"She doesn't sleep with Jansen. They don't spend the night at each other's places. When they travel they have separate rooms. And we're taking her luggage. She could have medication packed that she needs."
She didn't. She didn't take anything more than a couple of vitamins a day, but his brother didn't have to know that. Having her belongings around Kinley would comfort her.
God, when had he turned into a guardian angel? Law wasn't suited for the role. He was pure muscle, good at killing scumbags or making them wish they were dead. He didn't know a damn thing about taking care of a woman. Riley was probably right. She was too sweet to want what they needed. Even the suggestion would probably shock her down to her painted pink toes.
So he'd have to settle for watching over her in Alaska.
Grumbling, Ry grabbed the first of her suitcases. There was room in the cart … if they mashed down the shit ton of puffy fabric in her dress.
Gently, Riley laid the first piece next to her. Law helped him with the next three bags. He guessed she'd gotten them all secondhand because they were embossed with someone else's initials. Someone really fucking liked themselves. There were little gold Ls and Vs all over the luggage. If Kinley was his woman, he would make sure everything had her sweet name on it.
"Dominic is having trouble finding a parking spot. We have to hold tight for a few minutes. Damn New York traffic." Riley cursed at his phone, then lifted the drape to peek out the window as though he could see where Dominic was circling the building. This high up, there was no way. Everyone looked like ants from this height.
He tucked the last of the four cases around her. She moaned a little, and the sound made him goddamn hard. Why did he have to ache for this woman?
"Why the fuck does it have to be her?" Riley asked. Sometimes Law thought his brother could read his mind.
He shrugged. "It doesn't. It won't. You're right. She won't want me."
Again those eyes rolled. His brother needed a better form of communication than sarcasm. "Oh, she'll probably want you. I just don't think she's going to keep you. Or any of us. Women like a ménage for sex, but no one wants to put up with three dudes for life. The laundry alone would choke her."
Law didn't think that was funny. "I can do my own. All of us can."
"Look at this from her point of view. If by some miracle, Kinley could handle a relationship with all three of us, would the pressure from her family or the tabloids be too much for her? How long would it take her to want to leave? Maybe you should try to win her on your own."
And leave his brother and best friend behind? "No."
He wanted what the James brothers had. He wanted a family. He'd spent too many years needing someone watching his back to go it alone. Maybe it was his perverse nature, maybe it was something he'd learned, but he didn't even want to try making this a solo act with Kinley.
And there was a little voice inside that worried what would happen to her if he died. He couldn't leave his wife alone the way his own mother had been. He couldn't stand the thought of her turning to a terrible life on her back just to feed herself and her kids.
"Nah. I just like her, okay? I'll get over it. I don't particularly love the idea of going into the kidnapping business, and she'll want nothing to do with me after this, most likely."
God knew he'd been forced to play the bad guy most of his fucking life. One more time shouldn't matter. He just couldn't stand the idea that she would be afraid of him.
"We're saving her life. Eventually, she'll understand." Annabelle slipped into the room through the adjoining door, her voice low. "Is she all right?"
The curvy secretary approached the laundry cart and looked inside.
"She's fine. She'll sleep it off on the plane."
As soon as he grabbed her handbag, they were out of here. But when he lifted it, Law frowned. It felt heavier than it looked. What was she carrying? Not that it mattered. He laid it in the cart beside her with the rest.
"How is it coming from your end?" Ry asked.
The law firm of Baxter, Cohen, and Kent was working on their side-to bring Jansen to justice and to try to keep their asses out of jail. Law wasn't sure which would prove to be the harder job.
"I brought Eric with me. He's waylaid her sister. She was probably coming back in to snip at Kinley one more time. Good, you got her luggage. She'll be calmer if she can keep her things around her." Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Am I doing the right thing?"
He'd pondered the same question every day since they'd decided on the assignment. "You tried to tell her the truth, and she wasn't accepting it."
Annabelle shook her head. "I know. Kinley is so loyal and wants to believe the best about everyone. If I'd pushed too much more, she would have gone straight to Greg and demanded explanations. You know how he would have taken care of the situation."