Page 41 of Journey To Sunrise

“Well, I guess you’re in agreement.” He barked some more, and that’s when I looked up and saw another car in the driveway. “What the hell?”

The garage door was open. I fumbled for my phone and pressed in Zarek’s number. He answered on the first ring.

“Somebody’s at the house.”

“I know, Cupcake. It’s me. You’re outside with Slayer, right?”

“Yes, I took him for a walk.”

“Stay outside. I’ll come out in a minute, okay?”

He sounded pissed off.

Before I could respond, he hung up.

What the hell?

Well, time for the old Chloe to step up. I sure wasn’t going to just stand outside with my thumb up my ass. Something was up. I peeked inside the sedan and saw the paperwork for the rental car agency in the backseat. I’d bet my bottom dollar that it was one of my family who was inside with Zarek. He was mad because I was being ambushed.

But I could handle Zoe—this was my sister and my problem, not his. I looked down at Slayer. “Come on, boy. Time for you to meet my twin. Let’s see how you handle two of us.”

I went through the garage and started opening the kitchen door when I heard angry male voices.

I winced and took a step back.

“You’ve put us off long enough.”

“If she wanted to see you, she would have called.” Zarek’s voice was icy.

“Look, Post, if she were getting better like you said, she would have reached out to one of us. The fact that she hasn’t proves that you’re just letting her hide out and wallow. I know about PTSD. She needs a doctor. She needs a support system.” Even though Drake was practically yelling, I could hear the desperation in his voice. My heart melted at the amount of caring my big brother was showing.

“Drake, I’m not going to argue with you. You’re her brother. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but we haven’t. You’ll have to trust me that she’s getting better and she’ll tell you what she wants, when she wants.”

“Zarek, you have to understand why we’re here.” That was Evie talking. I gripped the doorknob so hard I thought either the brass would dent or the bones in my hand would break. “We have to see for ourselves. We love her.”

“If you loved and respected your sister, you would have given her the time and space she wanted.”

“She would have been in my face if the positions were reversed,” Evie said quietly.

“I would not,” I yelled from the kitchen.

Three heads swiveled towards me. Evie and Drake rushed forward and Slayer immediately jerked against his leash, barking like crazy. Drake halted, his hands in the air. When Evie continued moving forward Drake grabbed her.

“Settle!” Zarek commanded. He said it again, and this time Slayer must have heard him, because he immediately stopped barking, and sat down. Zarek took the leash out of my hand. “You did good, Cupcake.” He dropped a quick kiss on my forehead, right on my scar.

He turned his attention to the dog. “Come, Slayer.” He took him to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. “Out.”

“Zarek, he needs fresh water,” I said. “I ran him pretty ragged at the park.”

“He can wait a few more minutes. We still have a family reunion to get through.”

“That dog is a menace.” Evie said.

“Actually, Evie, he’s really well-trained. In his mind, we descended on his mistress, and he went into protection mode. He responded perfectly.” Drake defended Slayer.

I smiled at my big brother, then looked at Zarek for confirmation.

“He’s right. Bouvier des Flandres are highly devoted to those people they consider theirs and will go down fighting to protect them. I was happy for you to have that added layer of protection.”