Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers)

“Bach.”
    “Beethoven.”
    Dammit, he was right. She could never get the right composers. The door opened and she stepped out and turned right. She walked the length of the hall to the end unit.
    “Is this it?” Cy asked as they came to a stop in front of her door.
    “No. I just stopped here for fun.” Gemma put her key in and hid her smile when she heard Cy snicker. Most people didn’t appreciate her smartass side.
    Gemma opened her door and felt the cool air conditioning hit her. Cy’s hand gently wrapped around her wrist and squeezed, silently urging her behind him. It was only then that she noticed he had a gun in his hand. Gemma watched as he efficiently went through her small apartment checking all the rooms. It sure looked like he was a professional. Of course, he could just be a really good actor. The town was full of them, after all.
    “It’s all clear. Pack whatever you need. You have five minutes and then we need to be out of here.”
    Gemma rolled her eyes as Cy went to the window and looked down at the front entrance of the building. He looked so big in her small place. He seemed to fill it, and it wasn’t his height or his wide shoulders. He just possessed an aura about him that radiated confident male.
    Gemma grabbed some food for Fred, his leash, and a bowl and stuffed them into a tote bag. She poured out the milk from her fridge and headed back to her small bedroom. The bed filled most of it and she couldn’t resist sitting down for a minute. Gia had helped her pick out the comforter. Tears welled in her eyes. It felt as if everything she knew was being ripped away—her sister, her apartment, and her comforter—everything.
    “It’ll be okay. I promise, I’ll keep you safe and find out who did this.” She heard his low voice drift over her as she looked up and found Cy leaning against her door watching her.
    “It’ll never be okay. Everything has been taken from me. What do I have left?” Gemma turned her head, not wanting Cy to see her tears.
    “You have everything left. It hurts now and it’ll always hurt. But if your sister was anything like mine, then she’d want you to experience life, love, and kids. Let me help you find these men and bring them to justice for your sister. I'll show you just how much you have left.”
    Gemma felt the tears flow down her cheeks as she listened to him. Her eyes connected with the picture of her and Gia smiling at their last birthday. Cy was right about something. She did have something left—vengeance.
     
    Cy watched as she wiped the tears from her face before turning back to him. With a nod she stood up and promptly bent over to dig under her bed, leaving Cy with a great view of her rear end. With a mental groan, he turned and headed out of the room.
    He picked up Fred and started looking at the pictures she had on her mantel as he waited for her to finish packing. It was obvious she was very close to her sister as he looked at pictures of them as kids, teenagers, in college, and more recently.
    “Hey.” Cy turned toward the bedroom as he heard her voice call out to him. “Can you put all those pictures in this bag? I just need to grab my bathroom stuff and I'll be ready to go.”
    Cy caught the bag she tossed at him and quickly stuffed the pictures into it. By the time he was finished packing all the pictures from the apartment, Gemma was walking out of the bedroom with a duffel bag over her shoulder. Cy hiked up the bag with the pictures and bent down to pick up Fred who was balancing on his hind legs begging to be held.
    “Ready?” he asked.
    Gemma tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked around her place one last time. “I’m ready.”
    Cy opened the door and looked out into the empty hallway. Taking the lead, he walked by the stairs and to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited as the elevator came from the floor above.
    He looked at Gemma standing next to him and saw the doorknob from the stairwell turn. “Do any of your neighbors use the stairs?”
    “Hmm?” Gemma asked. She had obviously been deep in thought. The barrel of a gun coming out of the slowly opening door answered his question.
    “Get back!” Cy shoved Gemma behind him and against the doors of the elevator. He shifted Fred into his left arm and pulled his gun in one movement. The door flew open as the man scanned the hallway.
    Cy fired off a shot and hit the doorjamb. The man jumped back but stuck his arm out and fired blindly. Fred growled in