Page 53 of Never and Always
Into Everett’s face.
His mouth was a flat line, and he looked pissed.
Uh-oh.
Allie and Tessa scrambled out of the backseat.
“Have you lost your mind?” Caden said, his voice a low roar.
Allie straightened. “Caden?—”
“We have a kid who depends on us. You’ve been in the sights of bad guys before and you’re looking to repeat that?”
“I’m to blame,” I said quickly.
“I told you to stay in the hotel,” Everett clipped. “Where you’d be safe.”
“He’s my brother. I have to find him.”
A muscle ticked in Everett’s jaw.
“It’s not safe for Piper to stay out here.” Caden started herding Allie toward a large, black Yukon. It was one of the hotel’s SUVs. Ro already had an arm around Tessa and his other hand at Sierra’s back.
I took a step to follow.
“No, you’re with me.” Crowding me close, Everett started toward his truck parked nearby.
“Everett—”
“Quiet.” He got me in the passenger side, then slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Anger throbbed off him so hard I could feel it. “I wore a wig.”
He made a low, growling sound. Then he reached over and yanked the wig off.
I huffed out a breath and finger-combed my hair.
Back at the hotel, he pulled into a parking spot right by the employee entrance. I pushed open the car door and slid out.
“I am an adult, you know. I didn’t think someone would try and grab me, in the middle of a group, in the middle of the day.”
Suddenly, he was there, backing me up against his truck. I gasped and grabbed his arms.
“You have no idea who these people are. You know your brother owes them a lot of money and they had no qualms about attacking an innocent woman. They could do anything.”
My chest hitched. Shit, I hadn’t exactly thought that all through. “Everett?—”
He gripped my jaw, forced me to meet his angry eyes. “You put yourself at risk, and the others.”
My stomach flip-flopped.
“Someone could have taken you, and I wouldn’t have been close enough to help. Wouldn’t know where they’d have taken you.”
Now, something inside me melted. I was usually the one who worried and took care of others. I wasn’t used to someone worrying about me. “I’m okay.”
“They could have taken you, hurt you?—”
“Everett,” I whispered.
