“So where is she? Why haven’t you brought her in here?”
Now that I had a chance to think about it—what I had to say wasn’t going to go down well with this crowd.
“She’s in the kitchen with Isabelle. I just wanted to come in here and make sure…you guys…cut her some slack.”
There was complete silence in the room for about sixty seconds. Then Aidan cleared his throat.
“You think we should trust her?” he asked.
“When you have no proof if she’s a spy working for Aldo fuckin’ Baron, or not,” Killian continued.
“I’m not telling you to trust her, I’m just reminding you she’s a girl who doesn’t belong to this world. All this is new to her. She’s…uncomfortable. A little scared.”
Colin clenched his jaws tightly while Nolan visibly squared his shoulders. I sensed my brothers were frustrated. And the truth was—they had every right to be. In our business, we were trained to never trust anyone at face value. And right now, all I had to go on was Elsie’s version of a story.
But before anyone else spoke up, it was Dad who broke the silence.
“You don’t have to remind us how to behave, son. We, as Dohertys, always treat women with respect when they deserve it. As of now, this girl hasn’t done anything to make us believe she doesn’t deserve our respect, so that’s what she’ll get.”
I nodded at him. Now that Dad had publicly stated how the rest of them were supposed to behave with Elsie, I knew I didn't have to worry.
I glared at Killian and Colin and walked out of the room.
The last thing I wanted was to be at loggerheads with my brothers over a chick. This had never happened before and I didn’t intend on letting it fester.
Either way, I just wanted to find out the truth about Elsie so we could all move on with our lives.
When I went to the kitchen to get Elsie, I saw her sitting with Isabelle at the table. They shared a sandwich from a single plate. All of a sudden, Elsie seemed at ease with my sister. That was the power of Isabelle, and I was glad I arranged for them to spend some time together. I wanted Elsie to feel better about herself and the place she was now in.
They looked up at me when I walked in.
“You need to come with me,” I said to her in my most ‘professional’ sounding voice. Elsie tried to hide the lump in her throat she gulped down.
“Where are you taking her?” Isabelle asked, sounding a little worried.
“To meet our brothers and father,” I answered.
Elsie walked over to me quietly and Isabelle stood up.
“You’ll be fine, just be yourself. I know that’s easier said than done, but the truth is, these guys are all big softies on the inside, as much as they try to keep up their tough exterior.” Isabelle grinned at me while I glared at her.
Elsie passed her a weak smile, but Isabelle’s encouraging words wouldn’t help her now. She was already too nervous for that.
We walked out of the kitchen together and Elsie stopped in her tracks in the hallway.
“What do they want to know?”
“Your story. Tell them what you told me. Tell them everything you know. They want to figure out if they can trust you.”
“But even you haven’t figured out if you can trust me. Why should they?”
I reached for her, grabbing her elbow.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” I said, leading her to my father’s office.
Elsie walked in and the room fell silent. All eyes were on her and I could only guess what she felt. The entire Doherty clan held her in judgement. She had nowhere to hide.
As much as I wanted to protect her from their piercing gazes and judgmental stares, there was one thing I knew about my family—and it was they’d be able to sniff out a spy.
The next half an hour could very well be the most crucial time of Elsie’s life. If she won their respect and trust, it’d mean they’d trust and respect her all their lives. She wouldn’t have to go through this again.
And maybe…it’d put my mind at ease too.
Basically, I presented a girl to my family, seeking their approval. Even though I didn’t look at it that way. Elsie was just a part of my job.
“This is Elsie Harlow. This is the girl who rescued Davey, saved our nephew’s life,” I said.
I hadn’t planned on introducing her that way, but I knew I had to. I needed to make one last-ditch attempt at protecting her before it was out of my hands.
Elsie stood in the middle of the room with her hands clasped together. I stood beside her, even though I didn’t need to. I wanted to be physically present for her as she stood under the burning glare of the rest of my family.
Dad started the questioning after making some casual introductions around the room. Elsie looked nervous, she fidgeted with her hands, tucked her hair over and over again behind her ears. Her voice faltered as she spoke to our father, answering his introductory questions.
Who was she?
Who were her parents?
What was her connection to Aldo?
What was her profession?
What did Aldo do to her family?
Where had she lived since then?
What kind of work did he make her do?
They weren’t questions I hadn’t asked her already, and she replied to each question with the answers she’d given me. She was consistent with her answers and never faltered.
Slowly, with every word that escaped her lips, I saw she’d picked up courage to meet everyone’s eye. I felt the heat coming off her body. That was how close together we stood.
I knew my brothers judged me for it. I had no reason to physically show my support of her. I had no reason to trust her.
