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“Why do you keep stealing my lines?”
Her smile grew as I grabbed her hand and interlaced our fingers just as her male cousins joined us, pulling up chairs in a semicircle around her like a silent mafia of three.
I’d seen the whites of my enemies’ eyes in a warzone. Put bullets through them. Three protective family members did not make me flinch. I slid my sunglasses to the top of my head to make eye contact. “Gentlemen.”
“Uncle Fred tells us you were a SEAL.” Serious and quiet, this was spoken by the one I recalled was the oldest, named Asher.
“That’s right.” I took in the way he held himself, the way he assessed me with cool calculation. “Military?”
“Ranger. I work at the prison now, assistant warden.”
I nodded, knowing they loved Olivia and just wanted to feel me out. If I had a sister or a cousin like her, I’d do the same. Hell, I’d probably do worse.
“Do you sleep with all the women you’re hired to protect?”
“Silas!” Olivia interjected, clearly embarrassed. “Don’t be rude!”
I did not take my eyes off him. “No,” I bit out. “None.”
He narrowed his gaze at me as we stared each other down. “So you’re not fucking my cousin?”
“Silas—”
This from the entire group collectively, loud enough that I felt the others at the edge of the lawn pause their conversation to glance over to see what was going on.
Not deterred by his words or his tattooed bulk, I leaned forward so he’d hear me loud and clear. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t fuck women that I care about.” I tilted my head and lowered my voice, channeling my SEAL interrogation days. “But let’s get one thing straight, right now. I don’t care who you are to her, if I hear you talk about her like that again, I will not hesitate to put you down.”
He kept his fiery gaze locked on mine for another long moment before he slowly sat back, an impressed smile crawling along his mouth.
“Do you know who that is?” asked the one in the middle, Levi.
“I don’t give a fuck.” I was still laser focused on his face, letting him know he’d crossed a line talking about our sex life.
“He’s the Silencer. An MMA champion.”
“Impressive,” I deadpanned, clearly not impressed, making Silas’s grin grow.
“That’s enough, guys,” Asher cut in. “No need for a pissing contest. Silas, that was out of line. Justin, we just wanted to get to know you because we love our cousin. She’s been through a lot, and we want to look out for her.”
“I’m right here,” she said, all sass. “And I can look out for myself.”
I squeezed her hand and shot her a glance. “Yes, you can.” I faced the trio again. “But I can appreciate you looking out for her too. And I assure you the last thing I would ever do is hurt her.”
A heartbeat later, Silas offered a big tattooed hand in truce. “Sorry, bro. Just had to put you through your paces.”
I nodded, then Olivia and I exchanged a look. I was silently leaving the ball in her court what she wanted to share with her family and when.
She gave me a small smile, then sucked in a breath and faced her cousins. “No need to do that, Silas. In fact, he would never hurt me because Camden hired him to protect me.”
“Come again?” Silas’s darker-than-dark eyes swung her way with the precision of a throat punch.
“We thought you guys were dating? The real deal?” Levi added, his voice low with confusion and a hint of lethal anger.
“We are,” we said at the same time.
Asher’s brow winged up, but he remained silent, awaiting an explanation.
Olivia gave them the nutshell version, but enough detail to make it clear the threats were real and so was our relationship.