Vengeance (The Protectors 5)

And I suspected that any kiss Memphis laid on me would blow that one naïve, clumsy kiss out of the water.

“Memphis,” I whispered as he continued to hold me. His eyes snapped to mine and then he suddenly released me.

“Sorry about that,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. “Tink loves going for walks.”

It took me a moment to register what he was saying and disappointment flooded my veins. I could barely function after that simple contact and he was talking about his cat? God, I really was an awkward, fumbling mess.

“It’s okay,” I said shakily, my breath still whooshing in and out of me like I’d just run a marathon.

I followed Memphis down the stairs and sure enough, Tink was sitting patiently at the bottom, her yellow-green eyes on us as we descended. As soon as we started walking, she darted ahead of us.

“Is it safe for her out here?” I asked as the cat rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

“Oh yeah, she doesn’t go far. Watch,” he said as he motioned to the curve of the trail. Sure enough, within a couple seconds, Tink came running back towards us. “I think she thinks she’s a dog,” Memphis said with a chuckle.

“You said you got Tink for your sister for her birthday?”

Memphis stiffened slightly next to me, but I was surprised when he answered. “Yeah, Janie had been asking for a cat for years, but my parents weren’t sure if she could take care of a pet.”

“Why? How old was she?”

Memphis glanced at me and I didn’t miss the pain in his eyes. “She was twenty-one.”

The answer surprised me, but before I could even respond, Memphis said, “She was developmentally disabled. She had the emotional age of a nine-year-old and couldn’t live on her own, so she lived with our parents.”

I didn’t really know what to say so I reached out to brush my hand over his arm. I was glad when he didn’t pull away. “I bet she loved it when you gave Tink to her.”

Memphis smiled and I felt my heart leap in my chest at how it changed his entire countenance. “She did.” Memphis laughed and then said, “When I got to my parents’ house, I got Tink out of the car…I’d put her in a box that I’d already wrapped with wrapping paper, but I’d left the top open until just before I was ready to give it to her. Tink was about four months old so she wasn’t tiny or anything, but I thought for sure she couldn’t get out of the box. So I put the box in the laundry room while I got the other presents from my car. My mom didn’t notice the box so she left the door open. When it was time to open presents, I went to get the her, but the box was empty.”

I smiled both at the story and the way Memphis lit up as he told it.

“So me and my stepdad are frantically searching the house for this cat while my mom is trying to distract Janie. Then my mom puts the TV on to keep Janie busy and starts helping us. We spent a whole hour looking everywhere and when we finally give up, figuring the cat had gotten outside somehow, we went back into the living room only to see Janie sitting on the couch, Tink asleep on her lap.”

I laughed and watched as Memphis scooped Tink up in his arms. The cat pressed against him affectionately. “Janie thought God had given Tink to her for her birthday,” Memphis murmured, his mood sobering a bit.

“Did you ever tell her the truth?”

Memphis shook his head. “No.” He put Tink back on the ground and the cat walked in between us.

Before I could even consider whether I should keep asking him about his family like I wanted, my phone dinged and I pulled it from my pocket to see who it was.

“It’s Brennan,” I murmured as I texted back letting him know I was awake and feeling good. I glanced up at Memphis and said, “He worries about me a lot.” I laughed awkwardly. “I guess he has good reason to…I really messed up.”

“You got in over your head,” Memphis said quietly. “It happens.”

I nodded half-heartedly and tucked the phone back in my pocket.

“Why didn’t you tell him what was happening sooner?” Memphis asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the ground. “I didn’t want to admit how stupid I’d been.”

“Tristan-”

“Don’t,” I interrupted him. “It was stupid…maybe not when I initially contacted Ray, but everything that came after was.” I risked a look up at Memphis and saw his dark eyes were studying me. I shuddered at the flare of electricity that shot through me and quickly forced my eyes on the trail again.

“The worst part is I didn’t even think about the danger I was putting Brennan in. I mean…what if he’d been the one at home when Ray and those guys showed up the first time?” I felt my chest thump painfully at the thought of what could have happened to him. “I never would have been able to live with myself if something had happened to him,” I whispered as I reached up to rub my chest.