Cheyenne’s head snapped around to look at Brendon. His girlfriend?
Okay, so she knew how serious this situation was and how pissed off these three men were, but that simple acknowledgment very easily erased all of her anger.
Hell, it pretty much changed her entire outlook on the day.
chapter EIGHTEEN
Who would’ve thought that he’d be the one to silence a room?
Brendon hadn’t meant to blurt out what had been going through his head since the second Travis stormed the house, a furious man on a mission. But, there it was.
Daring a glance in Cheyenne’s direction, he saw that she was staring back at him wide-eyed. He wished he knew what she was thinking. But he also prayed she wasn’t thinking he was some sort of a lunatic for claiming her like that in front of his brother and his brother-in-law.
“Is that what this is?” Travis asked, but this time his question lacked the heat and accusation the way it had earlier.
“What?” Cheyenne asked, turning back to look at him.
“Are the two of you … together?”
“Yes,” she answered confidently, and that tightness in Brendon’s chest eased somewhat.
Not completely, but enough that he could breathe easier.
Brendon met Travis’s gaze head-on. He wasn’t going to back down this time. It was apparent that Travis didn’t trust him with Cheyenne, but since his oldest brother didn’t have a fucking say in the matter, Brendon tried not to let it bother him. Cheyenne and Travis were friends and he would never attempt to interfere with that. Not as long as Travis understood the boundaries.
However, he also had to keep in mind that he hadn’t set any parameters with Cheyenne regarding this relationship, either. Although he’d claimed her as his, that didn’t mean she was in agreement. Could be that she was just trying to placate Travis for the time being.
His stomach churned at the thought.
Before he could dwell on that any longer, his cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. He met Travis’s questioning gaze as he hit the Talk button and went out onto the back porch for a little privacy.
“What’s up?” he asked Z when he was outside.
“Sorry I couldn’t talk earlier. Tons of shit goin’ on here. But I did want to call and let you know that we’re trackin’ someone. We don’t know for a fact that this is our guy, but I think it’s a safe bet.”
“Where’s this guy at?”
“Well, see, that’s where the problem is. He seems to have disappeared on us momentarily.”
Brendon sighed. He didn’t know anything about the security business, but he assumed it wasn’t a good thing to lose a person of interest. Considering Z was doing this as a favor, Brendon figured it wouldn’t do well to read him the riot act. The guy knew what he was doing.
“So what happens from here?” Brendon asked, keeping his tone calm.
“I’m followin’ another lead, but I need to tell you that it’s a damn good possibility this guy has picked up her trail. I’m sure she thinks she’s secure, but I managed to tie her back to that house she bought down there with little effort. My guess is this asshole has, too. Don’t leave her alone, Bren. Not for a fucking second.”
Brendon’s anger bubbled in his chest. If this bastard thought he was going to get his hands on Cheyenne, well, he better fucking think again. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Oh, and tell your brother to stop lookin’.”
“Huh?”
“Travis,” Z clarified. “I know he’s got some resources with that husband of his bein’ an ex-cop and all, but he’s throwin’ up some red flags. Ask ’em to lay low for now.”
“Will do,” Brendon assured him. “Let me know as soon as you hear somethin’.”
“Absolutely.”
The call ended and Brendon took a deep breath. When he turned to go inside, he found himself face-to-face with Travis. They were alone though, which meant Cheyenne and Gage were inside.
“Who was that?” Travis asked, his gruff question sounding more like a command than a request.
“Z.”
“And?”
Brendon fought the urge to tell Travis to go fuck himself, to let his brother know that he was a grown fucking man and he could easily take care of the woman he loved. “He said they’ve got a suspect. Didn’t give me names. But, they said the guy has temporarily gone off the grid and they’ve lost him.”
“What the fuck?”
“Sniper One is the top security company in the US, I’m not worried. Z will find this asshole. In the meantime, he said that Cheyenne should have someone with her at all times.”