Loving Attention

by Becca Van

  Niki slumped against Brent with relief. She hadn’t been sure that she and Kat weren’t going to end up in jail until right now. She was grateful that the men in the room didn’t seem to care that their father was a vicious, evil man.

  Niki just hoped that the police in Chicago, as well as the FBI and any other law enforcement group watching her father’s activities, arrested him and his goonies as quickly as possible.

  The sheriffs and deputies rose and headed toward the door, calling out good-bye as they went. Kat, who was once more on her feet, glanced nervously at Brent before meeting Niki’s eyes again. Niki stood and wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist, embracing her firmly. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” she asked.

  Kat shook her head, and when she gazed toward Brent again then quickly looked away, Niki realized that Brent intimidated her. She found that funny in an ironic kind of way because Niki felt nervous whenever she looked at Jalen and his brothers. Niki had felt the attraction sparking between her sister and the deputies and wondered if that was why her sister had chosen to go home with them. While she was going to miss Kat, it wasn’t as if they wouldn’t be able to see each other regularly. She was also glad that her sister would be safe and protected under the three deputies’ care.

  All too soon her sister and the other men were gone. Niki sighed and headed toward the kitchen but gasped when she bumped into a warm, hard body. She stared at the shirt-covered chest in front of her before craning her neck up to meet Brent’s brown-eyed gaze.

  “Are you okay, baby?” he asked.

  She nodded and licked her lips. When she saw his eyes follow the movement of her tongue, she blushed and looked down again.

  Brent cupped her face in his hands, refusing to let her hide from him. She was very aware of how big and strong he was, how handsome and sexy he and his brothers were, and she couldn’t have stopped the shiver of heat from wracking her body if she’d tried.

  “Yeah, just tired.”

  “Do you want to take a nap?”

  “I have to get dinner organized.”

  “No, you don’t,” Brent said. “There’s more than enough chili left for dinner.”

  “You don’t mind eating the same food again?”

  “Why would we mind, Niki?”

  She glanced to the side before meeting his gaze again, but instead of answering she shrugged. Her father hadn’t liked eating the same thing twice in a row, and while she hadn’t had much choice but to serve the Lyndon brothers the same food for lunch and dinner yesterday, she could easily make them something different for tonight since she’d gone shopping this morning.

  Brent frowned at her. “Answer the question, baby.”

  “My father always wanted something different each time he ate,” she answered.

  He sighed. “I’m not your asshole of a father, Niki. Hes, Rig, and I don’t give a shit what you serve up as long as it’s edible.”

  “So, you wouldn’t be mad if I burned the food?”

  “No, baby. None of us would care. If it was too burnt to eat, we would just go and eat at the diner.” He paused to take a breath. “What happened if you burned the food or gave him the same meal twice in a row?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “He hurt you, didn’t he, Niki? He’s a coward, baby. Only cowards hurt someone weaker and smaller than they are to make themselves feel powerful. But he’s not. He’s a bully. Don’t let him win, baby. Try not to think about what he did to you. My brothers and I will never hurt you physically, and while we won’t mean to hurt you emotionally, we’re men and are liable to fuck up sometimes. We aren’t perfect, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re happy and safe.”

  “Why?” Niki asked.

  “Why what, baby?”

  “Why are you letting me stay in your home to protect me? You could be putting yourselves in danger.”

  “We’re attracted to you, Niki. My brothers and I want to have a relationship with you,” Brent stated honestly.

  “You are? You do?” An excited, nervous flutter set up in her belly, and heat traversed her veins. Her nipples began to ache and harden, and her pussy clenched when her clit started throbbing. Cream moistened her folds and for the first time in her life, she wanted to be touched by a man, by men.

  “Hell yes, I am.”

  And then he kissed her.

  Chapter Eight

  Brent couldn’t hold out any longer. He’d been dying to know what she tasted like from the instant he’d met her. His imagination hadn’t done her justice. She was so fucking sweet he couldn’t get enough. When she parted her lips on a sigh, he licked into her mouth, rubbing his tongue along before curling it around hers. She moaned out a breathy sigh and gave him all her body weight. She was so small and fragile both physically and emotionally, and yet she was one of the strongest people he knew.

  He dropped his hands from her face, hooked an arm around her waist, and pulled her against his body until no space separated them. Her small hands, which she’d fisted into his shirt when he began kissing her, spread out and then she was smoothing them over his chest. Brent wished that his chest were bare so he could feel her touch skin to skin, but he savored each caress, the softness of her body against his.

  When she broke the kiss and drew away, he wanted to pull her back into his arms and never let go, but he reluctantly released her. Though he wanted to ask her if she was just as attracted to them, he didn’t. Niki and her sister had been to hell and back, and he didn’t want her to feel as if he were forcing her into something she wasn’t ready for.

  He was about to ask her if she wanted him to take her to her apartment so she could pack some of her things but ended up looking over his shoulder when he noticed she was gazing toward the front door, the color on her cheeks deepening to a flushed pink. He should have heard or known that his brothers had come back from seeing their guests out, but he’d been so caught up in Niki he hadn’t been aware. From the hungry way they were staring at Niki, they’d seen him kissing her.

  She turned away and hurried into the kitchen. He and his brothers followed her, wanting to make sure she was all right. She stood at the sink with her back to the room while she sipped on a glass of water.

  “Do you want me to drive you home so you can pack a bag, baby?” Brent cursed himself when he forgot not to approach her from behind, but thankfully, this time she didn’t startle or react to his presence. When he shifted his gaze to the window, he was relieved to see that she was watching him and his brothers in the reflection of the glass.

  “You don’t need to drive me. I have Kat’s car,” she said, turning to face them.

  “I’m not letting you go alone, Niki. Plus, I’m sure Kat is going to want to get her car back since she’ll be moving for a while, too. She’ll need it to get to work and back.”

  She frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. She let me use it since the apartment was close enough for her to walk to the library.”

  “Why don’t we all go?” Rig suggested. “We can drop into the sheriff’s department after getting you some clothes so you can sign the witness statement if Luke has it ready, and then we can eat at the diner. I’m sure Kat and her…the Donnybrook men will be there, too.”

  Niki nodded, drained the glass, and put it in the dishwasher, then grabbed her purse and the car keys and let them guide her out.

  Brent hoped to get her settled in their home and bed as soon as they got back. Niki looked as if she was almost asleep on her feet.

  Vinnie should have known how easy it would be to get the information out of the elderly housekeeper. She sang like a canary after a few slaps to the face. He’d brought her to the soundproof basement where the cages were kept and had laughed when the naïve woman had gasped with shocked horror.

  He and his boss had managed to sell off most of the girls they’d kidnapped off the streets of Chicago, but none of their contacts were interested in the last two. If they didn’t get buyers soon,
they were going to have to be killed. They’d been beaten and raped over and over again and now were as quiet as mice. He’d never forget the hope they’d held onto for days or the way they’d tried to fight off him and his men. Now, they just sat on the bottom of the cage, staring at nothing.

  Vinnie loved watching as their hope and spirit finally died. Women were supposed to do as they were told without argument or question.

  He’d never forget the expression of pain frozen on the Spanish woman’s face when he’d decided he’d had enough and to end it. He’d moved around behind her, grasped the bitch’s hair, tilted her head back, and slashed her throat as soon as he knew where Nikita was.

  Normally he’d leave the men to get rid of the body and clean up the mess, but he didn’t want anyone knowing what was going on. He had plans that no one else was aware of. After he’d dumped the body and cleaned the basement, he’d gone to search the housekeeper’s room. He’d found a couple of burner cell phones and after he’d showed the boss man, he was back in the asshole’s good graces. Vinnie didn’t give a crap about Matteo Russo. In fact, he’d already set things into motion before he’d left for his road trip.

  By the time he was halfway to Slick Rock, Matteo Russo would be dead and no one would be able to point the finger at him. When he had Niki back and compliant, he was going to be the one giving orders and being kowtowed to. His world had just changed for the better.

  He glanced at his sleeping companion and smiled.

  Half of Russo’s men were already on Vinnie’s side. Over the last six months he’d started pointing out how old and weak Matteo Russo was. He’d seen the men looking at the boss man with speculation in their eyes. The revered respect had eventually turned to disgust, and Vinnie knew it was time to make his move.

  Hopefully, in a week or so he would be the one doing business with the drug lords and taking orders for women to sell and raking in the cash from the gun sales. He was going to be as rich as Croesus, and no one was going to stop him.

  Once he ruled over Chicago, he’d set his sights on New York and then every other crime corporation in the world.

  The world was going to be his oyster.

  Niki sat in the diner between Hes and Rig with Brent across from her. Rig had driven Kat’s car to their place and after she’d packed a bag, they’d all headed toward the Slick Rock Sheriff’s Department. Hes had driven Kat’s car and met them on the front steps outside the sheriff’s office. Kat’s car was parked outside the diner right next to Brent’s truck, and Niki couldn’t stop herself from glancing out the window.

  She and the Lyndon brothers had already ordered their meals, but Niki was anxious to see Kat to make sure she was all right. Kat had always been stronger than Niki and had hardly ever shown any vulnerability. Nevertheless, Niki had been shocked when Kat had let Jalen and his brothers comfort her when she’d gotten so upset earlier. The only person Kat had ever let see that she was scared was her. She had a feeling the Donnybrook men were attracted to her sister, and while she was happy for Kat, she was concerned, too. What if the three men hurt her sister? Kat would be all alone again with no one to listen to her or to cry with. Kat was the only relative Niki cared about, and she was starting to question whether she’d made the right decision to stay out at the ranch. Maybe she should have waited for Kat to make up her mind and gone where her sister had decided to.

  “What’s wrong, sugar?” Rig asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just tired,” she answered before gazing out the window again.

  “Bullshit,” Rig snapped quietly.

  Niki frowned up at him. Rig sighed as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “We can see that something is worrying you, Niki. Talk to us. You don’t have to handle everything on your own anymore. We’re here for you, sugar.”

  Niki sighed and decided to be honest with the three men since they’d all been nothing but honest with her. “I’m worried about Kat,” she said and then went on to explain what troubled her.

  “You don’t need to worry about your sister, honey,” Hes said. “Jalen, Dante, and Mica are going to take good care of her.”

  “They like her, don’t they?” she asked.

  “They’re attracted to her, yes,” Brent replied.

  “What if they hurt her? What if things don’t work out? I won’t be there for her.”

  “Kat will always be welcome to come and stay with us, Niki,” Rig said.

  “Our invitation to live with us doesn’t have a time limit, honey.” Hes caressed a hand over her head.

  “As soon as we’ve had dinner, I’m going to buy you a cell phone,” Brent said, quickly holding up his hand when she went to protest. “If you have a phone, your sister can contact you and/or us whenever she wants. If she wants to leave the Donnybrooks, she can call and one of us will go and get her.”

  Niki met each of their eyes. “Thank you. You’ve relieved my mind.”

  “I’m glad,” Brent said. “Kat and her men are here.”

  Niki turned and gaped when she saw her sister smiling and holding hands with Jalen. She looked so happy and relaxed. Niki had never seen her sister look so carefree and hoped that seeing her this way was a good sign of things to come.

  “Hi, Niki,” Kat said after she and the Donnybrook brothers entered the diner and walked toward them.

  “Hi, you look…less tense,” Niki said. She’d been going to say “happy,” but she didn’t want her sister thinking she was making things more than what they seemed. Kat nodded and glanced away. Knowing her sister, she was putting on a show to make the Donnybrook men think she was going to go along with them, and as soon as they’d relaxed, she’d run. She and Kat were good at acting since they’d been doing it their whole lives.

  Niki narrowed her eyes at her sister when she saw the determination in Kat’s gaze, and she knew she was right. Kat was up to something, but Niki wasn’t about to say anything in front of the men. She’d text or call when she had her new cell phone.

  When Hes passed Kat’s car keys to Dante, her sister pulled her lips into a tight line.

  When she saw Mica staring at her intently through narrowed eyes, she wondered if the other man knew her sister was trying to play him and his brothers. Since they were Marines and cops, she had a feeling she was right. Kat might think she was fooling everyone, but she wasn’t.

  After talking for a few minutes, the Donnybrook men guided Kat to an empty booth and they all sat down.

  Niki, Brent, Hes, and Rig ate their dinner and left soon after. Rig and Brent helped her into their truck, and it was only when she was putting on her seat belt that she noticed Hes wasn’t there. Rig, who was sitting in the back with her, must have seen her puzzled frown. “He’s gone to get you a cell phone, sugar. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” She sighed tiredly and rested her head against the back of the seat as she closed her eyes.

  Niki felt her body getting heavier and heavier. She tried to stop herself from falling asleep, it was a battle she didn’t have the energy to win, so with a sigh she gave in to her exhaustion.

  “She’s asleep,” Rig said quietly as he scooted across to the middle and after putting his lap belt on, wrapped an arm around Niki’s shoulders and pulled her against his side. He smiled when she sighed and snuggled into him.

  “I can’t believe what their father did to them, how he treated them,” Brent said through clenched teeth.

  Rig shook his head. “Neither can I. If I ever set eyes on him, I’ll kill the fucker.”

  “You’ll have to get in line,” Brent said. “I think when all the men in this town hear what’s happened to Niki and Kat, they’ll be lined up beside us.”

  “I know they will.”

  Rig spotted Hes walking toward the truck and knew the second his brother spotted Niki sound asleep in his arms. Hes quietly opened the door and climbed in. After putting his seat belt on, he gazed at Niki over his shoulder. Rig had never seen such a soft expression in his brother’s eyes before, but he gues
sed he probably looked the same way whenever he gazed at their woman.

  They were all silent, lost in their own contemplation as Brent drove back to the ranch. Rig didn’t want to leave Niki alone while she slept to catch up on the jobs that needed doing. If she woke up alone in a strange room and bed, he was worried she’d get scared.

  She and Kat had lived in fear their whole lives, and he hoped to alleviate that emotion from Niki totally, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. Maybe just being there for her would be enough.

  Please let it be enough, he prayed to whoever would listen. Normally he wasn’t a praying man, but he’d try anything if it meant that Niki was no longer frightened.

  She’d only been working for them since yesterday, but already she meant so much to him.

  Rig had a feeling the longer he spent around Niki Russo, the faster he was going to fall in love with her.

  He was already well and truly on the way.

  “Let me take her,” Brent said as he opened the back door to the truck. They were home and Hes had gone to unlock and open the front door. Normally they didn’t use the front entrance to the house, but it would be easier to do so now since the front was closer to the bedrooms.

  “I’ve got her.” Rig had already released her seat belt and had her in his arms before Brent had gotten out of the driver’s seat.

  “Make sure you don’t hurt her,” Brent warned as Rig scooted across the seat and placed a foot on the ground. He frowned at his brother because Brent should know that he’d be extra careful while getting out of the truck since he had such a precious bundle in his arms. Making sure no part of Niki’s body touched the frame of the truck, Rig stood. He couldn’t stop himself from gazing down at her beautiful face as she was in a restful pose. She looked so small and innocent. He started walking toward the house and climbed the stairs before stepping inside and kept right on going toward the master bedroom at the end of the hall. The house and land had been in their family for generations and had become theirs after their folks had died. When they’d retired from the Marines, they’d pooled their money, renovated the house so it was modern, fixed the barn and other outbuildings, and bought more cattle.