Lift You Up (Rivers Brothers 1)

Whereas Atlas and Rush were too busy being younger, chasing skirts, having too much fun to butt their noses into my life, Nixon didn't have much going on outside of work, so he and I hung around with each other the most. And as anyone with siblings knew, the closer you were with them, the more likely they were to poke at you.

"Savvs was filling me in on what happened last night," Nixon said, cutting into the silence of the room - save for the sounds of Savea unpacking Padfoot's meal. "What is the plan for today?"

"I was thinking about checking out the store's security cameras," I supplied. "If they're working," I added, watching as Savea turned, finished.

"They work," she confirmed with a nod. "They're about forty years old and everyone is grainy, but they work."

"Maybe we will catch some voices, names... no?" I asked as her head shook.

"They don't have sound. I know," she added when Nixon and I shared a look. "Believe me, I know. I even tried to talk Harry into buying one of the cheap systems you can get at Costco to upgrade everything. But he claims there is no money for frivolous things like that since there has never been any kind of crime at the store since it opened before I was even born."

"Alright, well, maybe we will catch a plate or something that we can have run," I said, shrugging.

"Or find your no good boss and get information out of him," Nixon added.

"I'm coming, right?" she asked, looking down at her outfit with a grimace.

"I don't..." I started.

"I have to check on the animals!" she nearly shrieked, making both Nixon and I straighten.

"Babe, you were just there a few hours ago," Nixon reminded her. "They're fine."

"They need cage changes and water and food refills."

"Okay, okay. Look, we will all go. You will stay in the car with Nixon. If all is fine when I go in, then you can come in and take care of the animals. But you can't just... go back to work, sweetheart. They know you were there. It's not safe."

"What if you don't find them? What if this goes on? The store can't just stay closed indefinitely."

"No," I agreed. "But if this goes on longer than I planned, we can work something out. One of my brothers or I will be there with you. Or maybe even one of the Mallicks," I said, meaning my brothers-in-law, the loansharks and enforcers. "Someone will be there to protect you until we unravel this. But I am hoping it gets cleared up quickly."

"You can't go home either, obviously," Nixon supplied. "We can maybe pick some of your stuff up, move it in here temporarily."

My stern look only got a smirk from the bastard.

"Oh, I can't... I can't put King out like that," she said, shaking her head. "I could, I don't know, crash with Jamie or Peyton..."

"They work," Nixon went on. "I don't think Kingston - or any of us - would be comfortable with you hanging out in their empty apartments by yourself. You'd be safest here."

She would be just as safe at any of the Mallicks' houses. And I should have spoken up, said that. But my lips couldn't seem to find the words.

"I'm already asking so much..."

"You haven't asked for anything. And I'm offering," I supplied, pretending to ignore Nixon's victorious smile.

He wasn't normally a matchmaker, a life meddler. I didn't know what was going on with him, but we were going to have some words when there weren't ears around.

But, from the sound of things, ears were going to be around for a while.

And I maybe liked the idea of that a little too much.

"I will, ah, make myself useful," she insisted. "Take care of Padfoot. Cook. Clean. Oh, I can maybe help you in the office. Everyone is always saying how much work you have to do. I can help. I can..."

"You don't have to earn your keep, Savvy," I cut her off. I'm... we're happy to help you. Your clothes are in the dryer in the hall closet if you want to get changed before we go."

Twenty minutes later, we were all situated inside Howie's, Nixon and I reviewing tapes, looking for any evidence out back while Savea darted around with a sort of calm, yet hurried, efficiency. Cleaning cages, filling water, supplying food, cleaning filters, letting the cats and birds that were boarding out for a little exercise.

"If they killed him," Nixon started, voice low. He might have been a bit of a callous ass at times, but he had a soft spot for the girls in the extended sort of family circle. "It wasn't here. There's not enough blood."

"Yeah." There were dried spots in the back near the door and one small puddle, one that looked a lot like someone who had lost a tooth and spat out the blood. If we looked, I bet we would find an off-white bit of molar with the shriveled, bloody roots still attached hidden under a shelf.