safe.
And that was without knowing about the baby.
My baby was in the forefront of my mind, and I thought about telling him about it again. He deserved to know. Originally, when I thought he was just a stripper and I was just a one-night stand, things were different. But now that I saw his family, knew that he wasn’t the type to sleep around, I felt differently. He was responsible and very family oriented. He would want to know.
“Graham, there’s something I should tell you.”
A knock on the door paused my words.
“Yes?” Graham said.
Samuel poked his head in. “Sorry to bother you, but I think you should take a look at something.”
“What is it?” Graham was up and out of his chair in a flash.
“The flood waters are rising. We need to plan for a potential flooding, and if the bridge down the road goes out, an alternate way out of here in case of an emergency.”
“I can’t go look at the bridge right now. As soon as Eli and Doc get back, we’ll figure something out. There’s always the road through the woods.”
“If that one doesn’t flood.”
“It’s in a hundred-year flood plain.”
“From the looks at it, we’re at about year ninety-nine and a half.”
“Dammit,” Graham muttered. “I’m sure we’ll figure out something, but I’ve got bigger problems at the moment.”
“Bigger than potentially being flooded out?”
“Oh yeah, much bigger.”
Samuel crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Graham a dubious stare. Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Out with it, because I’m not sure what else could be more concerning than a flash flood at the moment.”
“How about the Mafia?”
Samuel’s eyes widened. “The Mafia? What in the hell are you talking about?”
Graham sighed and looked at me. Samuel did as well, and I watched as he connected the pieces. “I was going to talk to everyone together once the others got back. But since you’re here, Emmy’s in some trouble and she needs our help.”
I expected Samuel to protest, to say that it wasn’t his problem, that they had bigger problems at the moment. But he took a seat on Graham’s bed facing us and said, “I’m listening.”
I stared in awe as Graham explained the situation to Samuel. Sam nodded along, not saying anything until Graham was finished. Once he was, Samuel stood up.
“Where are you going?” Graham asked.
“Checking the alarm system.”
“But we never turn it off.”
“Better to be safe than sorry.”
Graham nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Stay here, and once the others arrive, we can meet in the kitchen.”
Samuel left the room, and I sat in shock. Graham’s brother hadn’t even batted an eye. He was all-in the moment Graham told him what was going on.
“I don’t think he understands what we’re up against,” I mumbled, worried.
“Nah, Sam knows. I told you we’ve dealt with things like this before.”
I stared at him for a moment. “And what about your other brothers?”
There was a loud noise downstairs that caused me to jump, followed by a bellowing voice. “We’re home.”
Graham cracked a smile. “I guess we’re about to find out now.”
Graham
“Eli, Mason,” Graham said as we stepped into the living room. “Can I have a moment, please?”
“Is everything alright?” Mason asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Where’s Sam?” Eli asked. “We need to talk about the flooding. It’s getting bad.”
“I’m right here,” Sam said as he walked in from the kitchen. “Everything is up and running with the alarm system.”
“Alarm system?” Eli asked, brows furrowing.
“Yeah, we might have a new job on our hands.”
Emmy looked at me, and I felt bad referring to it as a job. It was more than that for me. Her big, brown eyes were wide; she was worried. She didn’t know my brothers the way I did.
“A job?” Eli said. “I thought we were taking a break and relaxing for a while.”
“Yeah, well, something came up,” I said with a shrug. “You don’t have to be in, but you at least need to know what’s going on. Let's go into the dining room.”
Emmy didn’t say anything, but I noticed that she picked up her phone and checked it. Her face paled before she tucked it away again.
“More messages?” I whispered to her. She nodded. “Can I see them?”
Emmy hesitated, but only for a moment before handing her phone to me. They were from her dad.
Emilia, I know you’re in Liberty. It’s the first place they’ll look. You won’t be safe there. You won’t be safe anywhere.
I clenched her phone so tight, I felt like I could crush it with my