Free Dirty Little Lies: A Men of Summer Novel by Lora Leigh Page B

him with narrow eyes.
    He’d never spent a lot of time around her. As a matter of fact, whenever she showed up and he was present, he rarely stayed long. A hello, a few quiet smiles, and he was gone.
    He hadn’t let her see him, hadn’t allowed her to know him. No wonder Kenni gave her such odd looks whenever she stated how Zack was so unlike her family. Because Kenni knew better. Because Zack showed her cousin all the things he’d hidden from her.
    From the corner of her eye, she caught the wary look Cord gave her. He’d been doing that a lot since the day before. Watching her with that faint expression he used whenever they were arguing. She was completely infatuated with a man who thought that because she was smaller and weaker physically, she was somehow weak-minded as well.
    Her lips tightened at the thought.
    She was not weak-minded, though it appeared where Zack was concerned, she’d definitely been using blinders.
    And she was tired of being ignored.
    “Did the three of you forget I’m standing here?” she asked in what she considered a perfectly reasonable tone. “If we’re not leaving the foyer, then I’m going back to my room to rest my leg for a while because I’m tired of watching you whisper around like three gossiping little girls.”
    It wasn’t really hurting, just aching a little, and her leg wasn’t the reason she was feeling put out by the three of them.
    Zack turned to her slowly, his expression borderline incredulous. “Like what?”
    Vinny was a little smarter where she was concerned, though. “Sorry, Gracie,” her uncle called over to her, an apologetic smile on his face as Cord moved toward her. “We’re finished.”
    “Were we?” Zack murmured, eyeing the stubborn stance Grace had taken by the front door. “I’m still considering the ‘gossiping girls’ comment.”
    She didn’t look particularly uncomfortable—more defensive, perhaps—but that was Grace whenever he was around. Yet she had Vinny and Cord ready to jump through hoops.
    Those green eyes of hers gleamed between heavy lashes a few shades darker than the multihued blond hair she’d pulled back from her face while the sides and back tumbled in rich waves to just past her shoulders. Loose beige pants and a soft white shirt completed her outfit, and once again she was wearing flat sandals rather than heels. A reminder of the attack that had that responding surge of fury threatening to break free.
    “Shut the hell up, Zack,” Cord muttered. “Let’s not piss her off any more than she already is.”
    Ire flashed in her gaze and tightened her lips, almost causing him to smile. She hadn’t liked being pushed out of the conversation he, Vinny, and Cord were having. She’d waited longer than he expected her to before protesting, though.
    “Go easy on her, Zack,” Vinny ordered. “Give her a chance to acclimate.”
    Rather than commenting, Zack joined Cord in lifting her suitcases and carrying them out into the late-summer sunlight to the back of his pickup.
    There was no way in hell she’d make it if he went easy on her. Vinny and Cord seemed hesitant to allow her any part in her own protection or to make her an integral part of the investigation. Hell, they’d argued to keep as much information from her as possible.
    She was stronger than they seemed to be giving her credit for. He’d always known that. Perhaps not strong enough for his way of life, but stronger than she appeared. That Maddox strength was more than apparent despite the impression she gave of always bowing to Vinny’s temper.
    She wasn’t bowing today; she was glaring at all of them as she made her way from the house to the truck, surrounded by several of the Kin, who shadowed her the second she left the house.
    And she knew why they were there. To protect her with their own lives if necessary. And she hated it. Zack could see the fear and anger when her gaze met his, that knowledge that the four men walking beside her would lay down their