I took a step back and bumped up against the wall.

“Don’t you think you’ll upset your brother if you hurt me?” I was grasping at straws, but I needed to stall for more time.

“I think he’ll learn to forgive me. After all, we have a bond that can withstand anything,” he said as his arm slowly began to pull his weapon out when we both heard the outer door unlock.

Abel took a step back and fixed his shirt to hide whatever weapon he had as the metal door clicked shut. Cain stepped into the room and froze as his eyes traveled between myself and Abel.

“What are you doing in here, brother,” Cain asked, his tone accusatory.

I sagged with relief at hearing the anger and protective manner of his voice. Strangely, he’d become my protector, not my killer. It was an insane thought to feel safer with him than with the rest of the world, but I did. There was not a single doubt in my mind that he would kill anyone that tried to hurt me, and by the look in his eyes, that also included his brother.

“I came here looking for you,” Abel answered.

“That doesn’t explain what you’re still doing here when you realized I wasn’t. It also doesn’t explain why you’re that close to Kirby after our conversation,” Cain said.

Everything about how he was slowly making his way across the room told me that he was going to snap and there would be a brawl. I’d seen enough bar fights to recognize the tension, but the look in his eyes screamed murder.

“I told him he could wait for you in here. I didn’t think you’d mind,” I said, and both men turned their heads to look at me, but their expressions were completely different. While confusion was on Abel’s face, skepticism was what I got from Cain. “Do you mind? I just thought that with him being your brother and the two of you so close, you’d want him to wait,” I said.

Cain came to stand in front of me, and his look said he didn’t believe a single word I was saying. I swallowed hard. He held out a coffee from Mode that I hadn’t noticed him carrying. “Jorge says, Hi, and he looks forward to seeing you when you get back.”

I took a sip of the coffee and couldn’t stop the moan. “Thank you.”

Cain turned his body to face his brother, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to push more or let the lie stand. “Okay, brother, why did you want to see me?”

“Um…I wanted to know if you could build me a box?”