‘Yep.’ Scarlett’s lips twitched. ‘And she really hates to be referred to like that. She says it makes her feel like Harriet Potter.’

Marcus chuckled. ‘Okay, I won’t say that to her face.’ He sighed, sobering. ‘I read about her injuries after I got out of ICU. I wanted to do something to help her, but I wasn’t sure what. Jeremy found out that she ran a dog shelter and suggested a donation. He also sent some of his students from the university to take care of the animals until they were placed. Since some of the students were pre-vet, it was a good match. The animals got care and the students got volunteer credits.’

‘That was kind of him. Delores’s first concern when she came out of her coma was the dogs in her shelter.’

‘Jeremy is a very kind man. He always has been. For Stone and me, he was the dad he didn’t have to be. He took on someone else’s kids and made them his own, even though he was barely grown himself.’

She glanced over again. ‘I called him this morning, looking for you when you didn’t answer my messages.’

‘I know. He called and told me. He was pissed off that I’d worried everyone. Especially you. He said you sounded scared.’

‘I was. Not so much for you at that point. I was more concerned. But I was scared to talk to him,’ she admitted. ‘Afraid that I’d bring back bad memories for him. But if I did, he hid it well. He was the perfect gentleman.’

‘I don’t think you can bring back bad memories, Scarlett. Not for any of us. We haven’t forgotten Mikhail or the pain of losing him, so there’s nothing to remember. It’s with us every day.’ He paused a long moment and she could feel him watching her. ‘So if that was stopping you from calling before, put it out of your mind.’

She swallowed, well aware that he was no longer speaking of his uncle, but of himself. ‘Good to know,’ she murmured. ‘But back to Delores.’

‘Of course. She who shall not be named “the woman who lived”. Does she know I’m coming with you?’

‘Yes. She said she was looking forward to meeting you. That you were the only O’Bannion sibling she hadn’t yet met.’

Marcus’s mouth fell open. ‘What? You mean Audrey . . . and Stone?’

‘Yep.’ Scarlett had been completely stunned by the information as well. ‘Audrey’s visited her several times since she got out of the hospital. Even did a fund-raiser for her shelter. That girl is wicked smart with fund-raising.’

‘She learned from my mom, so she learned it from the best.’ He shook his head hard. ‘Stone too?’

‘Stone too. He visited her while she was still in the hospital and here at the shelter. Took her flowers and chocolate and even a stuffed animal dog. She said he was sweet.’

Marcus snorted. ‘Sweet? Stone?’

Scarlett grinned. ‘Yeah, that made me chuckle too.’ She sobered abruptly. ‘Anyway, she’s still recovering. The bullet didn’t do as much damage as her hitting her head when she was thrown to the asphalt. And the massive blood loss, of course. She was very nearly dead when she was discovered. Her speech is still a little slurred and she doesn’t move as fast as she once did, but she is moving. If you try to help her, she’ll snarl at you. She is fiercely independent. She’s also a hugger, so if you’re not a hugger, you’ll need to deal with it.’

‘I’m not, but I can make an exception. Anything else?’

Scarlett sighed. ‘She still spooks easily, so don’t come up behind her. He . . . did that. Came up behind her in that parking lot.’

‘So noted,’ he said grimly. ‘How did she survive? I mean, she was shot in the back of the head. People don’t normally survive that.’

‘She was shot point-blank, which actually was the critical saving factor, believe it or not. It was one of those weird medical marvel things. Deacon’s sister was working in the ER at the time. She said even the director of the ER had only seen this happen a half-dozen times in his twenty-five-year career. She must have tilted her head to the side at the last minute, so that the bullet hit her skull at the perfect angle. Rather than penetrating bone, it kind of skimmed over it, traveling in the space between the skin and the skull. Her exit wound was near her temple, but it was truly only a flesh wound.’

She glanced over to see him frowning at her. ‘You are bullshitting me,’ he said.

She shook her head. ‘I swear it’s true. You can ask Deacon. Just don’t ask Delores. She’s not ready to talk about it yet.’

‘I will. Ask Deacon, I mean. And I won’t ask Delores. So how do you know her? Did you visit her in the hospital too?’

‘Only once. I was busy while you all were lounging in hospital beds eating yummy Jell-O.’ She let out a quiet sigh. ‘There were a lot of bodies to identify when the dust settled.’ She cleared her throat brusquely. ‘I got to know Delores better once she’d reopened her shelter. Dani and Faith adopted dogs and dragged me along. I got suckered into taking one home with me too.’

‘That’s nice,’ he said quietly. ‘Really nice.’

‘Not really. Zat gives more to me than he gets, I’m afraid.’

‘Yeah, I get that. BB – the dog I’ve been walking in the park – belonged to Mikhail. I didn’t want her at first, but nobody else would take her. Stone says he’s allergic, and Audrey, while wicked smart with fund-raising, isn’t exactly Miss Dependable. She’d forget to feed her or walk her. Jeremy’s been busy getting Keith back on his feet.’ Marcus shoved his fingers through his hair, suddenly agitated. ‘And Mom . . . she couldn’t even look at the dog without bursting into tears, even when she was sober.’

‘So you took BB,’ Scarlett said, trying to soothe the hurt that obviously ran deep. This wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned his mother and her sobriety issues.

‘Yeah. It’s good not to come home to an empty apartment,’ he admitted.

‘Or an empty house.’ Scarlett pulled off the main road and on to a badly paved driveway, wincing when the car hit one of the many potholes in their path. ‘Sorry. Delores’s driveway is hell on these shocks. I should have brought the Tank.’

‘That thing still runs?’ he asked, then froze. ‘Shit,’ he added in a mutter.

Stunned, Scarlett slowed to a stop in front of Delores’s house, turning in her seat to stare at him. He averted his face, assiduously staring out the window. ‘Marcus? Look at me.’

‘I don’t think I want to,’ he mumbled, startling a laugh from her.

‘Well you damn well better, anyway.’ She waited until he had, guilty expression on his face. ‘How do you know about my Tank?’

‘I might have seen it . . . in your driveway.’ He winced. ‘Once or twice.’

She continued to stare. ‘You drove by my house? Twice?’

‘Or so.’

‘How did you even know where I live?’

His wince became an annoyed glare. ‘Please. Don’t insult me. A five-year-old could find your address. I didn’t stalk you. Didn’t sit outside and watch you. I just . . . drove by.’

She was torn between being appalled and idiotically aroused. ‘How many times, Marcus? How many times is “or so”?’

‘Four times in nine months. That’s all.’

‘But . . . why?’

His gaze dropped and he didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he exhaled on a deep sigh. ‘I was curious.’

She swallowed, trying to dislodge her heart from her throat. ‘About?’

He looked up, met her eyes, and it was like a sucker punch straight to her sternum. ‘You.’ His mouth curved. Not quite a smile, but so damn sexy that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. ‘Why? Weren’t you curious too? Even just a little?’

Her face grew hot, despite the cool air coming out of the car’s vents. ‘Maybe a little,’ she admitted, then closed her eyes. ‘Or maybe a lot.’ Her eyes still closed, she flinched when his thumb glided over her cheek, but when his palm cupped her jaw, she leaned into his touch. ‘Okay,’ she conceded huskily. ‘A whole lot.’

His deep chuckle sent a shiver down her spine. ‘Good. I was starting to die over here.’