“No. I want you to find out about my brother. The little shit is hiding something from me, and I want to know what.”

“Have you tried asking him?”

“When I actually talk to him. But he won’t tell me shit.”

“When was the last time you heard from him?”

“Every couple of days he leaves me a voice mail. Sometimes he’ll catch me on the phone. But he won’t tell me where he is. Last time I actually spoke to him was about two weeks ago. Then Petrov told me the night before he died that he saw Mitch at the Chapel. I was hoping he’d come back. That’s why I was there.”

“Okay. We’ll see what we can find out.”

“Thanks.”

“And we’re going to charge you out the ass.”

Brendon looked back out the window, wondering where his long-legged beauty was at the moment—and if she was naked. “Yeah. I figured.”

Ronnie patted her pockets, quickly realizing she didn’t have her room key. But when it appeared in front of her face, she wasn’t exactly surprised. The entire Pack had keys to each others’ rooms.

Pack living—definitely not for everyone.

Grasping it, she turned and smiled up into the handsome face of Bobby Ray Smith. “Thanks, Bobby Ray. Where’d ya find it?”

“At the hospital with your sweater and your jacket and your big fancy textbook.” He stared at her for a moment, then said, “You should have called us, little girl. As soon as things turned bad, you should have called us.”

“I handled it, didn’t I?”

“That’s not the point. You know how some get during the fever. Things could have gone very bad for you, darlin’.”

“I handled it.”

She loved Bobby Ray, but she had enough big brothers in her life. She didn’t plan to add any more to the list. “I’m tired, Bobby Ray.”

“Fair enough. Sorry if I pushed.”

Only Bobby Ray would think of that as pushing. To the Reeds that was general conversation over family dinner before the mauling started. “Don’t worry. If you’d really annoyed me, I would have gone for your throat by now.”

“I always wondered where your brothers got those scars on their necks from.”

“Are they coming out here?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“Probably. At least to visit before they decide. Splitting from a Pack is never easy. And my daddy will make sure it ain’t easy for them.” He nudged her with his shoulder, almost sending her flying through her hotel room door. “Don’t you want ’em out here?”

“I love ’em, but you know my kin. They crowd me. With them around, I’ll never get laid again.”

“You say these things to me, knowing it’s going to make me insane.”

She frowned.“Why should it?”

“Because you and my baby sister have been joined at the hip since before y’all could walk. What one did, so did the other. And I prefer to think of Sissy Mae Smith as virginal and untouched.”

He let her laughter continue until she literally began to roll back and forth across the floor, then he hauled her up and stood her back in front of her door.

“I don’t want to know—ever—what y’all have been up to since I went into the Navy.”

“And we have no intention of telling you, darlin’.” Ronnie wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a happy sigh. That had been the best laugh she’d had in days.

“I still don’t know why the Pack let you go. Y’all were too young to be out on your own.”

“They didn’t have any choice. Besides, we snuck away in the middle of the night. By the time they realized we were gone, we were halfway across the Atlantic.”

Bobby Ray stared at her for a moment. “If your brothers join my Pack, will you leave?”

Ronnie sighed. “I can’t say it hadn’t crossed my mind. I love them boys. You know I do. But my big brothers can be overwhelming men. When they’re around, I no longer exist. I’m just ‘baby sister of the Reed Boys.’”

“You know it won’t be like that here. With or without your brothers, Rhonda Lee, I want you as part of this Pack. You’re a mighty fighter and you are the one person who has a modicum of control over my baby sister. Most important, you’re a good person, Ronnie Lee. And a mighty She-wolf. Stay and be part of this Pack because you belong. We both know you do.”

She belonged. Not as daughter of Clifton Reed or baby sister of the Reed Boys, but because Bobby Ray Smith understood her worth. That meant more to her than anything ever had before.

On impulse, Ronnie went up on her toes and kissed him on his cheek.

“What was that for?” Bobby Ray smirked. “You’re not falling in love with me, are ya, Ronnie Lee? I don’t wanna have to break yet another young She-wolf’s heart, darlin’.”

Ronnie crossed her eyes. “You’re gonna make a great Alpha, Bobby Ray. But you’re an idiot.”

“It’s all right, darlin’. I understand.” He patted her shoulder. “So many have loved and lost me. I couldn’t expect you to be any different.”

“You’re right, Bobby Ray. I’m madly in love with you. My heart may never recover.”

“That explains it then.”

“Explains what?”

Bobby Ray scratched her head affectionately and walked off, tossing over his shoulder, “That reek of cat you’ve got all over you. Cheatin’ on me with some cat to push me from your thoughts and heart. Cat ho.”