She stiffened and he thought she was going to demand he put her down. But then she relaxed into him.
“There are laws here in Escana about harming women,” Caleb told her. “All females are well protected. Guarded fiercely. Especially by their harems. Anyone who harms a female, well, their harem has the right to demand a severe punishment. It’s a bit trickier since it’s a woman who attempted to hurt you. And it wasn’t technically in Escana. Although I think the fact that it was the princes’ private airplane and she is their employee means that Escanaian laws apply. She’s lucky she is a woman. She wouldn’t want to suffer the punishment a man would be given.”
“I just don’t want to create any more issues,” she said quietly.
“This isn’t your fault,” Aleki told her gently.
Caleb eyed her then stepped forward to tilt up her chin. “You look tired, jelly bean.”
“She needs a nap,” Wolfe stated.
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I already had so much on my mind. Now there’s this. Plus, there’s the funeral tomorrow.”
; Caleb cleared his throat. “Tonight.”
“What?” She stiffened.
“The funeral is tonight our time. At ten,” Caleb said gently.
“Let me down, please.”
Aleki reluctantly set her on her feet, holding onto her hips.
“You weren’t going to tell me?” she asked.
“We just did,” Wolfe said.
Uh-oh.
She narrowed her gaze then pointed her finger at Wolfe. “Wolfe Callahan, do not think that you can keep important things from me. I needed to know this.”
“You’re not supposed to be stressing,” Wolfe pointed out.
“I’d rather know what is going on than be kept in the dark and have things sprung on me! Can I watch it? Has my dad made any statements about me? Shit. He has to be looking for me, right?”
“Vivi, calm down,” Caleb told her.
“You can’t keep this stuff from me, Caleb.”
Caleb held his hands up. “Nobody is keeping things from you.”
“I don’t believe you.” She glared up at him.
“Cranky, she needs a nap,” Wolfe commented.
“Grr, I’m not cranky. I don’t need a nap. What I do need is to not have things hidden from me.” Turning, she limped her way out of the door, shutting it behind her.
“Cranky,” Wolfe stated.
Caleb stared after her with narrowed eyes. “She’s probably not wrong.”
They shot their gazes to him. “We didn’t want her to stress, but having things sprung on her is stressful. And we don’t want to make the mistakes of the past. If there’s a threat to her, then she needs to know about it so she can protect herself.”
“But we protect her,” Wolfe stated.
“And what about if we’re not here?” Caleb asked gently.