Her eyes popped open again.

"Not now," he said. "Not tomorrow. Not for the foreseeable future. Anything else you need to know before you explain?"

Her mouth opened, but she had to think what to say. "I meant will you let me up-"

"The answer is still no."

Resentment left her bristling.

"Sorry, girl, but I like you right where you are. Now talk to me."

"Fine." It seemed he only called her "girl" when sexually charged. "I don't have any brothers or sisters."

Doubt and suspicion tightened his mouth. "Cherry-"

"I don't!" If he accused her of lying, she'd- Cough.

Damn. Her raised voice brought it on, and once she started coughing, she couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Denver moved quickly to her side, then helped her to sit up. He stayed beside her, one hand bracing the middle of her back. "Slow, shallow breaths."

When the fit subsided a little, he stood and walked out of her room but returned seconds later with a glass of water. Again he sat by her, causing the bed to dip so that she tilted into him. With his arm around her, keeping her close, he handed her the glass.

She sipped.

"The nasty cough is going to hang around a few days, so try not to screech at me anymore."

Her glare, she hoped, was more effective than a screech.

But given his smile, maybe not.

He relieved her of the glass, looped both arms around her, and said, "I only met Carver, Gene and Mitty today."

Just hearing their names made her skin crawl. She would have launched herself away from Denver, but apparently he'd been prepared for that because she didn't manage to get a single inch of space between them.

Denver drew her against him. "I hope it's true, that they're not related to you. But could you tell me why they claimed to be, and why you freaked out over it?"

"I didn't-"

"Total freakout, girl. Don't deny it, okay?"

Hedging, she asked, "Why were you talking to them?"

"You first."

If she weren't so weak, she'd elbow him, hard, right in the middle. "They're part of the foster family that took me in after my folks were killed."

His stroking hands paused, but only for a moment, then they resumed. "Huh. I hadn't figured on that. Actually, I hadn't thought far enough ahead to wonder who had raised you."

"It wasn't them," she assured him with more sarcastic bite than she intended. No, instead of becoming family support they'd been another hardship-the worst one that she'd had to endure. "I was already fourteen and I raised myself."

"So..." Denver tipped her back to see her. "I take it you don't like them?"

Dislike didn't even come close to conveying how she felt about them. She loathed, despised, detested them.

And she feared them. Horribly.

Saying all that would leave her emotionally raw, so she settled on a less volatile truth. "I'll be happy if I never see them again."

"Tell me why."

Cherry shook her head. Even sick, she refused to be a complete pushover. "It's your turn. Why and when did you meet them?"

"They were hanging around the hotel we just left."

Alarm squeezed her throat and she almost lost her breath again.

Standing, Denver stared down at her, visibly pondering her reaction. "Armie overheard them ask about you. When he questioned them, it didn't go well. He tussled with them, and then he told me."

Oh God. "They tussled?" Shock kept her voice a whisper of sound. They were looking for her. Had Armie inadvertently put himself on their radar? No, no, no.

Seeing the alarm she couldn't hide, Denver crossed his arms. "Don't worry about Armie. He's fine."

"But-"

"The next morning, I saw some disreputable-looking dudes watching me in the hotel, figured it was them and decided to ask a few questions."

Good Lord, was he nuts? "Why in the world would you do that?"

Denver held up a hand. "You aren't up for a long convo, honey, so forget it. The bare bones are that they claimed to be your brothers and wanted me to lead them to you. I already told you that I didn't like the looks of them, but I also figured siblings would have your number, right? Unless you were avoiding them for a reason." He shrugged. "So I said no."

And yet he was here to tell her about it. There must be a reason they hadn't attacked him.

She knew they still could.

"How did they know we were...friends?"

"I'm guessing Phelps. They were probably asking around until they found someone who knew you."

Leese Phelps. She worried for him, but other, bigger worries took precedence.

"They'd already seen me in the hotel," Denver said. "It didn't take a genius to know you were there, too."

She rubbed her temples, trying to wrap her mind around it.

"They left you a message on the hotel room phone. You must have slept through their call."

Her head snapped up and she stared at him. "Do you know what they said?"

"That you needed to get in touch." His eyes narrowed. "To be exact, the caller said you shouldn't fuck around."

Closing her arms around herself, Cherry resisted the urge to rock in restless anxiety. She didn't want to be in touch. One demand always led to another and another until... "When?"

"By tonight."

In other words: now.

Denver stood there looking at her, so she had to say something that didn't give away every awful emotion she felt. She sat up a little straighter and looked him in the eyes. "I'll take care of it."

Maybe seeing too much despite her attempt at bravado, Denver shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't."

It'd be so easy to let him guide her-but he didn't know them, didn't understand the situation and what could happen if she ignored a summons now that they'd actually found her. She'd thought they'd given up on her, had prayed it was so. Instead, they'd tracked her down.

Never had she felt so lost.

"We'll work it out, okay?"

Cherry blinked away the fog. We, as in the two of them? God, no. He'd taken care of her, driven her home, been downright amazing. But this was different.

No way would she further involve him with her twisted, redneck foster brothers. Brothers. She laughed at the absurdity of the concept, then slapped a hand over her mouth when apprehension brought Denver closer. No, they were no relation to her, not in any way at all.

Thank the heavens.

Somehow, she'd deal with them. "It's my problem."

Denver studied her. "You must be feeling a little better."

Just because she didn't agree with everything he said? "I am."

"There's more." He propped a shoulder against the wall. "I hope it won't hurt you, but I think you need to know."

What else could there be? She waited, braced for the worst.

"They said their pops had passed away."

Breath left her and her shoulders slumped-this time with relief. No, she hadn't wished anyone dead. She'd only wished to be free of them. But she wouldn't mourn, either. "Thank you for telling me."

Tone thick with irony, he replied, "You're welcome."

Why did they want to see her? Not because they thought she cared. They knew better. So then what?

"Will you promise me something?"

Not trusting that silky tone, she eyed Denver warily. "I don't know. What?"

"Promise me you won't contact them." Pushing away from the wall, he stalked closer. "Promise me you'll take your meds, rest up and get well. Then we can talk about it."

"It's not your problem."

He frowned. "I don't want you to shut me out."

That's what he thought? "I'm not." She wouldn't.

"Then promise me."

He asked for the impossible. "I'd rather get it out of the way. I need-" It and them out of my life "-to give my condolences." The lie hurt, but what else could she do? She couldn't tell him the truth, so a lie was her only option.

He sighed his disappointment, making her feel even worse. "All right, honey, have it your way."

Seeing him turn for the door stopped her heart. "Denver, wait-"

"I'll tell Merissa I'm staying over."

"Don't- What?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her the full force of his daunting stare. "They were talking with Phelps at the hotel, so they might already be figuring out where you live. Not like Warfield is a sprawling city."

Oh God. She hadn't considered that.

"And if you call, they'll have your number, too. You won't tell me why they scare you-"

Her gaze shot back to his. "I didn't say they scared me."

Sympathy smoothed out his frown, filled his voice with compassion. "But they do."

Yes, they did. Very much. It made her skin crawl to even think of them. But to know they'd mentioned her, that they were close, possibly looking for her...

Rather than lie again, she looked away. "I don't want to impose on you more than I already have."

"I need to run home and take care of a few things, rearrange my schedule, and set up-"

"Okay, fine! I won't call."

Her acerbic tone didn't put him off. "Growling like that is only going to get you coughing again."

She flung a pillow at him, and damn it, it taxed her and fell short of hitting him.

Denver looked at the pillow by his feet, then at her. "I need to teach you how to fight, and how to be a good sport when you lose."

She wouldn't lose. She couldn't. This was too important.

It startled her when his finger touched under her chin and raised her face. "Promise me."

"I already did," she grumbled.

"Yeah, but now I get the feeling you're scheming."

Maybe because she was. "I won't call them tonight."