the phone. “Let me talk to her.”
“I’m not done,” Count insisted. “Couldn’t she have made cooking videos or something if she wanted to be an internet sensation? Fuck no. Our sister has to become an interspecies porn star.”
“Goddamn it!” Mia yelled. “Give me the phone, barf breath. Did you brush your teeth? Your poor wife. Go find a toothbrush. Do I need to remind you of the shit you pulled in high school? Do your cop buddies know you used to smoke weed? Don’t jump her ass.”
“She’s not in high school. She’s an adult.”
Vanni winced. Her siblings were fighting because of her. They were close in age and it could get ugly once they started. The usually mature pair turned into a set of five-year-olds occasionally when they argued. Mia must have won the wrestling match over the phone since Count howled in pain and Mia’s voice came over the receiver.
“Are you okay, Vanni? Ignore our idiot brother. He didn’t mean any of that. We’ve just been really worried. We’ve heard a lot of conflicting things.”
Vanni blinked back the tears. “Count meant it. He’s angry.”
“Okay, so he did.” Mia paused and a smacking sound could be heard. Count cursed. “Stop that. Try to take it again and I’ll scratch the shit out of you,” Mia threatened. “I wasn’t kidding about your breath. You smell like ass. Go brush your teeth.”
“I’m getting your husband,” Count taunted.
“Go do that. He’s afraid of my fingernails too when I’m pissed. Try to grab the phone one more time and you’re going to bleed,” Mia warned. “And don’t breathe on my husband. What the hell did you eat?”
“Please don’t fight,” Vanni urged.
“Hang on.” Mia slammed a door. “Ha! It’s locked, jerk!” Her voice lowered. “I’m in the bathroom. He wouldn’t dare kick it down. You should see this place they have us staying in. It’s ritzy as hell. The door probably costs more than his beloved rusted piece-of-junk car he calls a classic.”
“I’m so sorry,” Vanni whispered.
“It’s done. I just hate that we couldn’t talk to you before. Why were you avoiding our calls over the weekend? What is really going on, Vanni?”
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“It’s okay. Are you okay? That’s the most important thing.”
“I am.”
“How are you holding up? I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”“I’m fine.” She wasn’t about to share her sex injuries, which were making her ass and thighs ache. “It’s just been kind of a nightmare with the press and with the Woods Church.”
“The security team said the Woods Church was a threat to us and that’s why we’re here. I knew that family was shit once I found out who the father was. They are a bunch of lunatics. What did Carl do to you? Did he hit you? I didn’t like that asshole. He was too smooth and controlling.”
That astonished Vanni. “I thought you liked him as much as the rest of the family did.”
“I was being nice. I’ve racked my brain thinking why you’d end up getting tanked in a bar and picking up some guy you didn’t know from Adam. I know you too well. Carl either cheated on you or hit you. Which one was it?”
She couldn’t tell her sister the entire story so she hedged over the main parts but shared how he’d tricked her into going to the convention and the way he’d treated her. “I was done. I didn’t mean for that to happen in the bar but I don’t regret it.” That was the truth. “Smiley is here with me. He’s wonderful.”
The silence at the other end of the phone connection became uncomfortable. Her sister finally spoke. “Can he hear what I’m saying?”
“No. I’m alone right now.”
“Are you being held there against your will?”
“No.” Vanni sat up and winced, forgetting her soreness. “Smiley is amazing. The NSO is protecting me from Carl’s dad and his crazy worshipers. They are saying I was drugged and forced to, um, you know.”
“I know. We heard. That’s what I told Count after we watched the news earlier today. You looked happy but scared. I like the way that guy you’re with was so protective of you.”
“Today?”
“When the NSO took you shopping. It was all over the news.”
Vanni’s gaze drifted to the TV on the dresser. She was tempted to turn it on to see if they were playing the footage but she resisted. “It turned kind of hairy when all those people showed up but I’m fine. Really.”
“What kind of threat are you looking at from the Woods Church? Do they want revenge because you dumped Carl? I remember that one religious group who tried to burn a woman alive in front of the gates of the NSO for sleeping with a New Species.” Mia’s voice quavered. “Are they going to want to kill you?”
“Maybe. They are crazy, Mia. I’m safe here though.”
“Thank god. Don’t leave there.”
“I won’t.”
“This Smiley guy is treating you well? He looked pretty concerned today.”
“Yes. He’s really sweet and wonderful.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Count is fit to be tied but don’t let him get to you. You know how our brother is. It’s his twisted and controlling way to be a big asshole when he’s worried. He had a complex as a kid and now he has a badge so he thinks he knows everything. I don’t have to cook or clean so I’m looking at this like a free vacation with a lot of security guards. I just wish they hadn’t given us connecting suites because two more days of listening to our brother and I’m going to consider tossing Count out a window to see if he turns into a bat and can fly.”
Vanni chuckled. It was an old joke. “Thanks, Mia. I was afraid you’d be mad at me too.”
“I’m just worried. You do what your security team says. They seem to know their stuff. They had us packed and hustled out of our homes in short order and put us in the penthouse suites of this hotel. We have the entire top floor so we’re safe.”
“I was worried.”
“We’re more worried about you. You aren’t exactly tough.”
“I’m not a wimp.” She resented the implication.
“No, you’re not, sweetie. You’re just a bit sheltered and we’ve always been protective of you.”
“I’m no longer a child and I’ve told you to stop. I appreciate that you try, at least.”
“I need to go. Count, that rat bastard, blabbed to my husband. They are arguing outside the door. I don’t want them to come to blows.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Mia suddenly yelled, “Knock it off!”
The call disconnected and Vanni replaced the receiver in the cradle, grateful she wasn’t staying at the hotel with her family. Her siblings’ families living together sounded like a nightmare. They could never be under the same roof for more than a few hours without it turning into pandemonium.
Vanni inched off the bed and cursed. She needed a massage and muscle relaxers. She settled on going to the kitchen for a soda instead since the first two were not viable options. The bags from their shopping expedition were on the counter. She popped open the can and took a sip, deciding to get dressed. Moving around might help ease some of her soreness before Smiley returned.
She also remembered she needed to make some calls. Gregory Woods still had her wallet and all her credit cards. She needed to cancel them but she didn’t want to go against Justice North’s orders about the phone restrictions. She’d asked Smiley and he’d said it would be fine. Canceling and replacing everything would be a hassle.
Smiley hated that everyone in the room had overheard Vanni’s conversation with her sister and brother. The meeting had come to a halt when they’d received word that a phone call had come in for her. It had been patched through Justice’s phone, their side muted. He’d disliked her brother instantly after he’d torn into Vanni. When the phone call ended, he stood.
“I’m going to check on her.”
Justice frowned. “She sounded fine. We’re not done.”
“I don’t know why everyone had to listen in on her conversation.” It wasn’t the first time Smiley had protested.
“I’m sorry about that.” Justice frowned. “But we needed to know what was said. We needed to know if her family is unhappy about her being here and if they resent being held in a hotel. They have a history with Carl Woods and he could use that association to taint their view of us by urging your female to leave Homeland.”