Page 76 of Catch Him

He and Dec had grown tight after working a three-month-long assignment in Afghanistan. Circumstances required mutual trust, something neither man had been familiar with at the time. They had learned quickly they could count on each other.

More than that, they understood each other.

It seemed a natural progression to join their efforts on future assignments. Flynn had the military contacts Dec needed. Dec had the financial assets Flynn wanted.

Then one day Dec sprang a secret sister on him. Something he’d never told anyone else. Declan had decided to bring her to the States for high school, and he needed someone he could trust with her security should something happen to him while working.

The first time Flynn met Mary, he’d loomed over her like a massive beast. Just back from assignment, he’d still been in his kill-or-be-killed head space. His edges so damn hardcore, he was fairly certain she peed her pants when he offered her his hand. But she’d shaken it. Tilted that little chin of hers up and gave him a firm single pump.

From that moment, she’d been his too.

“This isn’t about me critiquing your big brother skills. I get how you are. Hell, I treated her the same way. She’d gotten a raw deal. No father, no real mother. Neither one of us wanted to see her hurt any more than that. I’m just saying maybe we were both a little overbearing. Maybe we should have let her fight a few more of her own battles. Toughen her up for what life was going to throw at her.”

“That’s where we disagree, brother. I don’t want anything thrown at her.”

Flynn shook his head. “That’s my point! It already happened.”

“And she survived,” Declan said tightly. “Now I make sure nothing else happens again. You need to prepare that things are going to change for me. With me and Sinead, I’ll imagine we’ll begin to settle down. Less assignment work. More focus on other aspects of the business. Mary can come live with us or stay here. Either way I’ll make certain she is protected at all times. Even if I have to assign a damn body man.”

He wasn’t seeing it, Flynn realized. Too damn blind to his weakest spot.

“I don’t think that’s the right way to handle this,” Flynn said as his last words on the topic.

“I don’t care.”

* * *

Mary stood justoutside the doorway to the study. She’d stopped when she’d heard Flynn say her name. She considered it the worst sort of behavior to eavesdrop, but as she was the subject matter she didn’t think she could be blamed.

Quietly she backed away from the room before either man found her. She thought of everything they had said, and in the end she agreed with Flynn.

Her brother’s idea wasn’t the right way at all to handle this.