Steven was hauled off of Reyna, and she stumbled away from him, gasping. She covered her mouth and watched as he was pushed backward.
“Brian! Drew!” she cried. Her brothers had saved her.
But they weren’t paying attention now. They were focused on Steven. He was outnumbered two to one, and while they had been friends at work, her brothers didn’t take kindly to anyone disrespecting a woman. She had seen them come home bloody more nights than she could count. They were the only people around here that stood up for anyone. They had always stood up for her.
Steven tried to throw a punch, but Brian grabbed his arm, twisted him around, and bent it behind his back. Drew landed a solid punch to his kidney and then another to his face. Then he swept Steven’s feet out from under him. Steven landed in a heap on the hard gravel floor. As he sputtered and tried to straighten himself, Brian kicked him hard in his ribs, and Drew got in a swift kick to the temple. Steven went slack, passing out.
“Brian! Drew! Oh my God, I’ve never been happier to see you!” Reyna cried.
They turned and stared at her. Drew’s eyes widened in recognition first. “Reyna?” he asked, confused.
Dear God, do I look so different in these clothes that even my own brothers don’t recognize me?
She rushed into Drew’s arms and buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and patted her twice on the back. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I can’t believe he would do that.”
“We can’t either. Guy was a jerk. Forget about it. Just tell us where you’ve been. We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Brian touched her arm gently and pulled her back from Drew. “What the hell happened to you?”
Both of their eyes went wide when they got a good look at her. She couldn’t imagine what she looked like to them right now. She wasn’t in the fanciest clothes in her new closet, but it was nicer than anything they had ever seen before. Her skin was practically flawless. Her hair was shiny and smelled like lavender and honey.
“Let’s go home, and I’ll tell you all about it,” she promised.
Brian shook his head and crossed his arms. He was the older of the two, and he always played parent. He had worry lines in his forehead and his mouth was set in a stern frown. It was clear that her absence had done a number on him. He looked too fatigued for someone so young.
“We need to talk now, Reyna. You scared the shit out of us. We had to miss work. We’ll never make that money up! There needs to be some real explaining.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I can explain.”
“Then explain,” Drew said, trying to mold into the same stance as his brother. He had always idolized Brian, but he was so much softer and more artistic. If anyone in her family needed to get away from the warehouses it was Drew. He was too smart and too creative to be stuck in a factory.
“Come on. I have a car waiting for us around the block.”
She glanced around anxiously at the people who were walking out of the factory. They kept looking down at Steven’s body and then up at her new clothes. Rich people were not welcome in this area. They were more likely to get mugged or killed. She should have thought better about this.
“We’re drawing a crowd,” she whispered.
Brian and Drew seemed to get clued in on what she was saying and gestured for her to lead the way.
Drew rushed forward to stand next to her. He leaned over and whispered into her ear. “A car, Rey?”
“I’ll explain at home,” she said sheepishly.
Luckily when they made it back to the car, it was still perfectly intact, the driver still seated inside, not a dent or scratch on the shiny black exterior. Something she couldn’t say about her own appearance. Brian and Drew looked beyond shocked.
“That’s not a car, Reyna,” Brian said. “That’s a very very expensive car. You’re freaking me out.”
When the driver saw them approaching, he hopped out of the front. “Here you are, Miss Carpenter.” He opened the door for her. She smiled at him and tried to avoid the looks her brothers were giving her. This wasn’t going to be fun.
“Reyna, start talking,” Brian demanded once they were inside the car and on the way back to their apartment.
She nodded her head at the driver. “We’ll talk when we’re alone.”
The short drive was tense.
Drew kept a close hold on her as if he thought that she might disappear again, but she knew Brian was seething. He probably realized more than Drew had that something had gone very wrong. And as the patriarch of their family, he was responsible for making sure that didn’t happen. She wanted to reassure him, but the truth was…something had gone very wrong.