“I know. Still going to do it.” He opens the door to the liquor store, and I stand next to the glass window and watch, hoping my dad hurries up. The man at my side doesn’t say a word, but then again, he doesn’t need to speak for me to know he’s here. His presence is almost overwhelming, and it feels like he’s sucking up all the oxygen, which is making me light-headed.

It takes less than five minutes for my dad to arrive and the minute he pulls into the lot on his Harley, I push open the door, then notice an SUV roll in right behind him.

“Fuck,” my new shadow mutters.

I glance up at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” He walks toward the SUV while I go to where my dad is swinging off his bike.

“Hey kid.” He greets me with a hug that lets me know that everything is going to be okay then asks. “Who’s the guy?”

“I don’t know.” I look at the man in question and watch him talking with the two guys who pulled in behind my dad. I don’t recognize either man but it’s obvious by the familiar way that Mr. Scary is talking to them that they know each other. Both men are around his age and good looking, one with dark blonde hair, clean cut in jeans with a Henley under a vest, and the other wearing an outfit similar to my dad’s and Mr. Scary’s. The second man has longer dark hair and scruff on his jaw and looks a lot like the man talking to him. “You brought reinforcements?”

“There’s been some issues recently with women being targeted, I was with them when you called.” He lets me go. “They wanted to see if the MO is similar.”

“Oh.”

“Where’s the tag?”

“On the ground behind my car.” I follow him to the back of my ride where he bends to pick up the metal disc off the ground and the three guys come to join us.

“Where did you go tonight?” Dad asks.

I shift on my feet feeling all eyes on me. “I was at Cabriana’s with Alec.”

“You’re still seeing that guy?” Dad questions.

I roll my eyes. He never liked Alec, not that he had a reason not to besides the fact that I’m his daughter and Alec is a man.

“Not after tonight,” I mutter then add, “and before you ask, no, he didn’t do anything. It just wasn’t working.” I hear two distinctive chuckles and force myself not to look at the man standing at my side, once again sucking up all the oxygen.

“How’d you know she’d been marked?” Dad asks, focusing about a foot above my head at my side.

“This is my brother, Clay.” The guy with dark blond hair speaks up.

I know my eyes widen because they look nothing alike, like nothing alike.

“As family we’ve spoke about what’s been going on in the city recently.”